CLARENCE DARROW
at the Chicago Dramatists Workshop
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Rintels adapted this monologue from the novel Clarence Darrow for the Defense by Irving Stone, who specialized in writing fictionalized biographies of famous people (Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy, Sigmund Freud in The Passions of the Mind). In writing these books, Stone applied his novelist’s imagination to the facts of the famous person’s life, producing narratives that paid more allegiance to drama than to history.
Fiedler emphasizes the country bumpkin in Darrow and downplays his keen intelligence and passion. When Henry Fonda did this play, he wisely added a shot of vinegar to his portrayal, which allowed Darrow’s impatience and indignation to show through more clearly.
And so it goes. Rand is a skillful actor. As Whitewalls, the hotheaded Italian intent on protecting his Cadillac, Rand is all strut and pose. As a little boy who discovers his sister is being sexually abused by their father, Rand gives a poignant performance.
