Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is nominated for nine awards at the 2019 Tony Awards, airing Sunday on CBS, including a Best Actor nod for Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch.

Closer to home, Birmingham-Southern College has its own “Atticus,” someone who has stepped into the shoes – and white linen suit – of the beloved character for years.

Brannon Bowman ’88 recently completed his third consecutive season as Atticus Finch in the Monroeville, Alabama, production. In total, he’s played the character for six seasons. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, published in 1960, was first adapted for a 1991 performance to raise money to renovate the Monroeville courthouse.

This particular acting appearance isn’t too far off from his work as the pastor at Millbrook Presbyterian Church. “It’s a lot like preaching,” Bowman says about the closing arguments Atticus delivers in the courtroom.

He first auditioned for the role when he was a pastor in Monroeville, Harper Lee’s hometown, where the play is performed each spring at the old courthouse. When he and his wife, Carol New Bowman ’88, returned to Alabama after moving briefly to Savannah, Bowman again stepped into the role. Since Millbrook is nearly two hours from the courthouse in Monroeville, Bowman goes over the familiar lines and recordings while driving in for performances.

Bowman enjoys portraying the father-daughter relationship with Scout, the young and curious protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird, as the two characters have powerful conversations about race and violence.

“To sit on the porch and have a daughter for a few moments is such a sweet scene,” he says.

While his love for theater draws him to the role, Bowman also admires the character of Atticus, a revered father and lawyer.

“Perfect people don’t exist, but Atticus really is perfect,” he says. “He’s counted on to do what’s right.”