REVIEW: The wrong verdict

Review
There have been 318 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States—18 of which from death row— according to the Innocence Project. In 72% of cases, eyewitness misidentification was a significant factor in the wrongful conviction. These exonerations are not statistically significant in light of our country’s overcrowded prison population, but the human stories behind them are terrifying and tragic for the victims, the wrongfully accused, and the families of everyone involved. And, as inspiration for theater, these stories provide no end of dramatic material. The failures of our justice system not only affect a variety of people with different backgrounds and motivations, but also reflect the malleability of memory and the messed-up racial dynamics in our country. I came to the Freshwater Theatre’s production of The Man in Her Dreams wanting to sink my teeth into some thorny issues around race, gender, memory, and justice. For better or worse, Katherine Glover’s script is more oriented towards plot than philosophy. The play takes us through the evolution of a wrongful conviction case over time: from the initial attack, to the judicial process, to the jail sentence and finally the difficulties faced after release. Each step of the way is full of human drama, portrayed in convincing and often moving ways. But in trying to cover so much ground, Glover fails to mine her material as richly as she could, sidelining what are – in my mind – the most intriguing sociocultural dimensions of our flawed justice system. This new play, which is an expansion of a one-woman show in the 2012 Fringe, tells the story of Megan Shepard, who has been sexually assaulted and left for dead in a public park. Under a great deal of stress at the police station, she identifies a photo of a local resident, Jabari Woods, as her assailant. Jabari and his wife Nikki met in an AA meeting and have faced their share of issues in the past, but they now have a stable life with two children and a Friday night ritual of pizza and Disney. Although the audience itself is not an eyewitness to his alibi, we are never led to question his innocence. This felt like the first missed opportunity to me, both for suspense - did Woods actually do it? - and for reflection on the personal biases that might drive an audience member to assume innocence or guilt. Jabari’s innocence is not the only stone that remains unturned during this production. In sexual assault cases, so much of the case rests upon the shoulders of the survivor that the trial can often be almost as traumatizing as the event itself, particularly given the too-common rhetoric around a woman having “asked for it” or engaging in “risky behavior” (in this case, running in a public park). And since Jabari’s verdict rests on Megan’s credibility as a witness, bringing that kind of language into the play could have added psychological nuance to Megan’s experience. In a monologue, Megan mentions the element of risk for her, but does this kind of victim-blaming language ever undermine her confidence in her own testimony? Does this come back to haunt her when she discovers that she was, in fact, wrong? The racial component of cases like this is also present, but is to some extent subsumed under the issue of class. Jabari comes from an upper-class black family, while Nikki, who is white, comes from a lower-class background. When a detective knocks at their door, Nikki’s anger - and Jabari’s restraint - is at least partially explained away by their upbringing rather than their race. There is a brief nod to why Jabari’s mistrust of the police might be connected to race, as well as an embittered comment or two about how “we all look the same”. When minorities make up 60% of the prison population but 70% of wrongful convictions, the issue of cross-racial misidentification surely deserves more than a passing mention. I was particularly frustrated by these missed opportunities because they seemed to be embedded in the form of the play itself, which relies heavily on personal monologue to reveal the characters’ internal lives. These monologues showcase some powerful acting, particularly by Katie Starks and Rebecca Gebhart, as Megan and Nikki. But is it possible to delve deeply into complex issues without more dialogue? Wrongful imprisonment is a topic begging to be viewed from multiple perspectives that reveal the latent prejudice and power dynamics in our criminal justice system. That sort of clash simply does not exist in monologue form. Despite all the things I wanted to hear more about, there were many things this production did well. As the original basis for the 2012 Fringe show, the character of Megan Shepard was clearly the most fully fleshed-out. Katie Starks’s strong performance conveyed Megan’s wide range of emotions, including a very believable exploration of post-traumatic stress that felt particularly important to see on stage. Rebecca Gebhart also gave an impassioned performance as Nikki Woods, and although Richard “Doc” Woods had comparatively less stage time as Jabari, his stage presence made me want more time with him. As Jabari’s mother Gloria, Julia Hines was a weaker link; her performances felt stiffer than even Gloria’s straight-laced character justified. In plays that deal with social issues like this, I always spend the entire second half worried about whether the ending will be overly optimistic. Without any spoilers, I will say that although the ending is a bit abrupt, it hits a realistically ambiguous note that will satisfy cynics like me. The Man in Her Dreams is successful as a piece of educational or activist theater in the tradition of plays like The Exonerated (2002), which have consciousness-raising as their primary goal. It is a well-paced story whose talented actors hit the right emotional notes, and its message about the need for more advocacy around wrongful imprisonment is clear and convincing. To be satisfying as a piece of theater - with no qualifiers attached - I wanted more explorations of character that were not specifically tied to advancing the plot. How do the Woods’ children change over Jabari’s years in jail? What does Nikki talk about with her friends? Did it take a while for Megan’s girlfriend to figure out how to cope with Megan’s PTSD? Wrongful imprisonment is a big story that touches a number of people over long spans of time. Glover has chosen to tell as much of the story as she can in a limited amount of time. But the issues she touches on are so layered and complex that the play begs for a new revision with more depth and less breadth. I wanted to sink my teeth in, and I didn’t get the juicy bite that I expected.
Headshot of Sophie Kerman
Sophie Kerman

Sophie Kerman is a high school French teacher in St. Paul with graduate work in theater and performance studies. She managed and wrote for Aisle Say Twin Cities from 2011-2014, when she started writing for MinnesotaPlaylist. She also plays chamber music with the Esperanza Ensemble.