To Kill a Mockingbird

To shoehorn a large show like this one into a relatively small space requires ingenuity from director and designer, but director–set designer Gary Lee Reed nimbly overcomes the challenges in this semi-arena staging. The set's five houses are improbably cheek by jowl, and there are moments of awkward staging, but the humor and folksy charm of Christopher Sergel's adaptation of Harper Lee's venerable novel disarm criticism.

Joe Colligan exudes genuine menace as the mean-spirited redneck Bob Ewell, who stirs up the small town of Maycomb, Ala., circa 1935, when he accuses a black man, Tom Robinson (Montelle Harvey), of raping his daughter Mayella (Tannis Hanson). Greg Martin provides an eloquent and crisply defined portrait of the high-minded lawyer Atticus Finch, who finds himself highly unpopular for defending a Negro in a largely racist community. Zoe Calamar and Albert Bursalyan shine as Atticus' spunky and irrepressible children, Scout and Jeremy, and they provide much of the production's comedy, along with Tate Downing as their young visitor Dill.

David Atkinson delivers a spot-on performance as defense attorney Horace Gilmer, a quintessential Southern lawyer. Joanne Atkinson is a comfortable presence as the sympathetic neighbor Miss Maudie; Geraldine Allen is bitter and judgmental as her bossy next-door neighbor; and Rhonda Kohl is appropriately obnoxious as the local busybody. Understudy EP McKnight makes an imposing figure of Calpurnia, Atticus' stern but loving housekeeper. Don Robb is both crusty and benevolent as Judge Taylor, and a handful of mature character actors, including Jim Custer, Sky McDougall, and Sy Richardson, contribute handsomely to this loving depiction of a Depression-era Southern town. Scott Wordham delivers a nice turn in the tiny but crucial role of Boo Radley. Liz Randall, as the grown-up Scout, is the narrator who introduces us to Maycomb. Paula Higgins' costumes seem unobtrusively right.

This production is solid rather than brilliant, but the audience seemed to be enjoying it hugely.

Presented by Actors' Co-op at the Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood. Oct. 14-Nov. 20. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m. (323) 462-8460, ext. 300. www.actorsco-op.org.