308 Preview: Inherit the Wind
NEIRAD enilno edition
When fall comes around in Darien, lines at Starbucks are doubled for the delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte; the football team preps for a final game against archrival, New Canaan; and Theatre 308 opens its curtains once again for the long- awaited fall drama.
This year, Theatre 308 will be performing “Inherit the Wind” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. Written in 1955, this gripping courtroom drama depicts a fictionalized account of the “Scopes Monkey Trial,” where high school biology teacher, John Scopes, was tried for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in 1925.
“It’s a fictional depiction of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, but it also deals with the right to think and have opinions,” 308’s junior business manager Hannah Caldwell said. Nancy Herman, adviser of Theatre 308, adds, “The basic debate is between the theory of evolution and a strict fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible.”
What’s different from this play than in the past years, however? Ms. Herman, the club’s beloved director, will not be in charge of directing it. Instead, Middlesex English teacher Abby Warren will replace Ms. Herman for this season.
“Directing and producing two shows is a huge undertaking which requires enormous investments of time and energy. I’m teaching an additional class this year and felt that I wouldn’t have the time to do a good job on everything. I didn’t want to short change my classes nor the students of 308,” Ms Herman said.
Although Ms. Herman has been running the school’s performances for a long time, she believes that “an infusion of new energy and points of view will be good for the organization.”
Instead, Ms. Herman will still be the club adviser and the show producer all of which she did in addition to directing. “I’ve handed over the artistic direction for the fall show to Ms. Warren,” Ms Herman said.
With Ms. Warren’s fresh new perspective on the play, noticeable changes will be made to the cast. Some parts normally meant for men could be played by women, and vice versa. Senior Elizabeth Leimkuhler will be playing Hannah Drummond, Bertram Cate’s heroic, unconventional lawyer. Although originally this role was intended to be played by a guy, the play focuses on the strong personality of each character rather than their gender. Junior Kevin Koenitzer will play Bertram Cates, a character based on the controversial teacher John Scopes. Cates is put on trial by Matthew Harrison Brady played by senior Alex Rankine.
The set for this play will be slightly different than others, due to the layout and simplicity of the storyline. Theatre 308 junior set designer Brooke Davis said, “The basis of our set is four silhouette buildings behind a courthouse. The idea is that it could be any town, anywhere.” Davis adds, “It’s fairly abstract because of the silhouettes mixing in with the realism of having a courthouse.” (click here to read more on Theatre 308 stage manager Will Doughty)
Junior Caroline Schau, member of the club’s set crew, seems happy that the set is less work than usual. “Inherit the Wind’s set is definitely easier than some of the ones we’ve created. However, it still requires hard work and team effort in order to complete the task,” Schau said.
“Inherit the Wind” will premier at DHS’s auditorium on Nov.18-20. Theatre 308 is looking for ushers and students to sell water, flowers, and snacks before and during the show. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Ms Herman.
