Tony Award nominee Ephraim Sykes (Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations) will join Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson in the upcoming Broadway production of Lindsey Ferrentino’s wrongful conviction drama The Fear of 13, producers announced today.
Also rounding out the cast will be Michael Cavinder (Annie at the Hollywood Bowl), Eddie Cooper (Dead Outlaw), Victor Cruz (Blue Bloods), Eboni Flowers (Eureka Day), Joel Marsh Garland (Orange Is the New Black), Jared Wayne Gladly (Aladdin), Joe Joseph (English), Jeb Kreager (Mare of Easttown) and Ben Thompson (Waitress).
The final castings were announced today by producers Seaview, Wessex Grove, and Gavin Kalin Productions. Based on the documentary directed by David Sington, the Broadway stage adaptation will be directed by David Cromer (The Band’s Visit, Bug), as previously announced.
Performances of the 16-week limited engagement begin on Thursday, March 19, with an opening night set for Wednesday, April 15, at the James Earl Jones Theatre.
In addition to appearing as David Ruffin in Ain’t Too Proud, Sykes starred in Broadway’s 2024 revival of Our Town as well as Hamilton, Motown The Musical and Pal Joey at City Center Encores. On screen, he was seen in Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit as well as the TV series Vinyl, Luke Cage and others.
The synopsis: “The Fear of 13 tells the extraordinary true story of Nick Yarris, who spends more than two decades on death row for a murder he insists he did not commit. Through a series of prison visits with a volunteer named Jackie, Nick traces a life shaped by impulse and consequence. As Nick and Jacki’s conversations deepen, the line between witness and participant blurs, forcing both to confront what justice demands, what belief requires, and the perilous distance between true freedom and the illusion of self-determination. By turns devastating, darkly funny, and life-affirming, The Fear of 13 is a powerful exploration of truth and trust, conscience and connection.”
Yarris, to be played by Brody, was the first person sentenced to death in Pennsylvania to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Thompson will play the volunteer Jacki.
The production will partner with the Innocence Project, the organization founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld that uses DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction.
English (US) ·