Next Act Theatre Gives Life to 'The Exonerated'

Current GOP presidential front-runner Rick Perry has presided over more executions than any governor in U.S. history. Out of the 230-plus people executed under Perry's watch, there is a chance that some of them may have been innocent. Several years ago, anti-death-penalty activists and first-time playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen wrote a play based on interviews with more than 40 exonerated death row inmates.

The Exonerated tells the story of six people who were almost killed for crimes they did not commit. It's not easy to depict the full power of this type of show, but there's no better Milwaukee theater company to tackle that kind of challenge than Next Act Theatre. Edward Morgan directs a 10-member cast featuring some of the best in Milwaukee. James Pickering, Bo Johnson, Jonathan Wainwright, Lisa Golda, Tami Workentin and more play 37 roles—the wrongfully accused and those involved in their lives.

Next Act's new space has the right studio environment to render these stories with the kind of individual intimacy that makes a show like this as powerful as it should be—and needs to be, in a country where people still get put to death by the government.

Next Act Theatre's production of The Exonerated runs Oct. 6-30 at the company's new space, 255 S. Water St. For ticket reservations, call 414-278-0765.

Theater Happenings

• This week the Alchemist Theatre debuts its highly ambitious Faust: An Evening at the Mephisto Theatre. The show features a complex plot that plays out on multiple stages throughout the building. The audience is free to move between stages over the course of the play. To reserve tickets to this show, which runs Sept. 29-Oct. 29, visit www.alchemisttheatre.com.

• Next week the Boulevard Theatre stages the local premiere of Michael Golamco's Cowboy Vs. Samurai. This comedy of romance and cultural identity among Asian Americans runs Oct. 5-Nov. 6. Call 414-744-5757 for ticket reservations.