Inherit the Wind

ALEX DE BARD

Understudy Rachel

Alex De Bard (Understudy Rachel) DC Credits include: A Wrinkle in Time at Arena Stage; Hair, Private Jones, Passing Strange, Into the Woods, Rent, Gun & Powder at Signature Theatre; Tick, Tick… BOOM! (Helen Hayes Nominated- Outstanding Supporting Performer) at Monumental Theatre Company; Hello Dolly, Frozen, Kinky Boots, A.D. 16 at Olney Theatre Center; Little Women, First Date at NextStop Theatre Company; Amazing Grace at The Museum of the Bible; The Velveteen Rabbit, Elephant & Piggie, Fancy Nancy, Blueberries for Sal at Adventure Theatre. REGIONAL: I And You at McCarter Theatre; Private Jones at Goodspeed Musicals. EDUCATION: CUA, BM. UPCOMING: I And You at Olney Theatre Center. IG: @alexdebardmusic / @alex_debard

JORDAN FRIEND

Ensemble

Jordan Friend (Ensemble) is a New York-based actor, singer-songwriter, and playwright. Arena Stage debut! DC area: A Hanukkah Carol (Round House Theatre, world premiere), A Delicate Ship (4615 Theatre), Disgraced (NextStop Theatre). Regional: Rock of Ages (Sharon Playhouse, Connecticut Critics Circle Award), The Winter’s Tale and Sense & Sensibility (American Shakespeare Center), Mystic Pizza (La Mirada/West Coast Tour), Company (The Spot). Jordan is currently developing Again & Again & Again, an original solo rock musical about OCD (first conceived and performed during lockdown as a virtual tour). His music can be streamed on all major platforms; his debut EP, The Spinning Season, releases this spring. Cabaret/Performance Fellowship, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. BFA, Ithaca College.  Instagram: @jordanwfriend. www.yourfriendjordan.com. To Mom, Dad, Yale, Peggy, and Gabrielle, with love.

BILLY EUGENE JONES

Drummond

Billy Eugene Jones (Drummond) previously appeared in the Arena Stage’s production of Stick Fly. Broadway credits: Our Town, Purlie Victorious (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), Fat Ham, A Soldier’s Play, The Book of Mormon, A Raisin in the Sun, The Trip to Bountiful, The Big Knife, The Mountaintop, Passing Strange, Radio Golf and Gem of the Ocean. Off-Broadway credits include Fat Ham (Public Theater/[Obie Award]), On Sugarland (NYTW/ [Obie Award, Audelco Award for best actor, Drama Desk Nomination for best actor]), Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (Manhattan Theater Club), Much Ado About Nothing (NYSF), Pitbulls (Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre), The Jammer (Atlantic Theatre Company), In the Footprint (The Civilians), Waiting for Godot and Three Sisters (Classical Theatre of Harlem). Billy is a graduate of Yale School of Drama.

ALYSSA KEEGAN

E.K. Hornbeck

Alyssa Keegan (E.K. Hornbeck) Actor, mental health coach, dancer and visual artist. Creator/owner of Empowered Performer Project; Somatic Education for Performing artists. Their theatre credits include Twelfth Night and Richard III at Folger Theater, Scenarios and Contractions at Studio Theater; Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress), How I Learned to Drive, and Becky Shaw at Round House Theater; Gloria, Botticelli in the Fire, and Shipwreck at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Vanity Fair at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Digging Up Dessa at The Kennedy Center; and working with the Labor Heritage Foundation in honor of laborers during the pandemic. TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, New Amsterdam (NBC), and Bull (CBS). They are the voice of Reagan Somerset in K.F Breene’s bestselling book series Demon Days, Vampire Nights.

REBECCA MADEIRA

Rachel

Rebecca Madeira (Rachel) is so happy to return to Arena Stage! She was last seen at Arena in the world premiere of A Wrinkle in Time (Ensemble/Mrs. Which u/s). Other credits include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Philia u/s) and Sweeney Todd (Swing) at Signature Theatre; Anything Goes (Hope) at Milton Theatre; Seussical (Gertrude) at Light Opera of New Jersey; and Amadeus (Constanze) at the Algonquin Arts Theatre.  She holds a BA in Music from Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts, and she was a finalist in the 2025 Lotte Lenya Competition. Love and thanks to her family!

ALINA COLLINS MALDONADO

Understudy Ensemble

Alina Collins Maldonado (Understudy Ensemble) as an actor has most recently appeared in Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet at the Folger Theatre. She was a Helen Hayes nominee for lead actor in the Spanish world premiere of Native Gardens at Gala Hispanic Theater. Alina has also appeared in productions at The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Ford’s Theater, The Kennedy Center, 1st Stage, Theater Alliance, and Imagination Stage. www.alinacollinsmaldonado.com. @alina_cm_

DAKIN MATTHEWS

Brady

Dakin Matthews (Brady) Arena Stage: Debut. Broadway: Camelot, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Iceman Cometh, Waitress the Musical, The Audience, Rocky, The Best Man, A Man for All Seasons, Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Off-Broadway: Henry IV (TFANA), Freedomland (Playwrights Horizons), Hostage, School for Scandal, Women Beware Women (Acting Company). Regional Theatre: 250 productions.  Film and Television: 30 films (including True Grit, Bridge of Spies, Lincoln, and Zero Charisma), 300 TV appearances (including “Gilmore Girls,” “King of Queens,” “The Gilded Age,” and “Etoile”).  Dakin is founding member of the Antaeus Company,  Acting Company, and Sam Mendes’ Bridge Project, an award-winning playwright, dramaturge, and translator of Spanish Golden Age plays, a Shakespeare scholar and teacher of Shakespeare Masterclasses around the world, and an Emeritus Professor of English (CSUEB).

ETHAN MILLER

Understudy Cates, Understudy Ensemble

Ethan Miller (Understudy Cates, Understudy Ensemble) is thrilled to be returning for his second show at Arena Stage! Previously Ethan played Joshua in The Watch On The Rhine. Other DC credits include, Prayer for the French Republic (Theater J), The Waverly Gallery (1st Stage), The Chosen (1st Stage), The Last Match (1st Stage), Dory Fantasmagory (Imagination Stage). New York credits include, This Much I Know (59E59th). Other regional credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Theater at Monmouth), Paint Your Wagon (The Jacksonhole Playhouse). Notable film credits include, Citified (Blue Rocket Productions) and Devils (West Egg Media).

NOAH PLOMGREN

Cates

Noah Plomgren (Cates) is very happy to be making his Arena Stage debut in the company of these brilliant artists and theatremakers. Most recently, Noah appeared Off-Broadway in Anna Christie at St. Ann’s Warehouse, and on Broadway in Dead Outlaw. Other favorite credits include the national tours of Finding Neverland, Hair, and Galileo (Berkeley Rep), Sweat (The Guthrie), Grounded (Metropolitan Opera), Sense & Sensibility (Cape Playhouse), All is Calm (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Cabaret (Ogunquit Playhouse), Noises Off (Pittsburgh Public), and others at Goodspeed, The Rev, Bay Street Theater, City Theater Company, and The Hangar Theater. Television credits include Law & Order: Organized Crime. Education: Carnegie Mellon. Instagram: @plomegranate

NATALYA LYNETTE RATHNAM

Ensemble

Natalya Lynette Rathnam (Ensemble) is thrilled to be back at Arena for this production! (D.C.):  The Age of Innocence, POTUS, Our War (Arena Stage);  A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Everyman Theatre);  Lend Me A Soprano, A Nice Indian Boy (Olney Theatre); A Wind in the Door, Kid Prince and Pablo, The Wings of Ikarus Jackson, Mockingbird (Kennedy Center); Death of a Salesman (Ford’s Theatre); The Last Match, The Phlebotomist (1st Stage);  4,380 Nights (Signature Theatre);  Bars and Measures, Shame 2.0, When January Feels Like Summer (Mosaic Theatre); Trojan Women (Taffety Punk). Helen Hayes Nominee - Outstanding Supporting Actor & Ensemble. Additional Regional: The Ceremony (Chuang Stage, Boston); Dracula: A Feminist Revenge (Actors Theatre of Louisville); The Figs (American Stage Theatre, FL); It’s Christmas, Carol! (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Illyria, Julius Caesar (VA Shakespeare Festival). Insta: @natalyalynetterathnam

TODD SCOFIELD

Ensemble, Understudy Brady

Todd Scofield (Ensemble, Understudy Brady) DC Area: Arena Stage: Holiday, City of Conversation, Sovereignty; Shakespeare Theatre: King Lear, Guys and Dolls, Our Town, Richard III, others; Folger Theatre: Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Caliban in Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, Henry VIII, Merry Wives of Windsor, others; Round House Theatre: Ink, Oslo, The Book of Will, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, others; Signature Theatre: Ragtime;  Kennedy Center: Mister Roberts; also Theater J, Studio, Ford’s, Olney, Adventure Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Everyman Theatre. REGIONAL: Arden Theatre: Freud’s Last Session, PlayMakers, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Charlotte Rep, and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival.  Television: recurring role in The Wire.

TRISTAN TURNER

Howard, Ensemble

Tristan Turner (Understudy Cates, Understudy Ensemble) is thrilled to be making his debut at the Arena Stage with such a prominent piece of American theatre. Past credits include the world premiere of Pru Payne (Arizona Theatre Co.), Twelfth Night (Utah Shakespeare Fest.), and A Raisin in the Sun (South Coast Rep.). Tristan has also made appearances on All-American (The CW), The Residence (Netflix), and starred in an indie film that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2025. He would like to thank God, his family, and his close friends, for continuing to be his North Star. Follow his journey on IG @tristanturn or on TikTok @turnerhudo

HOLLY TWYFORD

Ensemble

Holly Twyford (Ensemble) is thrilled to be back at Arena for her 10th production having previously appeared in The Plough and the Stars, Arcadia, The Miser, An American Daughter and Long Day’s Journey Into Night (nominated for Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Play), among others. Holly has performed in over eighty productions in theaters in and around the Washington area including Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and, most recently, at The Shakespeare Theatre in Guys and Dolls. Holly has received many Helen Hayes Award nominations and has won Outstanding Actress four times. She was honored with Shakespeare Theatre Company’s for her portrayal of Anna in Harold Pinter’s Old Times. Holly is proud to be a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, a member of the Studio Theatre’s Cabinet, and a Ford’s Theatre Associate Artist. She has worked on commercials, voiceovers, educational films, training films, TV, and independent films. Holly is proud to be a resident of Washington, D.C.

JAMES WHALEN

Understudy Drummond, Understudy Ensemble

James Whalen (Understudy Drummond, Understudy Ensemble) ARENA STAGE: The Heiress, The Little Foxes. THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY: Uncle Vanya, King Lear. ROUND HOUSE THEATRE: The Inheritance, Small Mouth Sounds, NSFW. SIGNATURE THEATRE: Daphne’s Dive, Ragtime. WOOLLY MAMMOTH: Shipwreck. EVERYMAN THEATRE: And Then There Were None, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ghosts, Tribes, The Dresser, The Beaux’ Stratagem, Time Stands Still, Betrayal, The Cripple of Inishmaan. REP STAGE: True West, Boeing Boeing. THE OLNEY THEATRE CENTER: Colossal, DA. Theatre J: The Sisters Rosensweig, The Argument, Race. ACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE: Dracula. The Washington National Opera: Porgy and Bess. THE KENNEDY CENTER: Shear Madness. MOSAIC THEATRE COMPANY: Fabulation. TV/FILM: Law and Order: SVU, House of Cards, VEEP, I Love You But I Lied, Money Matters, Mistaken, and A Beautiful Mind.

JEROME LAWRENCE AND ROBERT E. LEE

Playwrights

Jerome Lawrence (1915-2004) and Robert E. Lee (1918-1994), whose collaboration spanned more than fifty years, were among the most prolific teams of playwrights in the history of the American theatre. Since its 1955 Broadway premiere, their Pulitzer-nominated Inherit the Wind has been translated into 34 languages and celebrated for its continuing relevance. Among their other major stage works are The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, the play and the film of First Monday in October, Auntie Mame, and the books for the musicals Mame and Dear World. 

Lawrence and Lee were inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1990 and that same year became members of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre at the KennedyCenter. In addition to receiving recognition for their work in the theatre, they have also been honored for their contributions as writers for radio, television, and film.

In an effort to encourage new work for the stage and to honor the Dallas producer who gave Inherit the Wind its first production, they created the Margo Jones Award in 1961 and co-founded the American Playwrights Theatre a few years later. In 1986, the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute was established at The Ohio State University. The Institute houses an outstanding and growing collection of memorabilia and personal papers of theatre artists from all over the world.

Dedicated teachers of playwriting, Lawrence and Lee hoped to communicate to their students a passionate belief that the theatre must deal with ideas and issues of social significance. “All of our plays,” they wrote, “share the theme of respecting the dignity of the individual, and our perpetual battle against limitation and censorship.”

RYAN GUZZO PURCELL

Director

TANYA ORELLANA

Set Designer

AN-LIN DAUBER

Costume Designer

XAVIER PIERCE

Lighting Designer

PAUL JAMES PRENDERGAST

Sound Designer and Original Music

CHRISTI B. SPANN

Stage Manager

STEFANIA GIRON ZULUAGA

Assistant Stage Manager

THE FEAST

The Feast (formerly The Williams Project) is a ten-year-old artist-driven theatre company that prizes virtuosic artists working in extremes; pays those artists really well; and builds maximalist, collectivist, welcoming events. We do this by producing 2-3 productions per year that pay artists a living wage, while offering pay-what-you-can tickets. Our repertoire features reimaginings of classic works by playwrights such as James Baldwin, Federico García Lorca, Lorraine Hansberry, and Oscar Wilde. We are the best-paying small professional theatre in the United States. In our ten-year history, we’ve paid artists over a million dollars.