Audiences are loving the 2025 production of “Destiny in Dayton,” the dramatization of Dayton,
Tennessee’s, Scopes Trial play now in its 36th season.
“Very good experience; will recommend to others.” “Excellent!” “Wonderful play.” “It was
Great!” “Enjoyed how you engaged the audience’s participation.” These are just some of the
comments left on evaluation forms provided for the Scopes Trial Play & Festivities, which will
wrap up its run on Saturday, July 19.
Rick Dye, president of Rhea Heritage Preservation Foundation which produces the annual event,
said the remaining shows are sold out, “but we have great encouragement to look toward next
year and helping people learn the history behind “the world’s most famous court trial.”
In addition to the play, audiences this year are seeing a renovated courtroom, with freshly painted
walls and shiny restored floors for the centennial celebration of the trial, much as was the case in
- In that year, with prompting from Chattanooga News reporter Nellie Kenyon, the county
spruced up the courtroom ahead of the crowds that watched the proceedings. The Rhea County
Courthouse is a National Historic Landmark.
“It has been exciting for us to see the enthusiasm of the audience and hear their comments as
they leave the program,” Dye said. “We have maintained for years that this is a case that never
really ended, and we see that thought reconfirmed this year. We hope to continue telling this
story, in this dramatic fashion.”
The Scopes Trial Play & Festivities is supported in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission.
Information about the play is available at www.rheaheritage.com.