The Exonerated (play)
| The Exonerated | |
|---|---|
| Written by |
Jessica Blank Erik Jensen |
| Date premiered | October 10, 2002 |
| Place premiered | 45 Bleecker Theater |
| Genre | Drama |
The Exonerated is a 2002 play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen that debuted Off-Broadway on October 10, 2002 at 45 Bleecker Theater and ran for over 600 productions. It won numerous awards including the Lucille Lortel Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play. It was adapted into a 2005 film by the same name.
The work combines first-person narrative with legal records to tell the stories of six wrongfully convicted inmates: Delbert Tibbs, Kerry Max Cook, Gary Gauger, David Keaton, Robert Earl Hayes and Sunny Jacobs, and their paths to freedom. The production is performed as an anthology by 10 actors seated behind music stands. Their accounts of the freed convicts emphasize their lives after being sentenced to death, including much of the legal proceedings that gained their exoneration.
The original cast was as follows:
During the summer of 2000, Jensen and Blank traveled to interview 40 former death row inmates who had been freed by the state after having served as much as 22 years in prison. After previews beginning on October 1, the play debuted Off-Broadway on October 10, 2002 at 45 Bleecker Theater, directed by Bob Balaban. The original run lasted from October 10, 2002 to March 7, 2004.
A revival of the play ran from September 19, 2012 to December 2, 2012 at the same theater, with a rotating cast that included Brian Dennehy, , Delroy Lindo, Brooke Shields, and Lyle Lovett. The play was later performed for a 16-week run at the Riverside Studios theater in London, where it was supported by death penalty opponent Amnesty International.
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