It can be difficult to know how to rate a work like this; similar to the vagina monologues in style, with the dialogue taken from interviews done with exonerated former death row inmates. It's difficult to see this as theatrical, though the authors did leave some room for directors to add in a few little touches, but mostly it's just people talking about things that happened in the past...in short, it breaks all the rules of theatre. That isn't always a bad thing, of course, but you have to be careful when you are writing about a timely topic not to let the message overwhelm the audience. A play with a plot would probably be a lot more effective treatment of the topic in terms of getting people to notice. It has a rather sterile, antiseptic feel to it because you don't see anything that occurred, it is just people sitting and telling the story. Decent material for a book of essays, but questionable handling for a play. ( )

You kind of have to see this live in order to get the full impact of it, with the on-stage setting exactly as the writers instructed it to be. If it's done that way, then you will get it. ( )

It's hard to sum up this play, but I'm going to try since it's not a read I've seen listed here as of yet. It's a simple play that attempts to document the true stories of men and women who were falsely accused and convicted of crimes that set them on death row until they were eventually, years later, exonerated and released. I strongly suggest taking the time to read the intro. even if you wouldn't normally, as the authors give you an idea of all the men and women they spoke too, their interviews and hours of research, and how meticulously truthful this full work is.

Charles Isherwood wrote the following in Variety: "An artful and moving evening of documentary theater...The play is on the one hand a devastating memorial to injustice, but it also pays handsome tribute to the resilience of human hearts and minds." I can't say much more than that. This is a one-sitting read that I'm thankful to have read--its' moments of humor and moments of hate (yet, never coming from the exonerated themselves) make you remember for yourself what is important, and why we survive through the worst we face. You find yourself slipping through a few pages easily, and then you realize that someone said these words, that this happened, and you stop. It is an emotional read, worth taking the time for. I also want to add that in a strange way I'm glad to have read this rather than seen it, as I think it sank in more strongly with the pictures I created for myself. Having said that, and recommended its reading, I will also say that I'll hope at some point in the future to see it performed. As a work of documentation and emotion, this work is powerful and worth looking into. I wish in a way it had been longer, but it is perfect for what it is. ( )

I read this play because it was required reading for incoming freshmen at my son’s college. It’s the true story of six exonerated Death Row inmates. The stories are compelling, but even more so when actually performed: I also watched the 90-minute Court TV production on DVD. ( )