The Exonerated (Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen)

A true-crime play from the Bush Administration that packs a punch but also has humor? The Exonerated hits a lot of useful buzzwords. My copy of the play appears to come from Lafayette, Indiana, which almost certainly means that it belonged to Steven Saltsman, who probably played the character of Kerry (by what’s highlighted in the script.)

As a Producer
This is a powerful piece about six real people who found their death sentences overturned based on new evidence. One of them is a Stage-Manageresque character who shepherds us along as we learn about how they found themselves on the wrong end of the law, how it broke them down, their time in prison, and their eventual return to society.

Perhaps understandably the play focuses more on how they got to jail than what they did once they were in it or much of what happened to them when they got out. The stories are portrayed unflinchingly and each of our six narrators sounds interesting and distinct with moments of earned-humor and crushing sadness and anger.

It’s the opposite of a cozy read, but it serves much the same purpose: spend time with these people and breathe in their stories. It isn’t an activist piece: it’s not trying to inspire you to anger, but it certainly will sit with me for a little while.

This isn’t a play Pronoia would do, however (at least not as we understand it now.) For better or for worse it’s just not funny enough.

As a Designer
My favorite cocktails are invariable three-ingredient ones: there is nothing to high behind and everything has a clear purpose in strengthening the whole of the drink. That’s what I think of any design for The Exonerated: it doesn’t want much, but everything you have and do needs to be carefully calibrated. I see a lot of stark light and simple fades, the costumes should be specific, but uncomplicated.

As a Writer
This isn’t the sort of play that I immediately gravitate to and it’s presentational style means that there is little to take from it. It’s excellently done, but I’m unlikely to pursue documentary theater anytime soon, and even if I wrote something parodying the form (such as Carlos Murillo’s Human Interest Story) I’ve read enough examples in my life that this didn’t introduce anything new.