DAYTON, Tenn. (news agencies) — A small town in eastern Tennessee courted national publicity and attention a century ago when local leaders planned a test trial over the teaching of evolution in public schools. What they got from the eight-day Scopes trial was more than they bargained for.
The trial of the century — and the first to be broadcast over the radio — inspired articles, books, plays and movies, including the popular “Inherit the Wind.”
It also characterized Dayton as an uneducated town of strident Christian fundamentalists, a narrative locals have spent decades trying to rewrite.
For over 30 years, people in Rhea County have put on a play every July using the trial transcript, aiming to correct the record.
In their own words, the actors and director of “Destiny in Dayton” explain the complexities of the town captured by history.
Dan Buck was a theater professor at a nearby private university when he got an email seeking a director for the play about the Scopes trial. Buck knew about the trial, but didn’t know Dayton had its own play.
“The legacy of little towns telling their own story through theater is rich history, right?” Buck said, noting the tradition was playfully lampooned in the mockumentary, “Waiting for Guffman.”
Locals have put on the play to counter the stereotypes and creative liberties from “Inherit the Wind,” as well as columnist H.L. Mencken’s harsh critique of residents at the time.
“I quickly learned that the people of the town here are not real fond of the play or the movie,” Buck said. “They call it the ‘Scottish play,’ which is a reference to Macbeth, the thing you’re not supposed to say: the cursed play.”
In truth, the story of the trial was more complicated and nuanced than most people think.
John T. Scopes, the local teacher, was a willing participant in testing the anti-evolution law, and prosecutor William Jennings Bryan didn’t die after the trial because he was defeated by defense attorney Clarence Darrow’s arguments.
In directing the play on the trial’s 100th anniversary, Buck says he is working toward the same mission Dayton leaders had a century ago.
“I am building up the buzz about this town, getting people here to get them excited, putting Dayton on the map,” Buck said. “Maybe we are trying to use this story and this trial to get a little attention to this specific place.”
Jacob Smith, 23, didn’t realize his connection to the most famous trial until he started studying history. His great-great-great-grandmother’s brother was Walter White, the county superintendent of schools and one of the key figures who brought the trial to Dayton.
Smith plays Dudley Field Malone, a defense attorney for Scopes who gave speeches as equally impassioned and memorable during the trial as Bryan and Darrow. One of Smith’s favorite lines to deliver is a reference to the so-called battle between the two sides in court.
