Something interesting is evolving in the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery this weekend.

The Hudson Shakespeare Company (HSC) is performing American classic Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee to open their 22nd season of touring plays.

The play was inspired by the real-life story of John Scopes, a teacher from a small Tennessee town, who was charged for teaching students evolution and not the creation story as told in the Bible. The issue got national attention under the scrutiny of fiery, unsuccessful presidential candidate William Jennings Bryant. Attorney Clarence Darrow, called the “Devil’s Advocate” for his tendency to defend unpopular clients, came to Scopes’s defense.

“While the play is based on real events of almost a century ago, the set up of the play takes on almost timeless, anywhere quality,” said director Jon Ciccarelli. “The centerpiece debate of the play, Creationism versus Evolution, is still with us, but the play is concerned with deeper themes.”

In Inherit the Wind, school teacher Bertram Cates is on trial and is being denounced by town leaders like Rev. Jeremiah Brown and by Matthew Harrison Brady, who was modeled after Bryant. In the play, controversial attorney Henry Drummond steps in to defend Cates.

“Beyond deep hitting questions on personal identity, the play also shows families and friends being divided along these lines,” says Ciccarelli. For example, Brown’s daughter Rachel (Rachel Alt) is in love with Cates, and is torn between her love for the defendant and her love for her father. Similarly, her father is pitted against his love and duty to God and his relationship to his daughter.

Ciccarelli says even more dramatic is the relationship between the men condemning and defending Cates. “Brady (David C. Neal) and Drummond (Tom Cox) are good, long-time friends who now find each other on very opposites sides of the issue. What toll does it take on them, with their history?” he asks. “So while you can enjoy the show for its pro and counter positions on evolution, it’s a much deeper mediation on, What do you hold to be true? and, What price are you willing to pay to hold on to those truths?”

Inherit the Wind will be performed on Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21 at 2 pm, at the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, located at the 435 Newark Ave. Admission is a suggested donation of $10, which will go toward the upkeep of the cemetery. For more information, visit the HSC website.

Photo courtesy of Jon Ciccarelli

via The Jersey City Independent http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2013/04/18/hudson-shakespeare-company-performing-inherit-the-wind-to-benefit-cemetery/

Posted by TIE on 5:13 AM. Filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0