"West Wing," "Spin City," "Oz" Stars Join Cast of Off-Broadway's Exonerated

By Ernio Hernandez
20 May 2003

Connie Britton ("Spin City"), John Spencer ("The West Wing") and Ben Vereen join the cast Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's The Exonerated, May 20. Adding to the lineup soon after will be Robert Vaughn (May 22) and "Oz" star Harold Perrineau (May 27).

The Exonerated is drawn from the stories of a half-dozen former death row inmates who shared a variety of experiences and feelings with playwrights Blank and Jensen. Most described losing their faith in the justice system, while discovering that it was the resources available to a defense team that made the difference between achieving justice or experiencing a miscarriage of it. Bob Balaban (the actor seen in "A Mighty Wind") directs.

Vereen appeared on Broadway recently in I'm Not Rappaport and Fosse. Spencer last seen on stage in Glimmer, Glimmer & Shine. Perrineau performed in the Off-Broadway production of Blue/Orange.

Past cast members of this run have included Eric Bogosian, Peter Boyle, Avery Brooks, Charles Brown, Gabriel Byrne, Judy Collins, Tim Daly, Kristin Davis, Richard Dreyfuss, Cary Elwes, Mia Farrow, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Gallagher, Sara Gilbert, Tony Goldwyn, Penn Jillette, Sarah Jones, Robert Klein, Christine Lahti, Darrell Larson, Chad Lowe, Andrea Martin, Richard Masur, Andrew McCarthy, Rob Morrow, Joe Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Amanda Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, Jay O. Sanders, Kyra Sedgwick, Ally Sheedy, Brooke Shields, Mary Steenburgen, Lee Tergesen, Marlo Thomas, Kathleen Turner, Robert Vaughn, John Ventimiglia and Montel Williams.

Upcoming casts will include Perrineau, Richard Schiff, Debra Winger (June 3-8). Artists and dates are subject to change.

The Exonerated plays at Off-Broadway's 45 Bleecker, where it opened Oct. 10. 45 Bleecker is located at 45 Bleecker Street. For reservations, call (212) 307-4100.