Plummer, Dennehy Set for Broadway Revival of Inherit the Wind in March 2007

Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy will star in a Broadway revival of Inherit the Wind, set for March 2007 at the Lyceum Theatre. The production, directed by Doug Hughes Doubt, will play a 12-week limited engagement. An exact opening date and other casting has not been announced.

Inherit the Wind, written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, dramatizes the 1925 Scopes "monkey trial" in which a Tennessee science teacher, John Scopes, was tried and convicted for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution, violating a Tennessee law that forbade teaching any theory that conflicted with the Biblical conception of Divine Creation. Plummer will portray lawyer Henry Drummond, based on attorney Clarence Darrow, and Dennehy will play Matthew Harrison Brady, based on his opponent at trial, William Jennings Bryan.

Plummer's extensive New York theatrical credits include King Lear, Barrymore Best Actor Tony Award, No Man's Land, Macbeth, Othello, The Good Doctor, Cyrano, the Musical Best Actor Tony Award, The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Arturo Ui and J.B. A veteran of more than 100 feature films, he most recently appeared onscreen in Syriana, The Lake House, Inside Man, National Treasure, The Insider and A Beautiful Mind.

Dennehy won Best Actor Tony Awards for Long Day's Journey Into Night and Death of a Salesman. He also starred on Broadway in Translations. At Chicago's Goodman Theatre, he has starred in The Iceman Cometh, A Touch of the Poet and Galileo. His feature films include The Belly of an Architect, Romeo + Juliet, Tommy Boy, Presumed Innocent, Best Seller, Legal Eagles, F/X and Silverado.

The original Broadway production opened in 1955 with Paul Muni as Drummond and Ed Begley as Brady. Both won Tony Awards for their performances. A 1960 big-screen film featured Spencer Tracy as Drummond and Frederic March as Brady. Charles Durning and George C. Scott played Drummond and Brady in a 1996 Broadway mounting that was nominated for a Best Revival Tony Award. Three television adaptations have also been filmed.

Inherit the Wind will be produced on Broadway by Boyett Ostar Productions and the Shubert Organization, with Jon Avnet/Ralph Guild, Roy Furman, Lawrence Horowitz, and Bill Rollnick. Tony Award-winning designer Santo Loquasto will design the sets and costumes for the production.