Characters who still don’t know much biology

Volume One, Issue 32, April 27 - May 3, 2007

INHERIT THE WIND
By Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee
Directed by Doug Hughes
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200;
inheritthewindonbroadway.com)

Joan Marcus
Brian Dennehy and Beth Fowler in the revival of “Inherit the Wind,” a drama based on the 1925 Scopes “monkey trial” that still resonates today.

By Scott Harrah

This revival of the Tony-winning 1955 drama based on the real-life Scopes “monkey trial” — in which a teacher was put on trial for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in a Bible-belt town — seems as fresh and topical today as it must have been more than half a century ago. In today’s world of fundamentalist religious fanatics, “Inherit the Wind” is far from dated. What makes the show even more riveting to watch is the mesmerizing performance of Christopher Plummer as Henry Drummond, a defense attorney determined to bring some logic to a courtroom full of people that believe anyone who questions the Bible is blasphemous and a heretic.

Everything about the show draws one into the world of praise-the-Lord Christians in Tennessee in the 1920s. Even before the show begins, a chorus of gospel singers perform a variety of religious hymns that make one feel more like being at some creepy revival meeting than a Broadway theater. These are the kind of people one may have grown up with in the South or the Midwest: God-fearing folks who believe everything in the Bible is the literal word of God, and anyone who disagrees is considered a heathen and a sinner who will burn in hell for eternity.

Much of the delight of the show is watching Plummer trying to knock some sense into people convinced that the descriptions of God creating the earth in the Book of Genesis are the only sound explanations for the creation of man. Brian Dennehy is effective as Matthew Harrison Brady, the Bible-quoting old windbag who refutes every word Drummond says. Yet Drummond, a staunch defender of human rights, manages to show just how foolish Brady’s circular reasoning is. From scene to scene, “Inherit the Wind” is a showcase for Christopher Plummer’s seamless acting, and director Doug Hughes lets the actor consistently show — via staccato delivery of dialogue and animated movements — just how narrow-minded the people in Hillsboro, Tennessee are when it comes to anything that questions their beliefs.

The accused is high-school biology teacher Bert Cates (Benjamin Walker), a man who dared to talk about Darwin’s theory in a class. His girlfriend Rachel (Maggie Lacy) tries to be supportive of him, but the trouble is she also happens to be the daughter of the local fire-and-brimstone preacher, Reverend Jeremiah Brown (Byron Jennings). One of the more interesting characters is wisecracking newspaper reporter E.K. Hornbeck (played with humorous aplomb by Denis O’Hare), a man who seems to love the circus atmosphere of the trial. The character is reportedly based on H. L. Mencken, the famous journalist who covered the real-life courtroom shenanigans. Even back in the 1920s, the press covered high-profile trials with the same level of sensationalism that they do today. The Scopes “monkey trial” was every bit as absurd as OJ Simpson’s trial or the recent legal histrionics over the late Anna Nicole Smith and her multimillion-dollar baby. However, this show is certainly no puff piece like one finds on tabloid TV shows.

The difference here is that we are seeing such a natural virtuoso performance by Christopher Plummer. He shows, with his extraordinary talent, that there is a definite need for people like Henry Drummond — a man who seeks truth in a world of fanatics blinded by their own interpretations of faith. “Inherit the Wind” is a simplistic but potent evening of theater that reflects timeless truths about just how necessary separation of church and state is in America.