Black Theatre Troupe opens its 2026-27 season in Phoenix with “The Exonerated,” a documentary-style drama drawn from the experiences of people who were wrongfully convicted and spent years on death row. The production runs now through Sept. 27 at the Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center.
Written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, “The Exonerated” grew from interviews with more than 40 former death row prisoners who were later cleared and released. Using those interviews along with court transcripts, letters and personal accounts, the play follows six people through their lives before prison, their years on death row and their experiences after exoneration.
Longtime Phoenix theater artist Matthew Wiener directs the production.
