Inherit the Wind
By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Directed by Harry Friedman
Produced by Lindsey Humphries
Mainstage Theatre Irving-
Las Colinas
Audience Rating: PG
Running Time: approximately two hours with one fifteen-minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Showing: Not Available
ASL Showing: Not Available
Sound Level: Comfortable
Audio/ Visuals To Prepare For: None
Reviewed by Dan C. Rogers
Inherit The Wind is thought provoking and a declaration for the rights of a person to stand up and express an opinion, popular or not. Infused with throwback gospel hymns as the undercurrent and clever symbolic lighting, this production arrests the attention of the audience by highlighting an individual’s freedom to have independent thought. The plot is loosely based on the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, highlighting the clash of modern science versus religious fundamentalism.
Energetic Howard as playfully portrayed by Fox Elrod starts things off with an enthusiasm and cleverness that sets the tone for this fast-paced insertion of sweet yet unsettling moments in the production. He is a boy excited about fishing with worms for bait. When he holds one up, is he about to swallow it? No, he simply puts it in his pocket. And right there is the anticipation and the tension that permeates this production.
Director Harry Friedman uses a multi- dimensional set designed by T.J. Firneno to address the focus of the audience, who becomes the equivalent of a jury, in this proscenium staging at the lovely and intimate Dupree Theater. The many cast members become active participants in what appears to morph into a Greek chorus in their period costumes by Michael A. Robinson/Dallas Costume Shoppe. Lighting designed by Hank Baldree is complimentary to the drab uninvolved costumes of the period- flamboyance reserved for the symbolic red lighting on Drummond and Howard at the conclusion of the first scene.
This play, planned prior to the frustrating Covid shutdown, which was written to defend the anti-McCarthyism movement for freedom of thought, seems highly relevant today. The dialogue is relevant with the headlines of now. The skills required for real debate, thoughtful, respectful, measured debate, are being lost in insults, bromides, and quips best suited for a bumper sticker. At the forefront of the plot are two determined adversaries who were once friends. First there is the majestic Matthew Harrison Brady, a famous prosecutor, three-time presidential candidate, and religious fundamentalist, fighting to uphold a law banning the teaching of evolution. He is confronted by the determined and persistent Henry Drummond, a defense attorney known as a sharp agnostic and champion of free thought. The collision of principles as performed by Allen Matthews (Brady) and Nelson Wilson (Drummond) is a master class in witty repartee. It is a slugfest of fresh new ideas vs "this is the way it has always been." Weaving in and out of the script, with cynical observation, is a sharp-tongued newspaper correspondent, E.K. Hornbeck, as played by Scott Bardin, a notation of the passing of time that reflects standing still can mean being left behind.
Inherit The Wind runs through August 8th at the DuPree Theater- Irving Arts Center. Be prepared to laugh and to think. To wince and to think. To agree and disagree, but most importantly, to think. Tickets are available at irvingartscenter.com/tickets-events
This is exactly what the doctor ordered,
DR
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