The Cerritos College Theatre Department did an excellent job in taking audience members back to 1935 in its debut production of “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

The production is based on Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and adapted by Christopher Sergel who takes audience members back to the Deep Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama where attorney Atticus Finch defends a wrongly accused African American from execution.

Audience members are right in the middle of it all.

From the black defendant to the white accuser, audience members will be on the edge of their seat even knowing how it all ends.

Director Kevin Slay truly picked the right talent for such a controversial novel, which has been subject to removal from public classrooms due to its racial epithets and has done a wonderful job in picking the protagonists, who take you back into the 1935 courtroom.

Slay, along with the rest of the cast, have done a wonderful job in bringing the novel to life at the Cerritos College stage, from the courthouse drama to the fighting scene between Jem and Bob Ewell. The whole cast has dedicated many hours of preparation and ultimately it has payed off.

The production’s narrator, Kelsey England, who plays Jean Louise Finch, opened the night by setting the tone of what audience members were about to endure.

Light board operator Veronica Cabrera-Garcia and sound board operator Joshua Cardenas also helped set the mood on the stage where it was mainly needed.

Atticus Finch portrayed by Devon DeLamora, brings the attorney to life on stage by projecting a mellow voice and observing his surroundings before speaking, just like in the novel.

The production’s real stars are Amanda Fox who plays Scout, Carlos Holguin who portrays Jem and Breanna Hunter who plays Dill.

Fox is no stranger on the stage and it really shows. She is the perfect actress to portray Scout.

From the boyish blond hair to the tomboy look, Fox lures in the audience from scene to scene.

Holguin made his debut performance on the Cerritos College stage and was spot on right from his first scene. Playing Scout’s older brother, Jem, Holguin plays the perfect older brother from being over protective to never backing down from a dare.

One of the scene stealers of the night has to be Breanna Hunter who perfectly portrays Dill, a ten year -old boy who has a colorful imagination and a great fashion sense. Hunter, being a girl, never seemed to try to make Dill be funny, but accomplished to do so regardless and made it work.

A big hats off to Ivan Oyarzabal for his portrayal of Bob Ewell from scene to scene having audience members jump off their seats every time he screamed.

One of the night’s biggest scene stealer, and the favorite actress of the night, has to be Calpurnia, the housekeeper, who is played by Bunmi Famoyiwa.

She stole the limelight from every actor in every single scene she appeared in from beginning to end, doing a magnificent job right from the start.

The production will continue on Oct. 18, 19, 20 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. at Burnight Center Theater.