Inherit The Wind may have made its Broadway debut way back in 1955 and the real-life events that inspired it may have taken place nearly a century ago, but under Michael Michetti’s inspired direction (and given the play’s renewed relevance in today’s ever more polarized America), the multiple Tony-winner’s Broadway-caliber Pasadena Playhouse revival feels as if it could have been written yesterday.

Alfred Molina and John Douglas Thompson star as nationally famed lawyers Henry Drummond and Matthew Harrison Brady, fictionalized versions of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryant, opposing counsels in the headline-making 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial of Bible Belt public high school teacher John Thomas Scopes (renamed Bertram Cates here), charged with violating a state law forbidding the teaching of evolution in a state-funded school.

No matter that Matthew (Abubakr Ali) was assigned the task of teaching science and not religion, as far as local minister Jeremiah Brown (David Aaron Baker), his congregation, and pretty much the entire town of Hillsboro is concerned, this is nothing less than blasphemy, and the teacher on trial should not only suffer the fires of hell, he should spend time in jail on his way to eternal damnation.

It’s a case that under ordinary circumstances might attract nothing more than local attention were it not for the arrival of Baltimore Herald reporter E.K. Hornbeck (Chris Perfetti), sent down south to cover the trial and report on it to the nation at large, a feat made possible by the increasingly ubiquitous presence of radio in the American home.

Let the media circus begin.

Inherit The Wind’s original Broadway production and its two subsequent revivals featured sets and costumes which made it clear from the get-go that the tale being told was one of another time, another place.

Michetti’s Inherit The Wind, in contrast, takes place on a mostly bare stage save for the sort of furniture pieces you might expect to find in a rehearsal room, and the cast sports everyday wear as if they’ve arrived for an off-book run-through of the play.

In other words, were it not for a mention of President Woodrow Wilson here or an allusion to Brady’s 1908 Presidential campaign there, Michetti’s Inherit The Wind might just as well be taking place in Red State America circa 2023.

Because of this, racially diverse casting that might in a more traditionally staged and costumed production prompt some audience members to complain of historical inaccuracy not only makes absolute sense here, it more precisely represents Pasadena Playhouse audiences and today’s America as a whole.

Of course, none of this would matter if Lawrence and Lee hadn’t written a play that grabs an audience’s attention from lights up and never lets go, particularly with a cast as stellar as the one assembled on the Pasadena Playhouse stage.

Molina and Thompson are nothing short of sensational as former friends turned diehard adversaries, and their Act Two showdown (one that turns Inherit The Wind into a virtual two-hander) is as gripping and devastating as confrontations get.

Perfetti (of TV’s Abbott Elementary) is snarky perfection as thorn-in-their-sides reporter Hornbeck, so much so that I wish we saw even more of him, and the incandescent Rachel Hilson (of Netflix’s Love, Victor) proves herself a gifted stage actress as preacher’s daughter Rachel, whose delicate exterior hides considerable mettle beneath.

Ali makes for a charismatic, compelling Bertram, David Aaron Baker is on fire as town preacher Reverend Brown, and Pam Trotter’s church soloist-ready vocals (accompanied by the entire cast in Sunday choir mode) add gospel underscoring throughout the show.

As for featured ensemble members Jared Bybee, Brian Calì, Marlene Forte, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Thomas Hobson, Michael Kostroff, John W. Lawson, Phillip J. Lewis, Gabriella Pizzigoni, and Rene Rivera, they each and every one of them play multiple roles to razor-sharp, commanding effect.

Stripped down to basics its production design may be, but Pasadena Playhouse’s Inherit The Wind couldn’t have asked for a finer team of local talents—Brad Enlow (scenic design), Sara Ryung Clement (costumes), Omar Madkour (lighting), and Jeff Gardner (sound)—to bring Michetti’s vision to life, and Darryl Archibald’s vocal arrangements and Jeffrey Bernstein’s vocal direction merit their own kudos too.

Casting is by Ryan Bernard Tymensky, CSA, and Rose Bochner, CSA. Miranda Johnson-Haddad is dramaturg. David S. Franklin is stage manager. Enlow is technical director and production supervisor. Jenny Slatter is associate producer. Davidson & Choi Publicity are press representatives.

Pasadena Playhouse’s four-month-long Sondheim Celebration would seem a hard act to follow, but follow it quite stunningly this more-relevant-than-ever Inherit The Wind does. L.A. theater simply doesn’t get any better than this.

Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Ave., Pasadena.
www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org

–Steven Stanley
November 5, 2023
Photos: Jeff Lorch

Tags: Jerome Lawrence, Los Angeles Theater Review, Pasadena Playhouse, Robert E. Lee