Over a century ago, famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow stood in U.S. courtrooms and fought for workers’ rights, the eight-hour workday, academic freedom and opposition to the death penalty — causes that are still widely debated today, including in Iowa.
Next month, Iowans will have the chance to meet Darrow and hear his iconic courtroom speeches. Only this time, it'll be on stage.
From Oct. 5 to 12, the Iowa Labor History Society (ILHS) is working with Minnesota-based actor Patrick Spradlin to bring a free, one-man play about Darrow to five Iowa cities. The production, simply titled Clarence Darrow and written by David Rintels, first appeared on Broadway in 1974. It uses Darrow’s own words, taken from his courtroom speeches and personal writings, to capture the attorney’s fight against injustice.
Spradlin has been performing the role on and off since 2016. He traces his interest in Darrow to Inherit the Wind, a stage and screen depiction of the Scopes Monkey Trial, a legal case in which a high school teacher was accused of violating a law that prohibited teaching evolution in public schools.
“That’s when I fell in love with Clarence Darrow,” Spradlin said on IPR's River to River. “He was a remarkable, remarkable man. Probably the greatest trial attorney of the 20th century.”
For him, the play’s relevance is immediately visible in today's society.
"The Scopes Trial, which had to do with a law that was passed that prohibited teachers from teaching certain subject matter in school — that has to sound familiar," he said. "There are different subject matters now that are being targeted; those laws still are being passed."
He also pointed to Darrow’s labor work. Darrow represented Eugene V. Debs, the leader of the American Railway Union, during the 1894 Pullman Strike, where wage cuts and brutal conditions sparked a nationwide walkout. He defended the United Mine Workers of America in the 1902 Pennsylvania coal strike and secured fairer wages and shorter hours. In 1907, he delivered an eleven-hour closing argument that acquitted radical labor leader Big Bill Haywood of murder charges. Later in life, Darrow became known for opposing the death penalty. He persuaded a judge to spare the lives of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two wealthy Chicago teenagers who pleaded guilty to a notorious 1924 murder.
Onstage, Spradlin said he aims to connect with audiences through Darrow’s voice and by creating a more immersive experience. For Iowa audiences, some members will be invited to sit on stage in a “jury box” during the performance.
John McKerley, president of the Iowa Labor History Society, framed the tour as part of the society’s mission to bring labor history into public conversation.
“It was our vice president, Bill Gerhard ... who was really passionate about this, and who saw the need to bring this kind of programming to Iowa," he said. "He was the first one to recognize that a figure like Darrow ... was a figure whose story allows us to see these various points at which, 100 years ago, many Americans were fighting over many of the same things we're fighting over today."
Founded nearly a decade ago, ILHS preserves and promotes Iowa’s labor history. The theatrical tour comes as history orgs across the state confront their own challenges — funding has been eliminated for National History Day, which ILHS helps sponsor and promote. The State Historical Society of Iowa has also announced plans to close its Iowa City research center next year, where the state’s labor history collections are housed. Budget shortfalls mean only a portion of the archives might move to Des Moines, raising fears about what could be lost.
“The stakes are very high. In that building is our history — the history of every Iowa worker stretching back even before the beginnings of the state,” McKerley said.
He hopes the play will spark discussions about the importance of labor history.
"We really are trying to invite a conversation with audiences, with Iowans, because it's part of the mission of the society — to get people talking, get people in the same room, get them talking about things that concern them," he said.
Spradlin said he wants people who view the play to walk away with "a renewed conviction in themselves ... to stand up against some of the worst attributes of humanity that are being displayed right now in our society."
Free performances of Clarence Darrow will be staged in five cities:
- Oct. 5 — Iowa City, Old Capitol Senate Chambers, 2 p.m.
- Oct. 7 — Waterloo, Music Hill Studios, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 9 — Des Moines, Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 10 — Council Bluffs, Arts Center at Western Iowa Community College, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 12 — Sioux City, Rocklin Conference Center, Western Iowa Tech Community College, 2 p.m.
