The revival scene from Cumberland County Playhouse's 1991 production of "Inherit The Wind," directed by Jim Crabtree and designed by Leonard Harman. The play inspired by the Scopes Trial and McCarthy hearings will return to the CCP stage Oct. 10-Nov. 14.IF YOU GO• What: "Inherit the Wind"• When: Oct. 10-Nov. 14 (various showtimes)• Where: Cumberland County Playhouse, 221 Tennessee Ave., Crossville, Tenn.• Admission: $13-$25• Phone: 931-484-5000• Website: www.ccplayhouse.comALSO AT THE PLAYHOUSE• "It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues," through Oct. 25• "Damn Yankees," through Nov. 9
Following a July collaboration between the Cumberland County Playhouse and Rhea County's Scopes Trial Festival, Playhouse producing director Jim Crabtree will turn to a fictional drama inspired by the historic events. "Inherit the Wind," a 1955 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, will be presented at the Crossville, Tenn., theater Friday, Oct. 10, through Friday, Nov. 14.
The July production, "Front Page News," was a new, historically accurate play with music about the famous Scopes Trial. "Inherit the Wind" uses the trial as a means to discuss the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. Crabtree says his hymn-filled version strives to promote respect for all views.
"Working on 'Front Page News' was a revelation," he says. "The more I learned the actual [events] surrounding the Scopes Trial, the more respect I gained for the real people of Dayton. This knowledge informs our 'Inherit the Wind.'"
Although "Inherit" uses the trial as its jumping-off point, many events were substantially altered or invented for the play. The four main characters - Matthew Harrison Brady, Henry Drummond, Bertram T. Cates and E.K. Hornbeck - are based on prosecutor William Jennings Bryan, defense attorney Clarence Darrow, teacher John T. Scopes and reporter H.L. Mencken.
"The clash of Bryan and Darrow at Rhea County Courthouse was dramatic, but it wasn't a drama," explains Britt Hancock, who plays Drummond. "To achieve that power, the writers took liberties with history in creating the play's events and dialogue. My character differs in some ways from the real Clarence Darrow, and Brady (played by George Miller, reprising his role from 'Front Page News') has differences from the historical Bryan."
The Playhouse production also features Jason Ross as Hornbeck, Austin Price as Cates, Bobby Taylor as the fictional Rev. Jeremiah Brown and Anna Baker as Brown's daughter and Cates' fiancée, Rachel.
"The play isn't just about the drama behind evolution and creation," says Crabtree. "It's about encounters of traditional communities and the city-based electronic media, between urban and agricultural lifestyles, between rural life and cosmopolitanism or even red states and blue states. Our production treats both sides of these divides with respect. 'Inherit the Wind' makes an eloquent case for justice, tolerance, mutual respect and freedom of thought and faith."