Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse, 2nd & Van Buren
One performance only. Tickets sold at the door ($10; students and mature children free. No one will be turned away for lack of funds--donations accepted) Sponsored by the Social Action Committee.

Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) was often referred to by the press as the "Attorney for the Damned" and the "Lion of the Courtroom." Among Christian Fundamentalists, however, he was often known as "The Great Infidel."

This is Clarence Darrow at war and as warrior returning to engage our government and justice system in a presentation that trembles with inescapable timeliness. Darrow is the most hated and celebrated attorney in American history. This is a "warts and all" presentation. He fell down hard and often. Yet he rose stronger. He is and remains accessible because he was so very human.

He is considered by many to be the most famous and infamous lawyer in history. He was brilliant; he was a philanderer, a loving grandfather of three and an egotistical grandstander who may have been guilty of jury tampering.

His trials and legal issues were and still are immediate, controversial, and inspiring. Famous for his work in the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, Darrow fought against the death penalty, social injustice, racism, conspiracy laws, and civil liberties violations. Gary L. Anderson is the country's renowned portrayer of Clarence Darrow, with his Darrow performance characterized as in the same league as Holbrook's Mark Twain in newspapers across the country. Anderson has partnered with the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, NAACP, State Bar Associations, colleges and social activists across the country. Not much has changed on our national landscape since Darrow's death in 1938. Creationism versus Darwinism in our schools, celebrity murder trials, sex crimes, child murders, conspiracy laws, civil liberty concerns during times of national fear, racial hate crimes, the death penalty, police misconduct, racial profiling, three "trials of the century"--all these were representative of Darrow's cases between 1894-1925, cases which addressed both scandalous and national issues that captured the media on radio and won front page stories and headlines.

In the performance, Darrow recounts the greatest trials of his career, including the ongoing controversy of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, the Leopold and Loeb plea for mercy, the Los Angeles Times Terrorist and Bombing Trial of the McNamara Brothers and Darrow's own jury-tampering trial, while providing personal insights into his character and philosophies through often humorous and moving anecdotes and trial excerpts.

Darrow was at the epicenter of a remarkable series of courtroom dramas that have had a significant impact on our daily lives. Winning the eight-hour working day, gathering evidence that would lead to the first child labor laws, championing organized labor and fighting for the rights of those who were hated and feared--Darrow focused his life's work on defending those causes and people who would have otherwise have been left to fend for themselves. What's more, Darrow never lost a death penalty case, and his record of saving 102 men from execution is an historical fact. With a current national debate focused on the preservation of civil liberties amid concerns for public safety from terrorism, this powerful and absorbing portrayal of a remarkable American is uniquely appropriate to our current national state of mind. Clarence Darrow made each case important by tying the fate of one lonely persecuted outcast into the entire notion of America and it's humanity and freedom--that we might challenge our fears and actually try to live the dreams of equality by realizing that we are all brothers. Yet many people hated Darrow then, and do now, for the unpopular causes and the underprivileged classes he championed. Life Magazine called Darrow "One of the most influential men of the 20th century." He has become a folk hero, and, along with Atticus Finch from the novel and movie To Kill a Mockingbird, he has been the inspiration of untold numbers of lawyers. His most famous trial, the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, was the inspiration behind the memorable performances in Hollywood's Inherit the Wind, where he was portrayed by film legend Spencer Tracy. Clarence Darrow was driven by two passions: first, to do all he could to make sure that the law protected everyone, no matter how unpopular or unpleasant; and second, to prevent the state from taking the lives of its citizens, even those who had taken the lives of others. Few men in our country's history have done as much to perpetuate in action the concept of life, liberty, and justice for all.

Mr. Anderson is committed to work with groups, churches, law projects and other social activist organizations dedicated to social change and justice that enhance our society and advance the law.

For more information about American Legends Theatre Works, visit http://www.clarencedarrowgaryanderson.com/

Judy LaLonde