Leslie Nielsen opens Oct. 7 in a Toronto revival of the one-man drama, Clarence Darrow, about the American defense attorney in the famous 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial". Nielsen, the Canadian actor who had phenomenal success in his Naked Gun film series, is a classically trained stage actor, and he is a Darrowphile, one who has studied and fallen under the spell of the late great Chicago trial lawyer, who was always winning international headlines as "attorney for the damned" in some of the most famous and notorious criminal trials of the century. The rights to Clarence Darrow by David Rintels, based on Irving Stone's book Clarence Darrow for the Defense, now belong to Nielsen, who will mark his Toronto stage debut with this play.

Nielson lived in Toronto and studied under Lorne Green. The production originated at the Imperial Theatre in St. John New Brunswick, and opens Oct. 7 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, presented by David and Ed Mirvish.
The Royal Alexandra Theatre is at 260 King Street West, Toronto. BO # 416 872-1212.

-- By Ray Ellicock
Theatre News Canada