The Fear of 13 Review: A Polished but Polite Broadway Production
If the high costs of classic Broadway shows like Death of a Salesman are prohibitive, theatregoers can find a more affordable alternative just a short walk away. The Fear of 13, a play by Lindsey Ferrentino, presents a fact-based story of injustice with earnest accessibility, reminiscent of award-season biopics. However, while sturdy and dependable, this production remains largely unremarkable, failing to fully soar on stage.
Based on a Harrowing True Story
The narrative centres on Nick Yarris, a man who endured a troubled youth marked by drug addiction and car theft before being wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Yarris maintained his innocence throughout 22 years on death row, aided by lawyers and volunteer Jackie Schaffer, whom he married while incarcerated. Ultimately exonerated through DNA evidence, Yarris transformed his ordeal into a memoir and documentary, which serve as the foundation for this play.
Theatrical Ambitions and Limitations
Director David Cromer, known for his acclaimed productions like The Adding Machine and Our Town, employs a midcentury modernist style to elevate the linear, prison-confined story. Characters often address the audience directly under focused lighting, with scenes blocked in presentational tableaux, creating a nearly Brechtian theatricality. Yet, the text itself lacks inventiveness, offering a conventional recounting of Yarris's prison years, primarily through dialogues with Schaffer, referred to as Jacki in the play.
Ferrentino's writing is crisp and propulsive at its best, but attempts at lyricism, such as an over-egged final monologue, fall into vagueness and cliché. The structure feels lopsided, with extensive preamble before Nick and Jacki's relationship begins, only to rush through their connection to maintain an intermissionless 110-minute runtime. This imbalance leaves Jacki underwritten, reducing her to a plot device rather than an equal partner, despite the emotional weight of their bond.
Strong Performances from Brody and Thompson
Tessa Thompson delivers a warm and understated performance as Jacki, showcasing her stage prowess by effortlessly filling the theatre's volume and casting a glow across Arnulfo Maldonado's imposing set. Adrien Brody, reprising his role from a London run, brings a hammier energy, speaking in an unspecific New York-ese accent and exuding one-man-show vigour. The duo complement each other well, with Brody's most affecting moments emerging in intimate scenes with Thompson.
However, as the play concludes with a rain-soaked, hokey staginess, Yarris's specific story broadens into a general meditation on life's beauty, a sentiment more powerfully rendered in works like Our Town. While audiences may feel horror at the injustice and moved by Yarris's journey, these emotions are fleeting. The Fear of 13 ultimately serves as polite theatre that soothes rather than sears, failing to burrow deep enough to leave a lasting impact.
