'The Fear of 13' Review: Adrien Brody's Wronged Man on Broadway

The long, arduous path to freedom for a man on death row is dramatized in "The Fear of 13," a modestly affecting but plodding documentary-based play first seen at London's prestigious Donmar Warehouse. Its arrival on Broadway is undoubtedly due to the presence of the two-time Oscar winner Adrien Brody in the central role of Nick Yarris, who was ultimately exonerated and released in 2004 on the basis of DNA evidence. Written by Lindsey Ferrentino (who supplied the book for the musical "The Queen of Versailles") and directed by David Cromer, the play is based on a film by David Sington about the case, although in the movie Nick is the lone figure onscreen, relating his twisted path through life and the justice system. The stage version has been expanded to include multiple characters, notably a young volunteer who becomes deeply involved with Nick and is played by Tessa Thompson, recently seen in the new movie adaptation of Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler." Even with the wider lens, Mr. Brody's performance remains the focus of the play. He's onstage for virtually the entire two-hour, intermission-less running time, often directly addressing the audience as -- with a thick Philadelphia accent and arms slicing the air, rapper style -- Nick relates the series of events that ended in his long incarceration and ultimate redemption. While Mr. Brody has a lithe, lanky and compelling presence, he can bring only limited bursts of animation to a play that never gains much dramatic propulsion, a liability of its oppressive setting and the slow trudge of the narrative. The proverbial wheels of justice grind at an almost unbelievably rusty pace, leaving Nick facing the prospect of imminent death for 22 years. The set, by Arnulfo Maldonado, is a dark, grim, tiered box representing the prison where Nick lands and then languishes after first being apprehended at age 21 for various charges including kidnapping a police officer. In one of the strange-but-true twists, while in jail Nick picks up a newspaper and reads the story of a kidnapping, rape and murder. In a dismally unwise attempt to curry favor and get a lighter sentence, he gives the authorities the name of the perpetrator -- making up the tale. Nick thought he was pinning the crime on a dead man, someone from his past. But he got his first name wrong, and the person he actually accused turned out to have a firm alibi. Naturally suspicious, and not particularly perspicacious, the police put Nick on trial for the crime -- despite an apparent lack of evidence -- and he is convicted and sentenced to death. While he is on death row, Nick meets Jacki Miles (Ms. Thompson), who volunteers to help in his appeals. She not only grows to believe in his innocence but becomes emotionally attached to him -- to the point of moving closer to the prison to facilitate her frequent visits, and eventually marrying Nick, although she at first insists it's for strategic reasons. Mr. Brody's Nick has an ingratiating, cocky but boyish allure that makes Jacki's attraction to him persuasive. Nick has taken up reading to pass the time and they bond over books. Ms. Thompson's Jacki is at first businesslike, but her warmth toward Nick and her dismay at his plight are revealed when she, too, addresses us directly. But Ms. Thompson has little to do other than support Nick's case, relate her evolving emotions to us, and tiptoe toward love -- a not unsentimental development (she fantasizes about them visiting Bed Bath & Beyond together, and getting a dog) that raises an eyebrow even if it is loosely based on the truth. "The Fear of 13" explores the brutality of prison life and the flaws in the judicial system that give little recourse for those mistakenly convicted of capital crimes. It takes years of legal maneuvering by Jacki and Nick's government-appointed appellate lawyer, the initially antagonistic but eventually sympathetic Beau Mullin (Victor Cruz), before DNA samples from the crime scene are tested -- inconclusively, because the genetic material has degraded. But in a twist that "Law & Order" producer Dick Wolf might question, a new piece of potential DNA evidence is discovered and, almost with a comic shrug (the play occasionally has jarring infusions of humor: a John Wayne Gacy joke?), a judge orders more testing. For anyone who follows the news, watches true-crime TV or listens to similar podcasts (does that leave anyone out?), the story of a man being freed after years on death row will not be revelatory. The 2000 play "The Exonerated," which included first-person accounts of a half-dozen men and women with histories similar to Nick's, dramatized the same themes, ran for more than 600 performances off-Broadway and was made into a film. And while Mr. Brody's lively retailing of the youthful mistakes that led to Nick's dire situation -- he became addicted to meth as a teenager and his parents kicked him out -- elicits sympathy, the late-arriving depiction of a traumatic incident that took place when Nick was just 9 years old feels dramatically manipulative. If this event was such a destructive experience, why save it for the end except to provide a theatrical flourish -- and a rather too pat explanation for his troubled life? The Fear of 13 James Earl Jones Theatre, 138 W. 48th St., New York, 212-239-6200, closes July 12