"The Exonerated" at The Culture Project 45 Bleecker Street
Brian Dennehy, Delroy Lindo, Stockard Channing
“The Exonerated” Written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen Directed by Bob Balaban Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
It has been ten years since “The Exonerated” opened in New York at the Culture Project’s 45 Bleecker Street Theatre and brought to the stage the ongoing scrutiny of the American judicial system and its inability to administer justice with exactitude and fairness. Unfortunately, not much has changed since 2002 for those who are innocent and on death row.
Arresting officers (as in the case of Sunny Jacobs), “eyewitnesses,” (as in the case of Delbert Tibbs), prison (as in the case of Kerry Max Cook), and the court system of attorneys and judges (as in all the cases in “The Exonerated”) conspire to construct a monolith that often seems weighted against the defendant in a criminal case. This is particularly odd in a legal system which claims the accused “is innocent until proven guilty.” Clearly the American judicial system is not only flawed, it is as “The Exonerated” proffers, a dangerous terrain for the accused to successfully navigate. Jim Bracchitta and Bruce Kronenberg bring the flaws of the system to frightening reality in their performances as Prosecutors 1 and 2 and April Yvette Thompson’s indifferent and passionless Judge makes one wonder if anyone is minding the judicial store.
When this mine field is complicated further by issues of classism, racism, sexism, and homophobia, it is difficult for the innocent accused to avoid a guilty verdict, or worse, the death penalty. The strength of Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s “The Exonerated” lies in both the stories of death row inmates who have been exonerated and in the remarkably poignant performances of the tenth anniversary production cast.
All of the exculpated featured in “The Exonerated” were wrongly arrested and falsely accused for committing murder. All received the death sentence and spent years in prison on “death row” until they were eventually freed from guilt by further investigation into their case, by the actual perpetrator of the crime coming forward and confessing, or by the presentation of DNA evidence.
Amelia Campbell (as Sandra Cook), Stockard Channing (as Sunny Jacobs), Brian Dennehy (as Gary Gauger), Curtis Mc Clarin (as David Keaton), April Yvette Thompson (as Georgia Hayes), and JD Williams (as Robert Earl Hayes) bring remarkable depth and believability to the stories they recount of those on death row and their spouses. The stories brilliantly counterpoint each other and the haunting energy of the performances creates a fugue that will play in the audience’s collective unconscious for a very long time. One of the most compelling themes in that fugue is that of Gary Gauger (played by Brian Dennehy) who was convicted of murdering his elderly parents after arresting officers forced him to tell them what the murder would have looked like “if” he had committed the crime. Those “what if” scenarios were later presented in court as Gauger’s confession to the brutal murders.
The Exonerated” ultimately puts the American Judicial System on trial, convicts it of malpractice, and delivers a death blow to its selective incompetence. Ironically, this “system” exonerates itself, relieves itself from any obligation (the second definition of ‘exonerate’) to examine its flaws and reform itself. In short, Justice is as Justice does (as opposed to being ‘blind’) and no one should travel its roads without competent legal counsel.
Delroy Lindo gives a compelling performance as Delbert Tibbs who was wrongfully convicted of murder and rape in 1974 and later became a writer and anti-death penalty activist. Mr. Lindo provides the grounding focus for the entire performance as his character consistently and compellingly reminds the audience to do what is dangerous and persistently ask ‘why’ and ‘how?’ Challenging a seriously flawed power structure like the American Justice System is indeed a dangerous thing to do but to do anything less would be unconscionable. Had someone not raised those questions for the exonerated, they would still be in prison or have been executed.
THE EXONERATED
Presented by the Culture Project (Allan Buchman, Founder & Artistic Director) in special association with The Innocence Project for a limited seven-week engagement through Sunday, November 4, 2012 at Culture Project (45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street). Scenic Concept and Lighting Design by Tom Ontiveros. Costume Design by Mimi O’Donnell. Original Music and Sound Design by David Robbins.
Directed by Bob Balaban, the core non-rotating company of six will include Jim Bracchitta as Prosecutor 2. Amelia Campbell as Sandra Cook, Bruce Kronenberg as Prosecutor 1, Curtis McClarin as David Keaton, April Yvette Thompson as Georgia Hayes, and JD Williams as Robert Earl Hayes. They will be joined by rotating cast members Stockard Channing, Brian Dennehy, Steve Earle, John Forté, K’naan, Delroy Lindo, Lyle Lovett, Chris Sarandon and Brooke Shields. Exoneree Sunny Jacobs, whose story is shared within the play, joins the cast for one-week, September 25 – 30.
“The Exonerated” will play the following performance schedule: Tuesday – Thursday at 8:00 p.m., Friday at 7:00 p.m., Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. Please note: there is no performance on Thursday, September 20. Weekly Post Performance Talkbacks are scheduled on Tuesday evenings hosted by Ron Tabak and Thursday evenings hosted by The Innocence Project.
Tickets are priced at $75 (Premium at $99), Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. at $37.50 (Premium at $50) with student tickets at $30 and available online at cultureproject.org or via phone by calling OvationTix at (866) 811-4111. $5 of every full price ticket ($75 & $99 level) will go to a fund for the exonerees. For additional information, please send inquires to info@cultureproject.org, or call (212) 925-1806.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, September 20, 2012
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