[Most
of the following text was culled from my first review of The Exonerated in its initial
presentation ten years ago. Given the nature of the production, which is
essentially a music-stand and high backed-stools reading with nothing much in
the way of staging, and the reviewer’s sensibility then and now, my opinion
hasn’t changed much.]
It
will certainly work for some.
"The
Exonerated",
a documentary play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, whose dialogue is assembled entirely from
transcripts of interviews, police interrogations, courtroom proceedings, is, so
to quote the press release, "about the innocence of people who were
accused of heinous crimes they did not commit and paid a price too horrible to
imagine." The press release goes on to say, "The extraordinary
stories of these former death row inmates illuminate the realities of the way
our justice system works and teach us about our human capacities both for
cruelty and compassion." Which is probably true.
But
how deeply it actually moves you will depend entirely upon your susceptibility
to an agit-prop agenda. For within fifteen minutes the point of the evening is
clear: To say, "Oh, how awful" and make you say, "Oh, how
awful," too. To the point, perhaps, of contributing to whatever funds are
set up to help such victims of the system and sharing with others who might not
be convinced of the need to know of this inequity and see this play.
I
don’t mean to minimize the righteousness of the intention, nor its
legitimacy…nor even to say that a sophisticated and savvy audience member, hip
to the cause, won’t be touched anyway by the simple evocation of human
poignancy. Many are. It is, after all, back where it originated, at the Culture
Project, for a 10th Anniversary Production; there has to be more than just
sentiment behind that.
I
do, however, mean to give the consumer fair warning…if you’re of a disposition
to say, "Okay, I get it," to perceive each separate case history as
but a variation on a theme, to feel that you don’t need to give an entire
evening to a message clear not long after the start…then "The Exonerated"
is probably not one for your must-see list.
That
caution out of the way, the production, directed by the actor Bob Balaban, is rendered about as
effectively as these things can be. Conceived as a minimally staged reading,
the better to accommodate a revolving door of guest stars from the world of
film and teevee, who needn’t have to sweat being off-book, fitting into a large
ensemble–the week I saw the show, Brian Dennehy and Stockard Channing, acquitting themselves
beautifully, were the stars du jour. Pacing, lighting, nuance, attention to
detail, all are delivered with professional assurance, doing the cause proud.
And
now it’s up to you whether or not to partake in the joys of feeling the pain…