Ed Dixon and Scott Jaeck Will Argue Over Evolution in Cleveland Inherit the Wind

By Kenneth Jones
06 Oct 2009

Veteran actors Ed Dixon and Scott Jaeck are on opposite sides of Cleveland Playhouse's new production of Inherit the Wind, the courtroom drama about the teaching of creationism and evolution in public schools. Performances begin Oct. 23.

The fact-inspired play by Jerome Lawrence & Robert Edwin Lee (based on the people and events of the 1925 "Scopes Monkey Trial") is directed by Play House associate artistic director Seth Gordon.

Opening night is Oct. 28. In The Play House's first revival since staging Inherit the Wind more than 50 years ago, Dixon plays the role of attorney Matthew Harrison Brady (based on William Jennings Bryan) and Jaeck plays attorney Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow). "The two master attorneys square off in the courtroom while the teacher's fate hangs in the balance," according to Play House notes.

Inherit the Wind will play the Drury Theatre at The Cleveland Play House through Nov. 15.

Jaeck's Broadway credits include August: Osage County and The Night of the Iguana. Dixon's extensive Broadway credits include Sunday in the Park with George, The Best Man, The Iceman Cometh, Les Misérables, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Cyrano and The Three Musketeers.

Cleveland area attorneys, including some from production supporters Baker & Hostetler, Benesch Attorneys at Law, Ulmer & Berne LLP, Reminger CO LPA, Thorman & Hardin-Levine and the John P. Murphy Foundation, will serve as onstage juror during each performance.

The cast includes AJ Cedeno, Lauren Cole, Michael Flood, Mark Alan Gordon, Zac Hoogendyk, Lindsay Iuen, Anne McEvoy, Cameron McKendry, Mark Monday, Sarah Nedwek, Tom Picasso, Scott Plate, Dudley Swetland, Rohn Thomas, Tom White, Leigh Williams.

The design team for Inherit the Wind includes Michael Raiford (scenic designer), Charlene Gross (costume design), Trad Burns (lighting designer) and James C. Swonger (sound design).

Tickets are on sale now at The Cleveland Play House box office by calling (216) 795-7000 ext. 4 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

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Founded in 1915, The Cleveland Play House is the first permanently established professional theatre in the United States. More than 12 million people have attended over 1,300 productions at The Play House — including more than 130 American and/or world premieres. Today, under the leadership of artistic director Michael Bloom and managing director Kevin Moore, The Cleveland Play House "is an artist-driven theatre that serves the Greater Cleveland community by holding true to its mission: To produce plays of the highest professional standards that inspire, stimulate, and entertain our diverse audiences, to conduct training and educational programs that enhance the quality of life for those we serve and help to insure the future of theatre."