"This is powerful play that should be seen by all".  OPJ

Brian Hennehy as Gary Gauger in "the Exonerated"
photo courtesy of producer

On opening night in the audience there were two individuals featured in the play who
were in fact exonerated, released from ‘death row'.  Brian Dennehy plays the part
of Gary Gauger and Marlo Thomas portrays the role of  Sunny Jacobs, both in the
audience. Brian Dennehy and Marlo Thomas are great in their roles, and so are the
rest of the entire cast.  The settings are minimal, only a few bar stools spread across
the stage and they never distract from the strength of the spoken dialogue.

The writing is powerful, so powerful, and so true.  You will witness the testimony
taken from the lives of innocent people sentenced to death by execution, and
condemned with lies, hate and prejudice.  Having a heart, you will have it torn and
exposed after seeing this performance.  One of the death row inmates comments
on the numbers of people who had been executed since his time on death row;
"When I was in there I saw 141 men go down" .

Brian Dennehy, speaking as Gary Gauger, recounts finding his parents murdered;
"they'd been hidden...their throats had been slashed".  This is an incredibly powerful
play, one that you might expect to see on the stages of either the Goodman,
Steppenwolf, or even the suburban Circle Theatre in Forest Park

I have interviewed many police from many of the surrounding cities and towns.
I have spoken with senior police officers who are known to get a large felony
count on their arrests and how the young rookies will bid to get placed with
them so that they too can get a felony arrest.  I have spoken with prosecutors
who tell me about some of their fellow officials that want good conviction
rates, that deal a felony down to just get a more favored rate of guilt stats.
Prosecutors who turn down felony charges with good facts because they
don't want to do the extra work.   There are also prosecutors who only want
convictions and don't care for a moment about the truth and you will hear and
see the results of that attitude in "the Exonerated".

"This is powerful play that should be seen by all".  OPJ

Marlo Thomas as Sunny Jacob in "the Exonerated"
photo courtesy of producer

Mrs. Gauger and Gary Gauger stand beside Sunny Jacob
(mike in hand) on the Stage of the Shubert Theater after
the Opening Night Performance
Oak Park Journal photo

"Can't just make somebody say something..nobody can" , a quote from the
play coming from a cop who either doesn't have a firm grip on the human
psyche or should spend sometime in being questioned by some tough
interrogators. It may not be a bad idea to have all questions put to an
arrested or detained individual on video tape.

"THE EXONERATED"
AT CHICAGO'S SHUBERT THEATRE
FEBRUARY 4 THROUGH FEBRUARY 16, 2003

CHICAGO (January 14, 2003) - The Culture Project, Dede Harris, Morton
Swinsky, Bob Balaban, Harit Allan Buchman in association with Patrick Blake
and David Elliott, Jane Bergere, Ruth Hendel, Cheryl Wiesenfeld and Clear
Channel Entertainment announce the Chicago engagement of THE
EXONERATED at The Shubert Theatre for 16 performances only, Tuesday,
February 4 through Sunday, February 16, 2003.  This new drama ripped
directly from today's headlines is written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen,
directed by Bob Balaban who returns to re-stage this extraordinary production,
starring stage and film star Brian Dennehy and TV star Marlo Thomas.  Tickets
go on sale Friday, December 20.

During the summer of 2000, married authors Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen
traveled across the United States interviewing 40 (of the then 89) former death
row prisoners.  They went as far south as Texas and Florida, as far north as
Illinois and just about everywhere in between to meet the people whose stories
appear in THE EXONERATED.  The interviewees were from vastly different
ethnic, religious and educational backgrounds.  Their views on the world varied
greatly.  The only thing they had in common was that all 40 had been sentenced
to death, spent anywhere from 2 to 22 years on death row, were subsequently
found innocent and eventually freed by the state.  Their verbatim interviews and
individual court documents form the core of THE EXONERATED.

In his review of the New York production, Ben Brantley of The New York
Times called THE EXONERATED "a deeply affecting play.  Directed with
elegant spareness by Bob Balaban, it is thoroughly involving theater."  Mike
Kuchwara of The Associated Press said "Riveting! Simple, honest storytelling
that demands reflection by the audience."

Brian Dennehy is perhaps best known for his work in such feature films as
"Semi-Tough," "Presumed Innocent," "Rambo: First Blood," "Cocoon," "Gorky
Park" and Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet" among others.  His numerous TV
movies include the Showtime production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a
Salesman" for which he was nominated for an Emmy and won a Golden Globe
(Best Actor in a miniseries or TV movie) as well as the Screen Actors Guild
Award.  Other TV credits include "The Crooked E" for CBS (about the Enron
debacle), An ESPN original movie, "A Season on the Brink" (portraying Bobby
Knight) as well as the mini-series "Burden of Proof," "To Catch a Killer,"
"Murder in the Heartland" and "A Killing in A

Small Town" (Emmy nominations for all four).  He received a 1999 Tony Award
for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's
"Death of a Salesman."  Other stage credits include "Long Days Journey into
Night," "A Touch of the Poet," "The Iceman Cometh," and "Galileo" all for
Robert Falls at the Goodman Theatre.  He also appeared in Peter Brook's
production of "The Cherry Orchard" at BAM.  He will be coming to Broadway
this Spring opposite Vanessa Redgrave, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Robert
Sean Leonard in "Long Day's Journey into Night."

Marlo Thomas is perhaps best known for her starring role in the hit TV series
"That Girl," in which she portrayed Ann Marie and was also a producer and
garnered four Emmy Awards, The Peabody and has been inducted into the
Broadcasting Hall of Fame.  Her Broadway credits include "The Shadow Box,"
"Social Security" and "Thieves."  Off-Broadway she has appeared in "The
Vagina Monologues" and "The Guys," as well as worked at numerous regional
theaters.  She has appeared in over a dozen television movies including
"Nobody's Child" (Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Actress) as well as a
number of films including "Playing Mona Lisa," "The Real Blonde," "Thieves" and
"Jenny."  She created the "Free to Be...You and Me" TV specials, books and
records as well as the current bestseller "The Right Words at the Right Time."

Producer/Director Bob Balaban produced last year's "Gosford Park" (Academy
Award, Golden Globe Award, British Academy Award, NY Critic's Award,
SAG Award).  His other film credits include, as producer, director and writer,
"The Last Good Time" starring Maureen Stapleton (Hamptons International Film
Festival prizes for Best Director and Best Film) and as director of "The Parents"
starring Randy Quaid, Sandy Dennis and Marybeth Hurt.  As an actor, he has
appeared in nearly fifty movies including "Midnight Cowboy," "Catch 22,"
"Close Encounters," "Absence of Malice," "Prince of the City," "Deconstructing
Harry," "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best in Show."  In addition to his directing
THE EXONERATED, Bob is currently producing, directing and co-starring in a
pilot for Fox FX, writing a series of children's books for Scholastic and
publishing his account of the filming of "Close Encounters."

Playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen are a husband and wife playwriting
team who are also producers and performers.  Jessica has appeared in several
independent films and has acted in theaters throughout Minneapolis and New
York.  Her writing has appeared in several magazines and journals and she will
be producing and acting in the soon-to-be-released film "Gimme Noise,"
directed by her husband.  Erik has co-starred in more than a dozen feature films
as well as a number of notable stage appearances and has co-produced,
directed and acted in numerous plays in New York as a founding member of
Liminal Stage and Rogue Rep.  He has appeared in a number of independent
films and co-directed a production of THE EXONERATED with Jessica at The
Actors Gang in L.A.

This new touring production of THE EXONERATED also features a cast of
seven other talented performers.

THE EXONERATED will play at The Shubert Theatre from February 4 through
February 16, 2003.  The performance schedule will be as follows:  Tuesdays at
8 p.m.; Wednesdays at 8 p.m.; Thursdays at 8 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.;
Saturdays at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Tickets to THE EXONERATED, which range in price from $15 to $65 and go
on sale Friday, December 20, will be available at all Broadway In Chicago Box
Offices (22 W. Monroe St., 24 W. Randolph St., and 151 W. Randolph St.),
by calling the Broadway In Chicago Ticketline (312) 902-1400, at all
Ticketmaster ticket centers (including all Carson Pirie Scott stores, Tower
Records, Hot Tix, select Coconuts, Record Town, fye Stores and Camelot
locations) or at ticketmaster.com.  For reservations for groups of 20 or more,
call the Broadway In Chicago Group Sales Ticket Line at (312) 977-1710.

#  #  #
 

CAST

 
(in alphabetical order)
Larry Block..........................Male Ensemble #2
Ed Blunt................................Robert Earl Hayes
Jim Bracchitta........................Male Ensemble #1
ChadL. Coleman.................. David Keaton
Johanna Day .........................Sue Gauger
Brian Dennehy.......................Gary Gauger
Bruce Mac Vittie...................Kerry Max Cook
William Jay Marshall..............Delbert Tibbs
Marlo Thomas.......................Sunny Jacobs
Tracie Thorns...........................Georgia Hayes

A NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHTS

Over the summer of 2000, we traveled across the United States, sat
in people's living rooms, and listened as they told us what it was like
to be innocent and on death row. We went as far north and west as
Chicago, as far south as Texas and Miami, and just about
everywhere in between to meet the people whose stories appear in
this play. They were from vastly different ethnic, religious, and
educational backgrounds. Their views on the world varied great-
ly. The only thing they held in common was that they had each been
sentenced to die, spent  anywhere from two to twenty-two years on
death row, and had subsequently been found innocent and freed by
the state. We interviewed forty people on the phone and twenty in
person.

Six of these interviews form the core of The Exonerated. After three
initial readings at the Culture Project and a performance at the United
Nations, we hit the road again. It was clear to us how The
Exonerated people felt about what had happened to them; what was
still unclear was how it could've happened in the first place. So we
spent countless hours in dusty courthouse record rooms, pawing
through thousands of microfiche files and cardboard boxes full of
affidavits, depositions, police interrogations, and courtroom
testimony. The court employees assumed we were law students - and
we did nothing to discourage that belief. With a few exceptions, each
word spoken in this play comes from the public record - legal
documents, court transcripts, letters - or from an interview with an
exonerated person. The vast majority of the piece is as it was said
two, five, ten, and twenty years ago by the actual participants. At the
time we conducted these interviews, there were 89 people who had
been exonerated from death row. As of this writing there are now
102. We consider every one of their stories to be part of this play.

- Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

A Letter from the fine folks at Northwestern University who have
helped so many innocent people find freedom and showed the rest
of us our inner feelings.

LAWRENCE C. MARSHALL, Legal Director
ROB WARDEN, Executive Director
February 4, 2003

Dear Friends:

Every weekday morning, the Center on Wrongful Convictions
receives about 20 letters from imprisoned men and women saying
they have been convicted of- and in some cases condemned
to die for - crimes they did not commit.

Our experience has shown that many of these claims have merit. In
recent years, in fact, our Center has helped exonerate more than a
score of innocent prisoners who have written to us - including Gary
Gauger, who is portrayed in this evening's performance by Brian
Dennehy.

Cases such as Gary's and the others featured in "The Exonerated"
were instrumental in persuading former Governor George Ryan to
commute all Illinois death sentences last month - a step that, in turn,
has created an unprecedented opportunity to achieve meaningful
reform of the entire American criminal justice system.

The Center is committed to seizing the moment to drive home the
reality that wrongful convictions stem from core flaws in the system
that can be - must be - reformed. Fortunately, a lot can be done to
reduce wrongful convictions and at the same time increase legitimate
ones. In the months ahead, therefore, the Center plans to continue its
leadership role in the drive to improve the system's accuracy -
through legal advocacy, research, and public education.

To succeed, however, we need your help. The Center's existence is
dependent on the generosity of people like you. It is heartbreaking for
us to turn away seemingly meritorious requests from prisoners
because we lack resources. Likewise, it is troubling when financial
restraints force us to decline requests to conduct seminars or training
in other states where law schools have expressed an interest in
establishing programs patterned on ours.

Your generous contribution can make a significant difference.
 

Sincerely,
Rob Warden
Northwestern University School of Law
357 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611-3069
312.503.2391; fax 312.503.8977
www.law.northwestern.edu

Background on Mr. Gary Gauger

Gary Gauger was sentenced to death in 1994 for a horrible crime he
did not commit - the murder of his parents, Morris and Ruth Ganger,
on the family's farm in McHenry County, Illinois.

The conviction rested primarily on testimony by detectives that Gary
had confessed, although he adamantly denied having done so. At
the trial, Gary testified that, during an 18-hour unrecorded
interrogation session, the detectives repeatedly told him that a
mountain of physical evidence implicated him in the crime. Naively
believing them, he speculated that, although he had no reason to kill
his parents and recalled nothing of the crime, he might have
committed it during a blackout. These speculative statements, he
said, were disingenuously construed by police and prosecutors to be
a confession.

The interrogators had not told him the truth, however. There was no
physical evidence implicating him in the crime. Aside from the
purported confession, the only evidence in any way suggesting guilt
was the testimony of a jailhouse informant who claimed Gary had
made incriminating statements while awaiting trial.

Lawrence C. Marshall, legal director of the Center on Wrongful
Convictions, found the outcome of the trial troubling and took on
Gary's appeal. In 1996, Marshall won reversal of the conviction on
the ground that McHenry County authorities had lacked probable
cause to arrest Gary, who was then released.

A year later, a federal grand jury in Milwaukee indicted two members
of a motorcycle gang for various acts of racketeering that included
the murder of the Gaugers. One of the gang members pleaded guilty
and the other was convicted based on tape-recorded conversations
in which they had acknowledged committing the murders. The
convictions of the gang members established conclusively that Gary
had nothing to do with the crime.
 
 
 
 

Marlo Thomas as Sunny Jacob in "the Exonerated"
photo courtesy of producer

Mrs. Gauger and Gary Gauger stand beside Sunny Jacob
(mike in hand) on the Stage of the Shubert Theater after
the Opening Night Performance
Oak Park Journal photo