Annual play based on classic Harper Lee novel being moved from author’s Alabama hometown

MONROEVILLE, Ala. – The Alabama hometown of “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee will no longer host annual plays based on the classic novel.

Monroe County Museum Board officials were told Thursday that there is no agreement between the organization and Dramatic Publishing Co., which licenses the play, to continue operating in the small city of Monroeville, about 100 miles south of Montgomery.

The play features townspeople portraying characters from Lee’s classic story of racial injustice in the Deep South.

Board President Tom Lomenick tells Al.com (http://bit.ly/1Pre2n8) officials from the publishing company told him they would grant the play’s rights to a group in Kentucky. Lomenick says the museum will likely lose staff and services along with the money the annual production typically brings to the town.

The production helped fill motels, restaurants and shops in the southwest Alabama town of 6,300.