Normally, The Coronado Playhouse, known as The Theater by the Bay, is a warm and friendly place to have dinner and see a nice production. Not this time. There were pickets outside declaring a faith in the most literal interpretation of the Bible. I crossed the picket line to get my ticket.
The play is a liberal interpretation of the 1925 Scopes (Monkey) trial. In the play Matthew Harrison Brady (Richard Herring), Henry Drummond (Martin M. White), Bertram Cates (Carlos Guzman), and E. K. Hornbeck (Pete Shaner) correspond to the historical figures of William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow, John Scopes and H.L. Mencken, respectively. Imagine Bryan, Darrow, and Mencken in the same room; it's mind boggling.
Shaner's performance of Hornbeck is a delightfully cynical Mencken commenting on the town of Hillsboro, Tennessee (actually Dayton, Tennessee) as well as the residents and the two attorneys. The real trial ended up pitting Bryan, a threetime presidential candidate and stanch Presbyterian, and Darrow, an atheist. The actual trial was, in fact, a test case on a recently enacted state law.
Herring and the wheelchair-bound White prove up to the job of portraying two of the nation's top orators. Herring is dynamic, displaying the dogmatic style of Bryan -- er, Brady. White actually enhances his interpretation of Darrow/Drummond by making his wheelchair an essential part of his character.
Guzman's Cates is a pawn in this game of one-upmanship. His portrayal of a man caught in the headlights of an oncoming train works well. Although short on scripted lines, he's certainly long on his reactions.
Opposite him, playing his heartthrob, Rachel Brown, the minister's daughter, is Julie Eastland. She portrays the conflicted Brown, torn between the teachings of her father and the church and her love for Cates, with style and grace. Both make the most of their small parts.
Community theater, especially at Coronado, often becomes a family affair. In this production, the Terrys (dad Brian, son Connor, and daughter Diane) have their moments on the stage. Backstage is also a family affair for the Andersons (director and assistant sirector) and the Woodburys. Teens Ashley Marie and John Gies are also in the production.
Rosemary King's design has much of the village of Hillsboro on a riser behind the courtroom set, which works fine for the many mini-scenes in the village. Dale Goodman's lighting design is straight-forward, complementing the set.
Inherit The Wind was written as a warning about McCarthyism as well as a fictionalization of the Scopes trial. Sadly, it is again topical in one area of our country. The play had a successful run on Broadway in 1955 and was an Oscar-winning film in 1960. It is currently in rerun on Broadway. Coronado Playhouse's production is solid with excellent leads. For a touch of history, both theatrical and actual, the show is highly recommended.
