Local attorneys will sit in the jury box Sept. 29 when Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson in the Alexander City Arts matinee presentation of To Kill a Mockingbird. The Virginia Samford Theatre production, based on Harper Lee’s literary masterpiece and the award-winning film by the same name, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movements with the 2 p.m. 2013-2014 season opener at the Benjamin Russell High School Auditorium.

“We wanted to bring this production to our local stage, because the Civil Rights Movement changed our world, yet so many people who did not live through that time don’t understand the impact it had,” said Alexander City Arts president Karen Kison. “To Kill a Mockingbird is an example of great literature, and it brings alive for us what it was like for everyday people to stand up and be willing to die for what they believed.”