New York, April 2007 - Day Seven

TODAY: "Inherit The Wind" "Losing Something"

There is a war, an ancient war. It pits reason against faith, tradition against modernity. Its genesis was at dawn of humanity, but it came of age at the battle of Copernicus. But once the defenders of faith were finally forced to let go of their idea of an Earth-centric universe, and face the physical reality of our orbiting a mass of incandescent gas, you'd think people might have become a tad more willing to accept subsequent theories backed by overwhelming physical evidence. Global climate change, for example. Or evolution.

Alas, such is not the case. Which is why, more than 50 years after its first production, "Inherit The Wind," still resonates as fundamentally true. The play, as you likely know, is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" trial in which a Tennessee teacher, John Scopes, was recruited to be a defendant in a case designed to challenge Tennessee's prohibition against teaching anything other than creationism in its public schools.

And though the production is first rate (although I'm a tad disappointed with Santo Loquasto's set -- it's not up to his standards), with bravura performances by both Brian Dennehy and Christopher Plummer, plus a wonderfully acid turn by Tony-winner Denis O'Hare as the reporter covering the trial (more on that in a moment), it ultimately felt too stodgy -- and too innocent -- to make the impact it needs to. For as universally-accepted is the correctness of evolution, teaching creationism as a valid explanation for the origins of the universe was until recently the policy in Kansas and was only rejected in February of THIS year.

My concern is that audiences may look at this production, with its period costumes and non-air-conditioned court rooms and think the battle between science and zealotry was fought and won years ago.

The show opens with a mixed quartet singing "I Shall Not Be Moved," which I think points to the core issue: believers will stick to their positions no matter how compelling the evidence against them. Whether it is the true theocrats in the Islamic world, or the wanna-be theocrats of the religious right, the bumper sticker sums it up: "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." That's a very dangerous position to hold, and while I'm glad "Inherit The Wind" is defending that position, I think we need more (and better) artistic defenders of reason and verifiable truth.

The lead character in "Losing Something" is indeed losing something -- his mind. Or his grasp on reality. One or the other. Doesn't really matter, as the piece is both pretentious and pointless. Though the staging and imagery are fascinating in this performance piece (it utilized a new 3D projection technology), and some interesting philosophical points are raised in the final 20 minutes (of an hour show), it ultimately failed to move me in any fundamental way.

TOMORROW: "Deuce"