THE EDGE ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS

INHERIT THE WIND BY JEROME LAWRENCE AND ROBERT E. LEE

In its second show of the 2024 season, The Edge Ensemble Theatre Company will present Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee at The Edge Theater, 310 Marlboro Street, Suite 112, Keene. Performances will be at 7:30 PM on April 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 and at 2 PM on April 21 and 28.

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The Edge chooses to do this play at a time when our country is again at a crossroads, divided by passionate differences of opinion on religion, rights and intellectual freedom. The play is based on the famous “Monkey” trial of 1925, when a high school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee was convicted of teaching the theory of evolution in a science class, contrary to a Tennessee state law. The play premiered in Dallas in 1955 – a year when the country was roiled with McCarthyism and its devastating consequences for people simply exercising their rights of free speech. The play received rave reviews, which led to a Broadway production starring Paul Muni, Ed Begley and Tony Randall in the same year. A film was made in 1960 starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March and Gene Kelly. In an interview in 1996, when the play was being revived on Broadway, Jerome Lawrence stressed that the play is not about science versus religion, but about the right to think.

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A talkback with the audience will be held after the Sunday matinee on April 21 and again on April 26 after the Friday evening performance. Audience members are encouraged to stay and discuss the timely issues raised by this play.

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Kim Dupuis will direct a cast of 23, with Peter Eisenstadter and Damien Licata as the opposing lawyers, supported by Veda Crewe, Robert Wellington, Jim Duffy, Rob Gray, Emmadora Boutcher, Andrew Bosworth, Noah Carmel, Spencer Garretson and Jennifer Garretson, Asah Cramer, John McMahon, Catherine Behrens, Denis Fortier, Tim Haggerty, Tyler Strickland, Meg Kupiec, Cynthia Rodier, Melanie Plenda-Washer, Anastasia McClarnon, Artie Knowles, and Scott Aronowitz.

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Tickets are $18 general admission, $15 for seniors and students. Tickets must be purchased at the door by cash or check. No credit cards at this time. For reservations, call 603-352-5657 or email theedgeensemble@aol.com, or visit The Edge’s website at www.edgeensemble.org.

Poster Design by David Teubner.