The Plateau Players Present
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The Plateau Players Present
Inherit The Wind
By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Lee
In celebration of the Centennial of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, The Plateau Players will present Inherit the Wind on June 13th, 14th, 20th & 22nd in the Black Box Theatre located at the Scott Christian Care Center in Oneida. The play debuted in 1955, and was also made into an award-winning movie.
For those not familiar with the play or the trial that inspired it, the plot revolves around a TN school teacher charged with teaching evolution in violation of TN law and the two powerhouse attorneys who were brought in as litigators in the now-famous trial.
High school teacher John Scopes was charged with violation of the Butler Act, a TN Law which made it illegal to teach evolution (Darwinism) in public schools. While the teaching of evolution was illegal, the textbook used in most high school Biology classes did include references to evolution and Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species . Known as “The Trial of the Century”, the Scopes trial took place July 10-21, 1925.
Williiam Jennings Bryan was a prominent lawyer, politician, orator and three-time presidential candidate. He was also known as the “Great Commoner” due to his faith in the wisdom of the common people. A strong opponent of evolution and a proponent of religion, Bryan acted as Co-counsel for the Prosecution along with the chief prosecutor, State’s Attorney General A. Thomas Stewart. Bryan died from a stroke on July 26, 1925 after attending a church service in Dayton. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (Wikipedia)
Clarence Darrow was retained as counsel for the defense. He was a known agnostic, and held many controversial views on a wide range of topics and beliefs. He was also a prominent attorney who dealt with trade union and criminal defense cases, among others. He was considered by many to be the greatest lawyer of the 20th century. (Wikipedia)
Inherit the Wind is a fictionalized account of the trial that took place during that hot 1925 summer. It is not intended to promote either Christianity or Agnosticism—it is merely a dramatization, not a word-for-word recreation of the trial. Ironically, in the play Darrow’s character argues that his client, and people in general, should be accorded the right to think for themselves…similar to Bryan’s belief in the wisdom of the common people.
Tickets are available online at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/Inherit-the-wind and at the door for all performances. General Admission $15, Student (under 18) $10. June 13-14, 20-21 performances are at 7 PM. June 22 performance is at 2:30 pm. Inherit the Wind is presented with all rights and licenses through Dramatists Play Service.
