Dominic Richardson hopes that the segregated eyes of St. Louis will be on him in January when he makes his professional acting debut in a civil rights classic that he deems to be relevant today.
Richardson, who graduated with theatre and English degrees from Saint Louis University, recently landed the role of a black man wrongfully accused and convicted of beating and raping a young white woman.
The play is To Kill a Mockingbird and will be presented by Metro Theatre Company and Edison Theatre, as part of the St. Louis-wide Big Read Program.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book published in1960 by a white woman named Harper Lee, who loosely based the book on her observations in her hometown of Macomb, Alabama when she was 10-years-old.
Richardson plays the role of Tom Robinson, a black man who rouses the interest of a young white woman. When her father, Bob Ewell, learns of her affection for the black man, he accuses the innocent black man of beating and raping his daughter. But it was Bob Ewell who abused his daughter.
Richardson called his role especially important, even now, “especially with what’s going on in the world socially, politically and in the justice system and aesthetically with African-American images.”
Being able to compare the 1930s with today also strikes a chord with Richardson, “just taking 1935 Alabama with 2008 all over America and finding the similarities and differences and seeing how far we’ve come as people in America, but also noticing that there is a good, long way to go,” he said.
Appealing to the prejudices of society in an attempt to falsely incriminate a black man is nothing new in America, as staged recently during Barack Obama’s challenging but successful bid for the White House.
“As we anticipate our new national leadership and cope with difficult local issues, To Kill a Mockingbird strikes home with renewed relevance,” said Charlie Robin, executive director of Edison Theatre.
“It’s a story that resonates with ever deeper meaning and strength. Seeing it brought to life on stage will unlock nuances in a way that only theatre can.”
Carol North, artistic director of Metro Theatre Company and director of the play, said she think the play is important right now because it can shake us up.
“I want to shake audiences in this city, which is still plagued by so many divides, and I want them to look at a story that happened just a little while ago in this country and it’s not right,” she said.
North also wants to answer the question of whether the story simply reflects a sordid history or are there ways that this history repeats itself. She thinks Richardson is the right actor to answer that question.
“As soon as he walked through the door (for auditions) I saw the warmth and a real connection that would bring that to the role of Tom Robinson, a character who is doomed by his time and his place in a racist society,” North said.
“We can look at that and say what a terrible victim that is, but I wanted nobility in Tom Robinson and Dominic brings that.”
Richardson began acting in high school at CBC (Christian Brothers College) after being cut from basketball. He was cast in major plays such as West Side Story and Les Miserables and got bit deeply by the acting bug.
“Those were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities with lots of people and lots of fun n that’s what drew me in,” he said.
Playing the role of Tom Robinson also presents a good opportunity n for any actor.
He said, “It’s one of those roles that even a seasoned actor would love to play, so to be relatively green in professional experience and take on this role is a big step.”