‘Inherit the Wind’ a powerful and timeless lesson at Goodman Theatre in Chicago

“Inherit the Wind” is a classic play first produced in 1955, and now onstage at Goodman Theatre in Chicago, with star power including Harry Lennix of television’s “The Blacklist.”

Director Henry Godinez artfully presents this lesson in education and First Amendment freedoms in such a uniquely fresh manner that the show seems to speed by in an instant.

The audience remained intensely focused, and the pacing and transitions throughout were a thing of beauty.

The historical tale unfolds with crescendos and quiet moments. The piece is based upon a 1925 Tennessee case that captured nationwide attention. It tested a law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in the state’s schools. The case was dubbed the “Scopes” trial – named for John T. Scopes, who was actually a football coach and not a science teacher or staunch evolutionist. He agreed to serve as a defendant for the American Civil Liberties Union, which was challenging the law. Surprisingly, the law stayed on the books until 1967, but was never enforced while remaining in place.

The set and scenic design by Collette Pollard makes use of a thrust stage for the actors to enter from the audience, who feel part of the gallery of onlookers at the trial. Indeed, the overhead design of the town looking in through a magnifying glass sets a subliminal tone of the small town and its inhabitants being placed under a microscope by the entire nation. The play is beautifully written, making it timeless.

Without a doubt, although the full cast was supremely talented, the standout of the show was the defense attorney, Henry Drummond, portrayed by Harry Lennix. He held the audience rapt with a full range of emotions from subtle to powerful. And he used humor to his advantage, both in the trial and onstage.

As a former litigator myself for 38 years, I found his courtroom technique and behavior effective and credible. Portraying a Tennessee court in the 1920s showed some different means and methods of litigation, but cross-examination and the theory of the case were well thought out and delivered. The famous Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney in the actual trial.

The cast was rounded out by Alexander Gemignani playing prosecutor Matthew Harrison Brady (in actual history, William Jennings Bryan). He was firm and stalwart in representing the populace’s belief in the Biblical creation story.

Kevin Gudahl effectively portrayed a Southern judge who made evidentiary rulings that were biased, but, by the end, we all understood he handed out a minimal sentence/fine of $100; it never was paid because the conviction was overturned on a technicality. The give and take of prosecution and defense had the banter feeling of a true courtroom (markedly condensed, of course), and watching it at the height of the examinations was much like a tennis match of words.

Another significant portion of history highlighted onstage was the then novel ability to report the trial over the radio airwaves as a live broadcast, a first for that medium.

Reporting what is taught in public schools is still front and center in the nation. The piece provokes questions in the viewer’s mind and stretches how we think about evolution, religion and the freedom of belief and teaching it all to our youth. You cannot ask for more from theater than to provoke thought and teach how much the study of history is a worthwhile pursuit. And the fact that it is beautifully portrayed is icing on the cake. Whatever your beliefs, the importance of human relationships is paramount to what one might advocate for – and balance is key.

“He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart” – Proverbs 11:29

• Mary Beth Euker is a founding director of Cricket Theatre Company in Lake Zurich, has appeared in shows at Devonshire Theatre in Skokie and Woodstock Opera House, and directs at Lake Zurich Middle School North and Spencer Loomis Elementary.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Inherit the Wind”

• WHERE: Goodman Theatre’s Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago

• WHEN: Through Oct. 20

• INFORMATION: www.goodmantheatre.org