INHERIT THE WIND: Rehearsing for Rider Theatre’s production of “Inherit the Wind” are Shelly Walsh in the role of Drummond and Dan Maldonado in the role of Matthew Harrison Brady in Rider University’s upcoming production of the play, that will be presented in the Yvonne Theater on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville. February 22-26. Learn more at www.rider.edu/arts.

Rider Theatre will present the Tony Award-winning play Inherit the Wind in the Yvonne Theater on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville. February 22 — 26. A preview performance will be Wednesday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m., and performances will be Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 2 p.m. The production, directed by Miriam Mills, will be performed by Rider University students.

Written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, the drama focuses on the real life Scopes “monkey” trial from the 1920s, in which a Tennessee high school teacher was charged with teaching evolution in his classroom, violating the then current state law. It made headlines across the country, focusing on the question of evolution versus creationism, and the proper place of science in schools. “Authors Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee — writing at the pinnacle of power of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which led the crusade to blacklist and imprison writers suspected of Communist ties — presented their play as a not-too-subtle metaphor for McCarthyism, red baiting and censorship,” James Castagnera, Rider’s Associate Provost writes in the program notes.

“Inherit the Wind is a fictionalization of the case,” said Miriam Mills, director of Rider’s production. “Some names were changed to protect the guilty. But, it’s a close adaptation. Some of the dialogue in the play was taken right from the trial itself. It is the same story, just with different names and points of view.”

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. They can be purchased at the door, through the box office at (609) 896-7775 or online at www.rider.edu/arts. General admission preview tickets are $9 and are only available at the door. For more information, visit rider.edu/arts. Rider University is located at 2038 Lawrenceville Road in Lawrenceville.

———