The Exonerated

In this searing drama about the death penalty, adapted from a long-running play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, six people—Gary Gauger (Brian Dennehy), David Keaton (Danny Glover), Delbert Tibbs (Delroy Lindo), Kerry Max Cook (Aidan Quinn), Sunny Jacobs (Susan Sarandon), and Robert Earl Hayes (newcomer David Brown Jr.)—sentenced to Death Row for crimes they did not commit, discuss their long tenures in prison and the circumstances behind their eventual exonerations. Reportedly written from interviews with the real-life participants, The Exonerated offers stark testimony to the occasional frailty of our justice system, but having trained, recognizable actors in the six principal roles doesn't necessarily work in the material's favor: they are, after all, interpreting the emotions of others, and it's reasonably safe to assume that the writers have tweaked the testimony to make for punchier drama. Nonetheless, the end result is effective overall, and the staging of director Bob Balaban approximates the spartan presentation of the play, with the actors telling each story simply and directly to the audience without sets, action, or other participants. Recommended. (E. Hulse)