FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOUNTAIN HILLS COMMUNITY THEATER IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE
THE OPENING OF THE CLASSIC PLAY ‘INHERIT THE WIND’

Fountain Hills Community Theater is proud to announce the opening of Inherit the Wind, the classic play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee.

Inherit the Wind is the classic courtroom drama pitting two great lawyers in the twilight of their careers against each other as the two oratory lions argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching the theory of evolution in 1925 Tennessee.

Inherit the Wind opened on Broadway in January 1955 and was a 1960 Hollywood film based on the play, as well as the basis for three television remakes. It was recently brought back to Broadway in a revival starring Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy. The play's title comes from Proverbs 11:29, which in the King James Bible reads: He that troubleth his own house shall Inherit the Wind.

Inherit the Wind is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, which resulted in John T. Scopes' conviction for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to a high school science class, contrary to a Tennessee state law that prohibited the teaching of anything besides creationism. The fictional characters Matthew Harrison Brady, Henry Drummond, Bertram Cates and E. K. Hornbeck correspond to the historical figures of William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow, John Scopes, and H. L. Mencken, respectively.

Despite numerous similarities between the play and history, the play was not intended as a documentary-drama about the Scopes trial, but instead as a warning against dogmatism and the "evils" of McCarthyism.

While authors Lawrence and Lee go to great lengths to assert that the play is a work of fiction, the historical background of the play though is well supported and much of the dialogue is excerpted directly from the actual court records of The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes.

Charles Darwin's controversial book of revolutionary theories, Origin of the Species, was published in 1859. In 1922, Congressman William Jennings Bryan began speaking out against Darwin's "law of hate" and began his journey to enforce the Biblical "law of love." His campaign spread to Tennessee. In 1925 the Butler Bill was signed by Tennessee governor, Austin Peay which banned the teaching of: "any theory that denies the divine creation of man and teaches instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." In May of 1925, a Tennessee grand jury indicted John Scopes for violating the anti-evolution law. Famed lawyer Clarence Darrow was employed by the ACLU to defend Scopes, thereby setting the stage for one of the most famous courtroom cases in American history as well becoming the basis for what many consider to be one of the greatest American plays of the 20th century. The Butler Bill was overturned by the Tennessee legislature in 1967.

Inherit the Wind is produced by Patricia Tonzi and directed by Ross Collins. The production stars Michael Fleck as Henry Drummond and Garry Myers as Matthew Harrison Brady. The cast includes (in alphabetical order) Ken Bates, Michael Druckman, Mitch Etter, Linda Ferington, Bob Feugate, Bill Graham, Aaron Helton, Haylee Klein, Heather MacNaughtan, Steve Mancarella, Jake McAuliff, Ukiah Odom, Sean Owen, Roger Prenger, Lindsay Schoenrock, Patricia Tonzi, Travis Tonzi, Tom Vinopal, Richard Wells, Barbara Wood and Chip Wood.

Inherit the Wind will play Nov 7 - 23, 2008. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 P.M. and Sunday afternoons at 2:00 P.M. Individual tickets are $25.00 for adults and $20.00 for children 12 and under. Student rush and group discounts are available. All performances are at Fountain Hills Community Theater on its Mainstage at 11445 N. Saguaro Blvd. (the Corner of Saguaro and Rand). Tickets are available through the theater Box Office at (480) 837-9661 x3. Box Office Hours are 10:00 AM-5:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday. Visit our website at www.fhct.org.

For publicity photos, please contact Patty Torrilhon at Fountain Hills Community Theater at (480) 837-9661 ext. 5.

For additional information not contained in this press release, please call Fountain Hills Community Theater Artistic Director, Peter J. Hill at (480) 837-9661 EXT. 7.


Patty Torrilhon
FHCT Publicity