A Mighty 'Wind' Stages At The Cultural Center

There is something transcendent about a well written play. “Inherit the Wind,” now staging at the Southampton Cultural Center, is a fine example.

Authored by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee back in 1955 and based on the Scopes “Monkey” Trial on the teaching of evolution in a Tennessee high school in 1925, the play was actually a literary response to the Red Scare frenzy and the resulting McCarthy trials of the early ’50s. As in the best of the written arts, the message in this 50-plus-year-old play is still fresh, relevant and compelling today.

It seems that nearly every archetype is represented in this stage play, and clearly and smartly drawn at that. There’s the oily politician, the vaguely sinister man of the cloth, the dogmatic prosecutor, the staunch defender of rights, the snarky journalist, the good girl, and the dupe—a man caught up in the furor not because he’s limited but because he dared to teach critical thinking in a fervently devout town. The only thing that’s missing is the vamp, but perhaps in this case the

temptress is the ground-breaking scientist and evolution proponent Charles Darwin.

Watching the play this past Friday night, this reviewer could not help but relate the action on the stage to the real-life fanaticism of some religious and political groups operating in the here and now. Substitute the outrage over the teaching of evolution instead of creationism in school for equality, choice or any number of hot-button topics—the browbeating, pounding of chests and schadenfreude remains the same.

Fortunately for audience members, the acting of the principals in Michael Disher’s production is as strong as the message. Daniel Becker, who plays the allegedly “godless” lawyer Henry Drummond, based on the real-life attorney Clarence Darrow, is at his very best in this play. And his counterpart, Alan Stewart, who plays the righteous Matthew Harrison Brady, based on the real-life devout lawyer and politician William Jennings Bryan, provides a powerful counterpoint.

Mr. Becker is never more convincing than when he says that he will fight to the end to defend a person’s “right to be wrong.” I’m not a critic but I am a tough cookie and this actor had me believing that he believed he was Drummond throughout the play. Bravo.

As for Mr. Stewart, a lesser actor would have hit the audience over the head with blustery rhetoric but he instead chose well in portraying Brady as a sympathetic, though flawed, character.

“It is possible to be overzealous, to destroy what we hope to save,” he cautions Doug Walter as Reverend Jeremiah Brown, a man hellbent on piety regardless of the cost. Sure, Brady is hardheaded and vociferous but he does believe that he’s fighting the good fight.

Both Mr. Becker and Mr. Stewart really deliver here. It’s refreshing to see two actors working at their finest, particularly when the story lends itself to such juicy material. But this pair of strong performances would not be possible without the support of a solid cast.

Another notable player in this tale is Jack Seabury as the snarky and cynical journalist E.K. Hornbeck, based on the real-life writer H. L. Mencken, who is the deliverer of some of the best lines in the show. He calls the setting, Hillsboro, Tennessee, a place “on the buckle of the Bible belt” and says of himself, “I may be rancid butter but I’m on your side of the bread.”

Amanda Stein, as the preacher’s daughter Rachel Brown, also gives a solid performance. She’s sweet and likeable but underneath that soft exterior lies the heart of a fighter. Vincent Carbone, as Bertram Cates, the beleaguered teacher at the center of the trial and resultant brouhaha, is also believable and honest in his portrayal. Alas, there’s not enough room here to list every actor in this ensemble cast and player in this production but job well done to all.

Bottom line: I was quite moved by this production of “Wind.” Go see it and you will be too.

The final performances of “Inherit the Wind” stage this week. Shows are on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 25 through 27, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, October 28, at 2:30 p.m. at the Southampton Cultural Center. Tickets are $22 general admission, $20 for seniors and $12 for students under 21 with identification. For reservations and additional information, visit scc-arts.org.