Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" sadly still resonates with its themes of racism and inequality. Since its publication in 1960, it's been a favorite of many, read frequently in high school and college literature classes. It was, of course, made into the enormously popular film starring Gregory Peck, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, the Maycomb, Ala., attorney who took on the hopeless case of a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.

		'To Kill a Mockingbird' Where: Prime Stage Productions, The New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square, North Side. When: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m. Sun. 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, Mary Badham will attend the evening performance and hold a post-show chat session and a reception. Tickets: $15-$8. 412-394-3353.

Those are big shoes for a stage version to fill, but Christopher Sergel's adaptation is mostly successful. The restraints of the stage limit the scope of Lee's story. Many minor characters are left out and the timeline is streamlined. This lets us see less of the town of Maycomb so a lot of what Lee had to say about the class structure of this poor Southern town is lost. Also, the sense of watching Atticus' children, Scout, the protagonist and Lee's narrator, and her brother Jem, grow up over the three-year period of the novel is minimized with Sergel's condensed time frame.

But the heart of the story remains as Scout and Jem lose their innocence, discovering the evil that runs through their hometown, although they also learn, through the wisdom of their father, to look for and trust in goodness.

Prime Stage is lucky to have Shawn Dougherty as Atticus. In a role that could easily become sappy or oratorical, Dougherty is quietly strong, moving with a tired determination that, in scenes with the children, is tempered by gentle and lighthearted good humor. He is commanding in the courtroom scene and, like Lee, manages to create an atmosphere of hopefulness and suspense, even though the outcome of the trial is a foregone conclusion.

The children in the cast captivate like seasoned professionals. Annalise Tolley is the spunky tomboy, Scout. She can be sweet, petulant or frightened as needed, without overplaying the role. Jonny Summers is funny as Dill, a friend of Scout and Jem, although, as the youngest actor, he tends to be a little too aware of the effect his antics have on the audience. It's Jeremy Hois who really shines in the role of Jem, moving from innocent boy to young man in an aching portrayal of an adolescent whose worldview is shattered.

Lynne Franks is the adult Scout who narrates the story. She brings warmth to the role but it's a rather thankless undertaking and the least successful part of Sergel's dramatization. These direct audience addresses provide necessary information but they often interrupt stage action and are mostly dull and undramatic.

The only other hindrance to director Richard Keitel's direct and straightforward storytelling is the first act set. Several platforms placed around the small stage hamper actor movement and, undifferentiated as they are, do little to elicit any feeling of the town or the area surrounding the Finch house. Designer Julie Allardice Ray's instinct is toward the abstract and the platforms work against that. Certainly the looming backdrop of painted scrims which can be backlit to reveal alternate playing areas provides enough texture and visual interest.

None of this hampers the story and Keitel's sure and subtle hand allows the action to unfold and wrap the audience in Lee's powerful vision. Anyone who fondly remembers the novel won't be disappointed. And anyone who fondly remembers the movie may want to attend Saturday's performance which will feature a chat session and reception with Mary Badham, who received an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Scout.