I guarantee that you will not fall asleep while watching the current production of Inherit the Wind, now playing in Arena Stage’s Fichandler Theater. But you may be confused at first.
It’s confusing because this play is based on incidences in the famous Scopes Monkey Trial in which John T. Scopes is jailed and put on trial for daring to introduce his students to Darwin’s theory of evolution and thereby violating the Butler Act, a Tennessee state law.
The defending attorney in the case was Clarence Darrow. The prosecuting attorney was Williams Jennings Bryan. It’s the sort of thing that could potentially happen to anyone for teaching about slavery or about Harvey Milk today. But despite this, it’s probable that your first response to this production will be an unexpected burst of laughter.
The people in the town where the show takes place look and act like they are part of a highly polished production of Oklahoma, with watermelon slices and a table cloth that are the most intense shades of red, and accents so broad the actors are almost singing. It’s Our Town as reflected in Alice’s looking glass. It’s likely that your laughter will continue until one of the character’s abruptly gravely announces “That is the end of the first act.”
Through our laughter in this play, director Ryan Guzzo Purcell makes us wonder who these people are that we are laughing at so affectionately and how do we want to be in relationship to to them as fellow citizens who could very possibly hold our pursuits of happiness and the possibilities of our thinking freely hostage? Do we get to ridicule them when they die?
Without overtly stating it, he encourages and enables us – the audience – to privately think about our complicity and participation a) in allowing critical thinking in the public square to diminish and b) in not taking our own leadership, responsibilities and power to be citizens seriously.
I found the in-the-round staging across multiple platforms to be dynamic without being confusing. Ensemble actors would play women one moment, then men the next. Costume changes frequently occurred onstage.
Everyone onstage has a firm hold on the archetypal characters they are embodying. There are six named characters who are supported by five ensemble actors playing a host of townspeople. Billy Eugene Jones takes the role of Drummond by the throat and never lets go. It is an energetic portrait of a man committed to hardworking integrity, empathy and modernity.
Dakin Matthews gleefully embodies his role as Brady, the doomed but esteemed defender of the faith and the lost cause, chewing scenery the entire way. Alyssa Keegan as the cynical journalist E. K. Hornbeck becomes appropriately more irritating with each appearance. Noah Plomgren and Rebecca Madeira were satisfyingly balanced as Cates and Rachel, the romantically involved professional colleagues whose relationship is tested by this trial.
The Bible verse from which the title is taken states “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.” However, the casting of Billy Eugene Jones, a Black actor, as Drummond, the attorney who defends teacher Cates’ right to teach evolution, points us towards Congressman John Lewis’ statement “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Purcell has suggested a landscape showing our responsibilities as citizens, the stakes involved and the commitment required to shape the version of America that you want to have.
Inherit the Wind continues through April 5, 2026 at Arena Stage. Tickets are available here.
