By Dale King
Those planning to see Inherit the Wind at Lake Worth Playhouse are admonished not to believe everything they see on stage.
Even the play’s co-authors, Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, say the drama is a “fictionalized” retelling of the famous 1925 Scopes “Monkey” trial that made a criminal out of a high school teacher bent on teaching evolution according to Charles Darwin and not the Bible — a violation of state law, at that time, in Tennessee.
By the 1950s, the Scopes trial and the names of those involved — prosecutor William Jennings Bryan, defense lawyer Clarence Darrow and the reporter who covered the trial for the Baltimore Sun, H.L. Mencken — had pretty much been committed to history. Something more serious was taking place in America — Sen. Joe McCarthy’s Communist witch hunt.
Lawrence and Lee used the framework of the Scopes trial to metaphorically skewer McCarthy and his hurtful, misdirected effort. The intention of the play, Lawrence said, was not only to criticize McCarthyism, but to defend intellectual freedom. “It’s not about science versus religion. It’s about the right to think,” he said.
By accepting that premise, audiences can view the play at LWP simply as a dramatic, angst-riddled, gladiator-style courtroom battle between two legal legends. The 1955 play that begat a 1960 movie has already made a telling comment about the nation’s political fabric.
The play’s title comes from Proverbs 11:29 which, in the King James Bible, reads: “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.”
A cast of 27 — a vast number by any theatrical standard — makes Lake Worth’s Inherit the Wind roll out well, even for 21st-century audiences. Each player has a specific role. Whether on the stage for just a few minutes or much longer, they all contribute to the overall success.
Actually, director Clayton Phillips has crafted such a workable production that he turned opening night duties over to an assistant. He was at the Wick Theatre in Boca Raton opening the show, Curtains.
The “villain” of Inherit the Wind is Bertram Cates (Daniel Distasio), the teacher accused of inserting Darwinian theory into his science lesson. The small town of Hillsboro is getting ready for his trial — and reveling that famed lawyer and three-time presidential contender Matthew Harrison Brady (Richard Forbes) will prosecute. That character, who represents Bryan, arrives to great applause, and speaks to the crowd while standing beneath a banner that says, “Read Your Bible.”
Others trickle in: Henry Drummond (Daniel Eilola), a defense lawyer on equal footing with Brady; a reporter named E. K. Hornbeck (Ben Prayz), patterned after Mencken, and a crazed, wild-haired street person named Elijah (Michael Conner). By then, we’ve met Cates when his girlfriend, Rachel Brown (Alexandra Lohman), daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Brown (David Shapiro), visits him in jail.
What could be a chaotic scene on stage is orderly, attesting to Phillips’ directives. The set is an interesting concoction of skeletal buildings, with the courtroom and witness box placed conspicuously in front. Set designer Cindi Taylor and the builders have done a splendid job.
The courtroom scene is clearly the focus of the action. But other segments are humorous, touching or tragic. Cates meets his girlfriend while the bailiff, Mr. Meeker (Michael Owens), tries to sweep the floor. The ladies of the town serve up a buffet when Brady arrives. Elijah and the Rev. Brown both get a chance to vent. And Hornbeck’s comments about the diminutive community paint a sarcastic image.
The real action happens in the courtroom as the two lawyers — former friends — begin sparring. The obvious anti-Cates crowd offers something of a ruckus, but no riot. Brady pontificates. Drummond sounds off. When it appears the case for Cates is lost, Drummond calls Brady to the stand — and the fight gets louder and meaner.
The conclusion is a verdict only the audience can judge as fair or not. Drummond, in a quiet, final moment following a tragic, courtroom incident, takes the measure of Darwin and the Bible — in quite a literal sense.
In this production, Eilola and Forbes earn top honors, but the entire cast is due kudos for a show that would not work without them. Using prose that borders on poetry, Forbes seems more of a Shakespearean wit than a lawyer. Not only that, he displays an incredible knack for bombast. The actor is clearly well schooled.
Eilola seems to tower over the cast — literally and figuratively. His height underscores his stature, giving Drummond an overarching presence — something Perry Mason might do with words alone.
As Cates, Distasio is soft-spoken and very much unlike a criminal. As he sits in the courtroom, his face assumes an angelic visage that seems to connect to the heavens.
Prayz is witty in a sardonic way — so much like a real reporter. Shapiro, in his role as minister, is unabashed as he righteously rails against Cates. But Lohman, as his daughter, is jittery and shy, seemingly wishing the crowds and the issue would just go away.
Inherit the Wind is playing through Sunday at the Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave., Lake Worth. Call 561-586-6410 or visit www.lakeworthplayhouse.org.