Maui OnStage Presents ‘Inherit the Wind’

Maui OnStage’s Inherit the Wind cast. Copyright 2016 Jack Grace Photography

Maui OnStage will present Inherit the Wind Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Sundays at 3 p.m. through May 8 at the Historic ʻĪao Theater.

The original drama was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee.

Maui Onstage’s production is directed by Alexis Dascoulias.

The play is a fictionalized account based the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial, covered by Baltimore journalist H.L. Menken, prosecuted by three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and defended by Clarence Darrow.

When a local science teacher, Bertram Cates (David Tuttle) is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in a public school, national evangelical political figure Matthew Harrison Brady (Steven Dascoulis) arrives in Hillsboro, Tennessee, to prosecute the case.

Maui OnStage’s Inherit the Wind cast. Copyright 2016 Jack Grace Photography

For the defense, renowned attorney Henry Drummond (Don Carlson) is enlisted by the Baltimore Herald and its ace reporter, E.K. Hornbeck (William Hubbard).

The title, a quote from Proverbs, poses “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.”

The debate over creationism versus evolution has contemporary resonance, as evidenced by the play’s numerous revivals and screen adaptations decades after its McCarthy era origins.

Considered one of the finest pieces of American theater, Inherit the Wind is a classic vehicle for method actors, with many profoundly written roles that have been portrayed by such luminous performers who include Paul Muni, Ed Begly, Sr., Tony Randall, Spencer Tracy, Frederic March, Gene Kelly, George C. Scott, Charles Durning, Brian Dennehy, Christopher Plummer, Jason Robards, Jack Lemmon, Kirk Douglas and Kevin Spacey.

Tickets range in price from $20 to $40. To purchase tickets, call 242-6969 or order online at mauionstage.com.