A century later, new play brings to life the jury that helped end D.C. Stephenson’s power in Indiana
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One hundred years ago, Noblesville was at the center of a trial that helped bring down the Ku Klux Klan’s political grip on Indiana. Noblesville Creates will revisit that pivotal moment with Persistent Destroyer: In the Room Where It Happened, an original one-act play written by local playwright Ian Hauer and produced by Noblesville Creates.
The play will stage at 7 p.m. Nov. 14, 15, and 16, and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 16 with a talkback at the Historic Courthouse, 33 N. 9th St., Noblesville. Please enter using the doors on the west side of the building.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here.
The powerful new production takes place inside the Courthouse in the same room where the real-life trial of D.C. Stephenson occurred 100 years ago.
Through the lens of the 12 jurors who served on the case, the play invites audiences to step into a moment that changed Indiana’s history. The 1925 trial and conviction of Stephenson, then a prominent Ku Klux Klan leader, marked the beginning of the organization’s collapse in Indiana and across the nation.
“This play allows us to reflect on a defining moment in our city’s past in a deeply human way,” Noblesville Creates Executive Director Aili McGill said. “By producing it in the very room where it happened, exactly one year from the date Stephenson was sentenced, we’re creating a space for reflection, retrospection, and meaningful conversation about how art helps us process history.”
As part of the centennial observance, Noblesville Creates is offering guided tours of the historic Hamilton County Jail where Stephenson was held. A community conversation will accompany the events, creating opportunities for education and reflection on this shared piece of Indiana’s history.