Book excerpt: Tread the boards with Mockingbird Players as they present Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. To Kill a Mockingbird burst into the world in 1960, followed by the Academy Award-winning film in 1962. Since then, the story of Scout, Atticus, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley has been an indelible part of American culture. Playwright Christopher Sergel secured Harper Lee's blessing in 1970 for the stage adaptation of her novel, and in 1991, the Mockingbird Players began the annual ritual of staging the show on its home turf and beyond. Author John Williams chronicles the production's extraordinary journey along with a wealth of side stories from the deep and colorful histories of Monroeville and Monroe County.