The Exonerated: 10th anniversary production

Culture Project, in special association with The Innocence Project are to present a tenth annoversary production of The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen.

The anniversary production will play a limited seven-week engagement at the Bleecker Theater, where it will open on 19 Sep 2012, following previews from 15 Sep, and run through to 4 Nov 2012.

Directed by Bob Balaban, the rotating cast will feature Stockard Channing, Brian Dennehy, John Forté and Brooke Shields. Exoneree Sunny Jacobs, whose story is shared within the play, joins the cast for one-week, from 25 - 30 Sep 2012.

Additional casting will be announced shortly.

2012 marks the 10th anniversary of Culture Project's New York premiere of The Exonerated, a dramatization of the real-life stories of six individuals who were sentenced to death and later freed amidst overwhelming evidence of their innocence. The play is culled from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files and court records of individuals on death row.

Culture Project Founder & Artistic Director Allan Buchman said, "When authors Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen ... first approached me with their idea for The Exonerated I got chills. It occurred to me then that ideas like theirs were the reason to have a theater. There are 2.4 million people in the American prison system -- a population that is all but invisible to the general public. The Exonerated, with its narrative of struggle, courage and hope, sheds crucial light on elements of our criminal justice system that must be changed. I believe that work this compelling can absolutely spur seismic and vital social change."

The Exonerated premiered at Culture Project in October 2002 where it ran for over 600 performances. The New York Times said, "How often do you feel that what you are seeing is a matter of life and death? Here we see six people who served hard, cruel time on death row before evidence proved them innocent. The stage is courtroom and living room; these people are intrusting their lives to us. Their stories intersect, but the differences between them strengthen the awful likeness that justice imposes when it is blind and deaf."

Bios of rotating cast members:

Stockard Channing won a Tony Award for her performance as 'Sheila' in 'Joe Egg.' She has also been nominated for Tony's for her work in 'The House of Blue Leaves,' 'Six Degrees of Separation,' 'Four Baboons Adoring the Sun,' 'The Lion in Winter,' 'Pal Joey' and 'Other Desert Cities.' TV credits include: "The West Wing," "Out of Practice" and "Batman of the Future." Films include: "Six Degrees of Separation," "The Fortune" and "The Baby Dance."

Brian Dennehy won Tony Awards for his portral of 'Willy Loman' in 'Death of a Salesman,' and 'James Tyrone' in 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' His other Broadway credits include 'Translations,' 'Inherit the Wind' and 'Desire Under the Elms.' Film credits include: "Twelfth Night," "First Blood" and "Romeo + Juliet."

Brooke Shields' Broadway credits include 'The Addams Family,' 'Wonderful Town,' 'Cabaret,' 'Chicago' and 'Grease.' Her film credits include "The Midnight Meat," "Endless Love" and "The Blue Lagoon." TV credits: "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," "Lipstick Jungle," "Nip/Tuck," "That '70s Show," "Widows" and "Suddenly Susan."