Plummer and Dennehy to Inherit the Wind on Broadway

By Andrew Gans
05 Oct 2006

Christopher Plummer will star opposite Brian Dennehy in Inherit the Wind
Christopher Plummer will star opposite Brian Dennehy in Inherit the Wind
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Tony Award winners Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy will co-star in a limited engagement of Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's 1955 courtroom drama Inherit the Wind.

Variety reports that Doug Hughes — of Doubt fame — will direct the 12-week run at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre in March 2007. Plummer will play the role of Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow) with Dennehy as Matthew Harrison Brady (based on William Jennings Bryan).

Produced by Boyett Ostar Productions and the Shubert Organization, the play will boast set and costume design by Santo Loquasto.

Inherit The Wind is based on the famous Scopes "Monkey" trial of 1925 where two lawyers battle over the right of a science teacher to educate his students on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Wind originally played on Broadway in 1955 with Paul Muni and the aforementioned Ed Begley originating the lawyer roles to Tony Award-winning effect. The play was adapted for the screen in 1960 with Spencer Tracy, Fredric March and Gene Kelly in the lead roles. The work was last seen on Broadway in 1996 with Charles Durning and George C. Scott heading the cast.

Christopher Plummer was most recently on Broadway in the 2004 revival of King Lear, earning a Tony nomination for his work in the title role of that Shakespeare classic. His other Main Stem credits include J.B., Cyrano, Othello, No Man's Land and Barrymore. Plummer won Tony Awards for his performances in both Cyrano and Barrymore.

Brian Dennehy most recently starred on Broadway in Long Day's Journey Into Night. He won a Tony Award for that role, as well as for his work in Death of a Salesman. He also appeared on Broadway in Translations.