Inherit the Wind
Inherit the Wind is a classic American play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee in 1955, based on the 1925 Scopes Trial. The story revolves around two lawyers, Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow) and Matthew Harrison Brady (based on William Jennings Bryan), who are pitted against each other in court over a case involving John T. Scopes, a science teacher who teaches evolution to his students. This trial served as an allegory for society's struggles between religious fundamentalism and modern scientific thought during this period of history.
The play has been adapted into several films since its original stage production in 1955, most notably Stanley Kramer's 1960 version starring Spencer Tracy and Fredric March, which was nominated for four Academy Awards that year, including Best Picture. In 1999, it also inspired an Emmy-nominated television movie directed by Daniel Petrie, with Jack Lemmon playing Henry Drummond and George C. Scott portraying Matthew Harrison Brady. Despite being released over sixty years ago, Inherit the Wind continues to be produced both onstage and onscreen due to its timeless themes about freedom of speech, critical thinking, religion-versus-science debates, and civil liberties issues such as censorship and education reform movements. These topics remain relevant today, keeping this work very much alive within literary circles even after all these decades have passed since its debut performance on Broadway back in 1955.