INHERIT THE WIND to Open at Village Players of Birmingham, 3/14

The Village Players of Birmingham opens the classic, Inherit the Wind, Friday, March 14. The show, a fictionalized version of the famous Scopes Trial, explores the clash between fundamentalists and intellectuals. In 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, schoolteacher John T. Scopes was on trial for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The press dubbed it the Scopes "Monkey Trial." The trial, which drew national attention, pitted prosecutor and former Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan against defense attorney, Clarence Darrow.

Penned over 60 years ago, Inherit the Wind is as relative today as it was when written. It is the poignant story of one man's conviction that touched the citizens of an entire country and continues to resonate through each of us today. According to playwright Jerome Lawrence, the play "is not about science versus religion, it is about the right to think." Ironically, the title of the play comes from Proverbs in the King James Bible: "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart." Some people feel that Lawrence and his co-author Robert E. Lee purposefully chose this biblical quote to highlight the idea that resisting progress and fighting over falsehoods leaves you with nothing.

The show runs through Sunday, March 23. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $17 and are available online at birminghamvillageplayers.com or by calling the VP box office at (248) 644-2075.

The Village Players of Birmingham, a 501(C) (3) nonprofit community theater celebrating its 91st season, presents high quality dramatic and musical productions. All community members are invited to participate on stage, backstage or as an audience member in the theater's main stage, youth theater, and Playwrights at Work productions and programs. The Village Players has been entertaining the community from its current location, 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham, since 1926.