In conjunction with L.A. Theatre Works' East Coast tour of The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial, NPR's "Science Friday" will air a segment devoted to "Science on Stage", April 13. "Science Friday" host Ira Flatow will interview Monkey Trial star Ed Asner in Williams, Massachussetts, where the touring production is currently performing, together with playwright Peter Goodchild from his home in the U.K. In Los Angeles, Producing Director Susan Loewenberg will join the conversation.
Peter Goodchild's Monkey Trial is drawn from the transcripts of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes, the still-controversial 1925 court case that put high school science teacher John Thomas Scopes on trial for teaching evolution in Tennessee's public school. The L.A. Theatre Works touring production is performed as a radio play before live audiences, the format used by LATW for its innovative live in-performance recording series at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The original trial was also the first court case to be broadcast on the radio in America.Earlier this month, LATW kicked off a new monthly radio series entitled "Relativity," focusing on science-themed works. On May 5, The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial will be broadcast on public and satellite radio as part of the Relativity series."Science Friday" is carried on NPR stations nationwide, and can be streamed live at www.sciencefriday.com.
