Broadway Reviews Theatre Review by Howard Miller - April 15, 2026 The Fear of 13 by Lindsey Ferrentino. Based on the documentary film directed by David Sington Directed by David Cromer. Scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado. Costume design by Sarah Laux. Lighting design by Heather Gilbert. Sound design by Lee Kinney . Hair, wig, and makeup design by Rob Pickens and Katie Gell. Music supervisor and arranger Bryan Carter. Voice, text, and dialect coach Gigi Buffington. Fight and intimacy direction by UnkleDave's Fight-House. Associate director Neal Gupta. Story consultant Nick Yarris. Vocal coach Kate Wilson.
Depending on your familiarity with the Innocence Project or the play The Exonerated, or even if you've spent time watching episodes of "Law & Order," you already know the overall shape of The Fear of 13. And you also likely understand that a mix of overworked court-appointed defense attorneys, less-than-ideal detective work, and misplaced or lost evidence are problematic within the overall criminal justice system. It seems that Yarris was one of the unlucky ones for whom all of these pitfalls converged, resulting in his conviction for what was a most heinous crime, that of kidnapping, rape, and first-degree murder. (In case you are wondering, the actual perpetrator has never been caught.) The Fear of 13, whose title derives from one of the vocabulary words Yarris taught himself while in lock-up (the word "triskaidekaphobia," which literally means fear of the number 13), was written by Lindsey Ferrentino, for whom this is her second Broadway show this season. The other was the book for The Queen of Versailles. In both instances, the central figure was a dramatized version of a living person who was on-hand during the creative process, serving in a consulting capacity. That's well and good for an "as told to" autobiography, but the problem with The Fear of 13 lies in a script that feels like we are being presented with a piece of a rather more complicated puzzle. It is, of course, bolstered by the facts of the protagonist's situation, but it does seem as though we are missing a lot of the story that is being glossed over or intentionally left out.
We are not privy to the unfiltered truth, so it is the "drama" part we should consider. As one character states, "This ain't 'Shawshank Redemption.'" And it truly "ain't." Unlike that movie, in which prison life was richly portrayed, here we get only snippets of interactions among the prisoners (mostly genial) and the guards (mostly stereotypically cruel). The cast members, many of whom play multiple roles requiring multiple changes of clothes (costumes by Sarah Laux) are altogether excellent, even entertainingly proffering up some a cappella singing. The thrust of the plot revolves around a series of interactions between Yarris and a sympathetic woman named Jacki (Tessa Thompson). She is a volunteer with an organization opposed to the death penalty, there to interview some of the inmates. Over the course of many weekly visits, she and Yarris bond and fall in love. Eventually, they even marry while Yarris is still on death row, working with his attorneys to uncover some overlooked DNA evidence that could exonerate him. Jacki becomes Yarris' lifeline for a very long time, until, needing to get on with her own life, she leaves him behind. Most of the audience will either come in understanding how it all pans out, or will be able to figure it out quickly enough. That leaves the performances and the directing to hold our attention. The good news here is that the two leads, both of them making their Broadway debuts, have an appealing stage presence. Adrien Brody, who is back as Yarris after an earlier run in London that garnered him an Olivier nomination, pretty much disappears into the role. His portrayal exudes both charm and fragility, a man caught up in a situation that only Kafka would fully appreciate. It is, however, somewhat difficult to fully trust the picture that is being presented, especially as Tessa Thompson's Jacki comes off as open-hearted, lonely, and vulnerable. Is he being manipulative? Is she being lured into an emotional trap? We are obviously meant to sympathize with the horrific miscarriage of justice (and we do), but we've seen enough stories like this that end badly for all concerned. So even if Yarris is being genuinely earnest, it is perhaps we who are being manipulated into joining the anti-death penalty cause. The extent you get caught up in The Fear of 13 rests largely on how much you get caught up in Adrien Brody's compelling performance. That may be enough, but I would argue that this dramatic retelling would be better served if it were to provide more of the complexity of the case, or even some well-structured fictionalized embellishment. As it stands, it does seem like one of those made-for-TV movies aimed at appealing to the heart after having sanded away the rough edges.
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