Rafael Jordan plays the role of Tom Robinson in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

This isn’t the book you read in high school.

Harper Lee’s classic tale “To Kill a Mockingbird” is refreshed for the stage in this new adaptation by Aaron Sorkin, known for his film and television writing in “A Few Good Men,” “The West Wing” and more. The adaptation maintains the heart of the story, while weaving in a contemporary consciousness.

The moral question at the center of the story follows white lawyer Atticus Finch (father of the narrator, Scout) as he defends Tom Robinson, a wrongfully accused Black man facing the deep racism of 1950s Alabama.

Rafael Jordan plays Tom Robsinon and in this production, he found a very different story from what he read in English class.

“What really inspired and excited me to actually do my work is that the Black characters are given humanity, they’re given a full life,” he says. “They’re given their own full perspective of what’s happening that you don’t get in the book.”

While the novel is told from the child’s perspective of Scout, a young girl, the play uses adult actors who reflect on childhood moments, which allows for some of the playful childhood magic and scene setting while maintaining a critical awareness of the show’s themes. Scout’s childhood perspective is one of the elements that struck Jordan about the book, which he reread in preparation for the performance. Even growing up in western Massachusetts, Jordan had a different experience.

“I think growing up as a person of color, especially a Black person, especially a Black man in America, your parents and your community are very vigilant in informing you how this country is going to treat you,” said Jordan. “Scout is very much in the stage of innocence.”

The tension between characters of different races and classes continues to strike a strong chord more than 60 years after the publication of the novel.

“To Kill a Mockingbird,” produced by The Huntington in collaboration with the ACLU of Massachusetts, runs through Nov. 8 at The Huntington Theatre. Tickets start at $29.

Though many of the themes in the production are heavy, Jordan notes that there’s plenty of humor and heart as well. He hopes the audience ultimately takes away a positive message.

“If we actually strip back all the politics, we are more alike than we are different,” Jordan said. “If we can align around that, we don’t have to bend the knee to these forces at work that are trying to keep us separated.”

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Learn more at huntingtontheatre.org/whats-on/to-kill-a-mockingbird