SCIENCE VS. RELIGION;
THE GOODMAN HAS THE PLAY OF THE MOMENT
Dubbed “The Trial of the Century,” the inspiration for Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s Inherit the Wind was a milestone in the American legal system: It’s the first time science vs. religion found its way to the public courthouse. The Scopes trial pitted the revolutionaries of scientific development against religious fundamentalists, who had the law on their side. The Goodman Theatre’s production of this American classic is exactly what theatregoers need. Especially in this tumultuous election season.
Alexander Gemignani and Harry Lennix
When you arrive at the Goodman for this production (because I insist you must go), take the time to open your program and read the welcome note from Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, the interview with director Thomas Connors, and the dramaturgy note by Literary Manager and Dramaturg Neena Arndt. These thoughtful introductions provide insightful context for this revival. In the play, the astute Chicago lawyer Henry Drummond, a character modeled after the venerable Clarence Darrow, storms into this small town committed to defending not just his client, John T. Scopes, but the fundamental right that all human beings have to think. Drummond unfolds with magnetic intellectual force against the prosecuting attorney, Matthew Harrison Brady, a thinly veiled incarnation of the thrice-presidential candidate, orator William Jennings Bryan.
Lawrence Grimm
They say history repeats itself, and with every passing “unprecedented” event it becomes more evident that it’s true. In 1918 the Spanish flu circled the globe leaving over 21 million people dead in its wake. The Chicago Race Riots took place in the summer of 1919, and in 1925 schoolteacher John T. Scopes was tried for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in a public school, a theory which seemed in opposition to the teachings of the Holy Bible. Lawrence and Lee wrote Inherit the Wind in 1955, basing their story about free thought and free speech on this trial. Now, nearly seventy years later, the very same conflicts presented in their play persist in our reality. Science is pitted against religion. Facts are denied. Knowledge is censored. When a play written so long ago feels so of the moment, it begs the question, why didn’t we learn from this the first time? (Just as Arthur Miller did with The Crucible two years earlier in 1953, Lawrence and Lee wrote Inherit the Wind as a response to the threat to intellectual freedom presented by the anti-communist hysteria of the McCarthy era.)
Mi Kang and Tyler Meredith
The Goodman shows its excellence with spectacular artistry in every area, from Arndt’s dramaturgy to the 19-member ensemble, all of whom work extremely well together as a team to create tension as well as some quite funny moments in an otherwise very serious play. Collete Pollard‘s set, though, stands out as an exceptional example of a designer telling an extension of the story through her composition.
Alexander Gemignani
Pollard sets the stage for Inherit the Wind by suspending a small town in a round wooden frame above a raised circular floor. These backlit buildings appear reminiscent of a scene in a snow globe, and with actors using the circular platform as their only playing space, Pollard’s design gives us the visual of a small town content to be secluded in its own bubble.
Christopher Llewyn Ramirez, Mi Kang and Tyler Meredith
Lighting designer Jason Lynch creates a beam of light shining down through this wooden circle in the sky. I was immediately reminded of paintings depicting beams of light from heaven. Working together, Pollard and Lynch have created a town with religion at the center and a sense of smallness and separation in a wide world beyond our understanding.
Christopher Kale Jones, Alexander Gemignani, Harry Lennix and Terry Bell
Of course, director Henry Godinez plays a huge part in creating this world as well. It’s clear he had a vision for this town and the people in it and outside of it. Godinez also handles the pacing of this play very well, keeping the text clipping along all the way through, particularly in the courtroom. I adore a good courtroom drama, and this play delivers just that. Two great minds, Matthew Harrison Brady (a powerhouse Alexander Gemignani) and Henry Drummond (the commanding Harry Lennix), engage in passionate yet civil disagreement, something we rarely see now, certainly not in political debates. Lennix is hilarious as Henry Drummond, inciting laughter with just a look or a gesture, and his sincerity is equally potent.
(standing) Eric Slater, (sitting) Penelope Walker, Thomas Murphy Molony, Lawrence Grimm, Hamid
Dehghani, Presley Rose Jones, Meighan Gerachis, Ryan Kitley, CharÃn Ãlvarez, William Dick
Initially, the audience witnesses Drummond and Brady relishing the prospect of a courtroom showdown, a duel of equal wits reminiscent of a 1925 version of, say, Siskel and Ebert. Yet, as the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear the two have a history as friends and still maintain a certain amount of respect for one another. Brady may be a publicity-seeking figure determined to condemn any beliefs different than his own, but he is also an intelligent man. Drummond recognizes Brady’s intelligence and forms his arguments accordingly. He cleverly deconstructs Brady’s argument, cross-examining him on his bible expertise. But when smart-aleck reporter, E.K. Hornbeck attacks Brady’s character, Drummond jumps to his defense saying, “You have no more right to spit on his religion than you have a right to spit on my religion! Or my lack of it!” This is not a play about how wrong creationists are. This is a play about a person’s right to think and a person’s right to come to the wrong conclusion.
Thomas Murphy Molony
Allow me to circle back for a moment to E.K. Hornbeck. This progressive reporter from the fictional Baltimore Herald, based on H. L. Mencken, who covered the trial for The Baltimore Sun, is cynical, insolent, and flippant, the foil to the extremely buttoned up Reverend Jeremiah Brown (Ryan Kitley). Hornbeck, as played by Mi Kang, is perhaps too drastically juxtaposed to everyone else in the play. Beyond her big city energy and strongly differing viewpoints, Kang also portrays Hornbeck with a slightly exaggerated acting style. Everyone else was working within realism, and Kang seems to be in a more stylized play. It is just a small point of confusion in a very tight play. Tyler Meredith also gives a notably strong performance as Rachel Brown, a fellow teacher and Cates’ girlfriend, conveying the inner turmoil of the daughter of the antagonistic Rev. Brown. This weepy woman is perhaps the only part of this nearly seventy-year-old play that doesn’t age well.
Harry Lennix and Ryan Kitley
Otherwise, Lawrence and Lee’s script has withstood the test of time, and is, unfortunately, still extremely relevant. Definitely take a trip downtown for the rare chance to see a play rarely produced anymore as theatre goes through its own evolution. The production, harmonized with the superb casting and direction, admirably aligns itself with the well-constructed script.
Presley Rose Jones and Thomas Murphy Molony
photos by Liz Lauren
Inherit the Wind
Goodman Theatre’s Albert Theatre, 170 North Dearborn
ends on to October 13, 2024 EXTENDED to October 20, 2024
for tickets ($25 – $95; subject to change), call 312.443.3800 or visit Goodman Theatre
for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago