This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Jeff Malone: Welcome to Half Hour with Jeff and Richie, the podcast where we explore the latest shows we see, sharing our insights and opinions on the performances, storylines, and everything in between.

[0:08] Richie Grasso: In today's episode, we're discussing the Broadway production of The Fear of Thirteen, playing at the James Earl Jones Theater.

[0:13] Jeff Malone: Whether you cannot catch the show in person or you want to expand your thoughts after seeing it, this episode is for you.

[0:18] Richie Grasso: And as always, we want to inform you that this episode will contain spoilers.

[0:22] Jeff Malone: So if you're ready to dive into this production, stick around with us.

[0:24] Jeff Malone: I'm Jeff.

[0:25] Richie Grasso: And I'm Richie, and we're thrilled to be your hosts for this episode.

[0:28] Richie Grasso: But before we start the conversation about The Fear of Thirteen, here are a few words from our advertisers.

[0:33] Jeff Malone: Welcome everyone to a new episode of Half Hour with Jeff and Richie.

[0:36] Richie Grasso: Today we're discussing The Fear of Thirteen.

[0:39] Jeff Malone: Quote: The first thing you should know is that this is true.

[0:42] Richie Grasso: It's what actually happened. I know it seems like it's a story inside of a story, inside of a story, but that's how it is for most people, at least the ones in here.

[0:50] Jeff Malone: End quote. Nick's got a story to tell you about how a routine traffic stop turned into a conviction for murder, about how he spent the next 22 years on Death Row, about how he finally petitioned the court to ask not for an appeal but for his execution date, and about what happened next.

[1:05] Richie Grasso: After an acclaimed run in London, two-time Academy Award winner Adrien Brody makes his Broadway debut in an unmissable portrait of Death Row in Justice, says the Telegraph.

[1:14] Jeff Malone: Nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards, with Brody also earning a nomination for Best Actor.

[1:19] Richie Grasso: The Fear of Thirteen is based on the extraordinary true story of Nick Yaris, written by Lindsey Ferrentino of Ugly Lies the Bone, and directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer of Good Night and Good Luck.

[1:30] Jeff Malone: This gripping exploration of truth, justice, and the chasm between them will leave you hanging on every word.

[1:36] Richie Grasso: Wow, that's a lot to take in there, right?

[1:39] Jeff Malone: All right. So let's get into the overall story, plot, and concept of this piece.

[1:43] Richie Grasso: And to kind of give everyone the premise here of this play, it is and was a documentary about Nick Yaris, and now we have this on the stage.

[1:54] Jeff Malone: So where do you kind of see that working in the concept here for bringing a documentary to the stage?

[2:00] Richie Grasso: I think it's kind of cool. I think it's something we don't see a ton of, although this season with Queen of Versailles and this, we've taken kind of two documentaries, and I think it's inspiring when you see someone's real true story told in a filmic way.

[2:14] Jeff Malone: And instead of saying with Queen of Versailles, that went to a musical theater format, which didn't seem to work for them. I kind of like that The Fear of Thirteen went to a play with some of the subtle music elements in it, which we'll talk about in a second.

[2:26] Richie Grasso: But I think that telling this story with actors live on stage and the way David Cromer has directed them as well is very impactful. And I think this works. Now, will I think it works for every documentary in the world? Probably not. For this one, I didn't actually see this documentary, The Fear of Thirteen before going on. I knew vaguely what the story was about. And I think it was really fascinating to see it from that perspective.

[2:48] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I agree with that too. I think you know what kind of works here in the play form for us is that this is about, you know, watching someone on death row and bad decisions that you make and where that could end up leaving you. So watching that, I kind of like understood it. I do find at times like it did feel a little maybe cookie-cutter in a sense that like I felt the documentary in the book writing of this more than the direction.

[3:16] Richie Grasso: The direction I thought there were some great moments when we actually get to that part of this overall production. But where do you kind of feel like seeing something about like the justice system and death row and all of it actually happening on the stage here?

[3:30] Jeff Malone: Well, it's fascinating, it's shocking, and it's quite frightening to see the way this played out, and how what I found the most impactful was later in the story when he's spending years and years waiting for results, things getting lost in the mail, no one prioritizing this. It's, you know. Some cases, I think, anyway, in jails, some are closed cases, some are not. Some can be appealed, some can be reopened. And sometimes when those happen, it just seems like an extremely slow process to keep moving that along. And when he's going through years and years and years to get justice, I think that was what was most eye-opening to me.

[4:07] Richie Grasso: Yeah. And I look at the book of this as well, and I look at it and I say, hmm. We have more of like this storytelling. So it's set up in that way, right? Like he is telling his story to her, and she's coming in and she's watching and she's listening, and she's kind of saying, Oh, and it's not until like he comes and he says, Oh, look at what I saw in the newspaper, and now they can do DNA testing. It's like we had to kind of like uncover the story to see like why he was in jail. It seemed like he didn't want to tell his story, and why do you think it came out so much later?

[4:45] Jeff Malone: Well, I don't know, and that's why I think it was actually very unfortunate to see the lineage of the mistakes that he had made in telling the story and seeing the newspaper and saying, Oh, I know where this person is, and then that whole thing backfiring him and then accusing him of it to find someone to just blame for this murder. I mean, the whole thing of that was just so unfortunate and sad. It's astonishing. You earlier said she, and I just wanted to refer to she as Tessa Thompson who's in this.

[5:13] Richie Grasso: Right, and she plays Jackie Miles.

[5:14] Jeff Malone: Right, exactly. So she's jumping around.

[5:16] Richie Grasso: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[5:17] Jeff Malone: I just thought that this play put a lineage to it that helped us make sense. And yes, there was a lot of flashbacks, but it was almost with Adrien Brody narrating it. Like, let me explain to you as and explaining to Tessa, and we're also the Tessa in this scenario too, we're getting the backstory. So we're understanding other people in the jail and his relationship to them. We're understanding the criminal justice system and how that works and operates. We're seeing him fall in love with someone through this system. So there's lots of different angles that this show takes us on.

[5:51] Richie Grasso: And this concept feels like we're always moving, yeah, that we're moving through plot. And at some times we get the point where there's stillness and we're sitting and we're just talking. But other than a couple unit set pieces kind of moving on and off, we they gave us this like big playing space of just some tables and chairs and an opportunity to be in this big room of a stage to just tell this story. I think that the concept of not just telling the story linearly, but starting with him in jail, having him do flashbacks, trying to move forward, that aspect of it, I think was very well written.

[6:28] Jeff Malone: Right. And going back to the book on that here, I do want to ask the question of do you feel like this is more of like a character study on Nick, or that this is a true takeaway on how the justice system works?

[6:44] Richie Grasso: It's definitely both. And I would wonder if someone like Nick Yarris was like, Yes, tell my story, not just for my sake, but also to show and expose some of the major loopholes in this system, and how many other people in this system maybe are going through the same thing.

[6:58] Jeff Malone: Yeah, when I mean, like it's 20 years that he sat on death row. Two things that come to me is like, why was it 20 years? And like after a certain point, does someone say, like, okay, and he does say like he's done, but like, why do we wait so long? It is it's a weird question to ask, but it's like it's 20 years, and like they wrongfully convicted him, but they kept him there for 20 years. It almost felt like a punishment in a different way, but that like they framed him to. And we certainly see stories like this Orange is the New Black. I know that's a TV show, but also a similar example of people trying to fight for their right in the justice system.

[7:44] Richie Grasso: And I think what was also really interesting about this piece was when you saw the judge and the police officers and those scenes, they're like eating a sandwich and like all the specific dialogue that Lindsey writes in the book about, oh, is there mustard on this? And like the person's there waiting for an answer on like a someone's life, and they're like, Oh, there was no ketchup with this today, and they're just having these like and he's eating the sandwich, like, yeah, oh yeah, we can push that forward. Yeah, no, but like if that's part of the script was to show the loose, like, oh yeah, whenever we want something or need something, we could push it faster along and when we don't want or need something.

[8:18] Jeff Malone: I mean, if that is true, and that's what this play leads you to believe, then that is quite shocking and eye-opening to see that the system does operate like that daily in the United States.

[8:27] Richie Grasso: Right, and that is also something that you might say is that like fabricated a little bit in a little in some way, because how do you know that was the actual dialogue that was happening behind um and maybe maybe someone, a lawyer or someone said that sometimes how things work, or maybe not? And also some people's cases are closed, some are open. Every story is different, right? We're just looking at Nick Yaris's story, for example.

[8:50] Jeff Malone: But I thought that the way this was executed and the idea of bringing this to the stage worked. And I don't know if I can say that for every documentary that comes through. But I think this one worked.

[9:01] Richie Grasso: Yeah. And touching on Lindsey Ferrentino's writing again, I look at this and I kind of say we're writing a script now for documentary. And I just maybe would have said there could have been a little bit more playwriting that happened in the piece. It kind of felt a little too documentary for me. And maybe if I go and watch it, I might look at this and say, Oh, you know, it was an easy way out, but I just didn't find like it was completely next level in terms of a book for this play.

[9:35] Jeff Malone: Yes. And I will say the other critique I have similar to that is she did also write the book for the Queen of Versailles. So I think that's ironic that she did both books for two documentaries two different ways. What I found with the Queen of Versailles, and what I found with this is it's almost like she's watching the documentary and she's like, Oh, I gotta hit that. I gotta do that. Sometimes the dipping away from the plot for a two-minute dialogue about we don't uh something that kind of just relates to emotion and character and not plot. I wish there was a little bit more of. I actually liked the conversations when she was in her apartment, Tessa Thompson's character, and every time the lights came out, it was a different season, it was a different moment, and it just kind of showed the passing of time and the different positions she'd be in in the room on the phone, and to show the multiple.

[10:21] Richie Grasso: I wish we had even in Queen of Versailles, it was like we have to do this, and then we have to get to this, and then we and oh, this person died, then this person got married, then this person. It's like, let's get all the facts in. Like with Fear of 13, it did at times feel like that. Like we gotta do this, and then we gotta do this, and we gotta do this. Right. But that's a small thing because I did feel the emotion of the actors, and I did feel the pain and the love that he was having, and totally but I wish there was just a little bit more sitting in that, just a little bit more, instead of like, oh, we gotta get this whole plot in and we gotta finish the plot by the end of this two hours or whatever.

Totally. That's where I am in agree. It's like a productionist, I I'm talking about the actual writing here, and it just feels like what is next level for documentaries on Broadway and in the playwriting sense or even the musical sense. Like, I wanna see how do we elevate the book of something so that it doesn't feel like oh, we're just taking this and putting it on the stage. Like let's redevelop it for the stage, not just take it and put it on the stage. But I think that's a great time to kind of transition now and move over to the overall production direction design and cast. But before we do that, we're gonna take a quick break.

[11:29] Jeff Malone: Okay, and we're back. So let's get into the overall production here now. So we have David Cromer directing, who, if you listen to the pod, you know we're very big fans of David Cromer here. Where do you kind of sit with his direction of this piece now?

[11:43] Richie Grasso: Well, it definitely feels like it's proof that when you take a show and you put David Cromer's name on it, nine out of ten times for me, it's very successful. So whenever I see a play, I'm like, I wonder if this will work, who's starring in it, what's it about? I then I see David Cromer's name on it, and then I kind of take a sigh of relief. Like, oh, okay, this is gonna be great because David knows how to work things with Bug, with Dead Outlaw, with the band's visit. He's done really and tons, countless off probably things. He does a really good job of moving the plot along, finding different spaces within the stage to stage things. He just moves things. I sometimes find that not all directors move things along as well like that.

[12:25] Jeff Malone: Yeah, and it would be nice to see his name on more things and even maybe more troubled scripts or things. Because I do feel like, you know, what I thought was nice with his direction, and maybe this had to do with some of the design. There was this wall of doors that kind of existed behind them at all times. And if you notice, like a light was on over one door when he was speaking, and it just kind of showed the little glimmer of hope or light in these massive amounts of doors in a very dark environment, like a jail. Um, I think that he knew where to put people, like he had that stool downstage, and there was so many things happening down there.

[13:00] Richie Grasso: Yeah. Um, and I just thought he worked with his designers very well in showing the different levels of this. He put people up on different levels, he moved things throughout the space. The lighting was incredible. It was harsh, stark, bright side white lighting a lot of times. I really showed the intensity of the space and just the looming wall of doors kind of also like was this looming fear that kind of overshadowed them at all times, and feeling helpless, like he can't get over the wall, he can't get through the door, he can't get out.

[13:29] Jeff Malone: Right. I thought that was a smart way to direct this.

[13:32] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I look at David Cromer and I say there's something that has kind of hit the nail on the head for me all of the time with his work, and it's that he transitions effortlessly, like it moves through the piece. We're not waiting in blackouts, we're not waiting for the scene to get to the next level. It's just like we're constantly going, it's always on, and that's something that I like in um the theater in general. So, like that is why I feel like I gravitate towards his work many times, and I say, Oh, this is actually really good. Where I look at something like this piece, though, I say he kind of directed this in the documentary style, which I guess is fine, but it goes back to like that narrator sense for me. Like it didn't feel like at times we needed to be like narrated to um by the actors in this.

[14:28] Richie Grasso: And we got it from like the jail officers. We got it from Jackie Miles, who's played by Tessa Thompson. We got it even from Adrien Brody at times who's playing Nick. And that felt to me like maybe slightly unnecessary to kind of turn to the audience and speak to us. But I guess it's also like commentary on like, hey, we're giving you the um parts that you might think that are unrealistic, but they actually are because this is true, and we're telling it directly to your face, so take it in. And I thought Adrien Brody narrating a lot of those moments made sense versus some outside narrator. So I did I didn't it didn't bother me too much for the most part.

[15:07] Jeff Malone: Right. One thing that I thought was a little odd was you know, so many locations were just table and chairs, table and chairs, and I thought that was like the style we were going in. And then we did have these two scenic moments where like the pawn shop came out and then her apartment came out. And part of me was like we only saw each setting once for a few minutes, and I thought, and those sets were actually quite detailed and very uh ornate. And I thought, why are we spending all the money and time pulling these two units on and wheeling them out to put scenes on them when like two-thirds or maybe even like three quarters of the show are not in those two locations. So it felt a little like, oh, we got to spend some money on the show, so let's spend it on those. Like, I wish maybe we did something else with that. It just seemed a little odd, yeah.

[15:51] Richie Grasso: From a like resources perspective. But right, it kind of felt like you didn't need it. Yeah. At that point, it's like, but we had a major courtroom scene. There was no courthouse that came on. There was like interior jail scenes, there was exterior scenes. There was like lots of other scenes that we didn't have.

[16:06] Jeff Malone: Yeah. So that right. Critiquing that in a certain way, I would say go for it full force. If we're gonna create a scenic design for something, let's do it. If we're not, make us imagine it.

[16:17] Richie Grasso: Yeah. And he does a really great job of making us imagine it. But like this time it felt like, no, imagine some things, but also I'm gonna give you something. But I know we we just recently saw Death of a Salesman, which is another uh podcast episode. But when you looked at we we we saw the Death of a Salesman um production, the revival and spoiler alert, it's like one location, but there's so many locations, and so we lived in that ominous dark space the whole time. Right for fear of 13, I wish we just lived in the dark space the whole time. And even to pull me out into a pawn shop for five minutes and an apartment for five minutes seemed like something didn't work for me. Like just give me four more locations for five minutes, or don't give me any. Right. Like that's where I feel we're spending the time in the jail. So I want to know what he is feeling on spending his time in the jail.

[17:09] Richie Grasso: So just give me that. And then when he gets out, give me what that is. Yes, those are what you want to feel in that because then when he's out, we're still in the jail. Yeah. And him telling the story from the jail was more imaginative, and seeing the cop walk on and things happen, then like wheeling out this huge, very ornate set piece for five minutes. That was just one critique, but it was beautiful scenery. It was just, and it was all like really well. It was just you know, we're being Nipeki in this. Also, in terms of design, I like the incorporation of music, and I want to talk about that for a second because I do feel like music, the sound design, but also the music singing. There was uh at least two vocal moments of a cappella singing.

Um Ephraim Sykes is kind of leading a lot of that, and there's this like they there was just interstitial moments of singing a cappella when their pain or their suffering spoke through song, and when the cops were telling them to stop, or there was uh, I believe it was it the wedding scene that there was some singing going on in the back.

[18:08] Richie Grasso: It was like musical moments of life were happening in these a cappella um choral arrangements that were very well sung and very well harmonized and soulful and impactful, and it was just subtle enough that I think if we had two or three more, it would have been too much. But if we only had it once, it would have felt out of place. So the having him two or three times was just the perfect amount of that.

[18:31] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I almost find like I actually probably wanted a few more. Like it I know what you're saying, how it could uh feel like it was too much, but I actually would have found like there was some uh moments in the the music of like them having hope throughout the piece that it would have made sense to me. And it it felt like yeah, great in those moments that it happened, but like I would have wanted a bit more. I also kind of look at this and I say, you know, back to the writing standpoint here. Why do you think you know some of the other characters were introduced as a whole? Um, because like we only had so much time with that. It was just, I think, just to show some other people's stories and their in his his interactions with other people and just to fill some sort of an ambient void, so he didn't feel like he was the only person in the jails.

[19:27] Richie Grasso: Right, but it almost felt like they didn't add to his character in any way. And I thought, like, hmm, maybe they should have if it was someone, like it would have uh added to that in some sort of a way. Now, like when we get to the cast here now, who is standing out for you as a whole?

[19:45] Richie Grasso: Well, no doubt it's Adrien Brody. I think he carries this show very well. And it it's it's no shock to me that he has two Academy Awards. He's very good at what he does. I I think he's carries this very well, and I see the pain and the suffering, and I think he's incaptivating into the whole piece.

[20:00] Jeff Malone: Yeah, he's definitely captivating in here. And now we have Tessa Thompson on as well, who's playing Jackie. And where do you feel like she kind of sits overall now in like the acting performances in the plays that she?

[20:05] Richie Grasso: I thought she was very strong, I thought she was great. I she didn't she didn't um stand out for me too much, but she didn't fall to the wayside either. I thought she played the role strong into the to that to the what the role called for.

[20:31] Richie Grasso: I think it's like a little bit of a gut-runching moment that like you find out that they're not ending up together at the end, and she spent so many years with them, and I think she portrays that nicely.

[20:41] Richie Grasso: I think towards the end, though, her performance needed a moment of freeing that I don't think we fully got from her, but I also think that's meant for us to kind of say like, okay, it just ended. And that was the point. It just ended. And like for him, you know, what was his rebirth? And I think he kind of gives that to us in some ways. You know, I did uh if you do some research on him after post him getting out of um jail, he's had numerous relationships. He's been married, I think, four times. Um, and he goes in, he comes back to America, he goes to the UK, he goes back to America and bounces back and forth. Um, why I think this also started in the UK was this documentary was done in the UK.

So, you know, and I think overall, uh, moving into the rest of the ensemble, I think they add something to it, but uh at times I felt like we could have connected with them a bit more, right? So yeah. Uh and also stand out. I would I would also say other people I really enjoyed. I always what enjoy seeing Eddie Cooper and everything that I see. He's been working a lot lately, and I really enjoy him. And I also enjoy Joe Joseph. Uh shout out go blue, University of Michigan. Um I mean everyone really is, but I thought those two really stood out to me. Yes.

[22:00] Jeff Malone: All right. Well, let's take another quick break, and when we get back, we'll get into our own um questions and comments about the piece and our final thoughts.

[22:08] Richie Grasso: Okay, and we're back. So we're gonna get into our own little um questions about the piece and our Tony Buzz thoughts, uh, etc. So where do you think this fits in the Tony world?

[22:15] Jeff Malone: I definitely think this gets a best play nomination. I can see a David Cromer getting a best director nomination. I see Adrien Brody getting nominated for this. Everyone else, maybe there could be in some of the nominations. I don't really see anything extremely standing out in terms of some of the other categories. Maybe Tessa Thompson, but the play categories are really tough this year. There's a lot of plays with a lot of stars, and I think that there's gonna be some upset in um who gets nominated there. But I would say definitely say Adrian's probably surefire talking, I would think David Cromer, and I would think a best play. Those three seem pretty confident.

[22:50] Richie Grasso: Okay, yeah. I mean, I don't really fully know where this is gonna go in the Tony space. I think you the Tonies could go in many different ways. The voters can say, hey, we need to nominate some people that are gonna get our ratings up at the Tonies. We need to um nominate work that's you know outstanding. And I if I had to pick a few, yes, I think they might nominate Adrien Brody. I definitely think they might nominate this for best new play. I don't really know on the scenic design side of things, like the creative side of things, but I could see David Cromer getting uh uh direction for this. Uh I probably would put bug over this for him if he was gonna get a uh nomination for one of them. Um, but that's just my opinion on this. So, you know. I mean, I it'll be interesting to see. I mean, like I said, this is a tough season with a lot going on. But overall, yes, I would say that I think this has a high chance of getting a good good amount of Tony nominations.

[23:46] Jeff Malone: Yeah, it could be. Um, and you know, I looking into some like fun facts about this piece too. Nick Yoris was the first person on Pennsylvania's uh death row to be exonerated by DNA evidence. So that's I think a big thing, and that's why I think like when you go back to the beginning of this story here, why a story like this is being told, because I look at that and I say, How many before him? How many after and after could have maybe been free um but ended up staying on death row.

[24:15] Richie Grasso: Yeah. And and I will say, like when we talk about audience interaction with this, the audience was so captivated throughout this whole piece and quiet. And I think when you learned things about like, oh, another year passed, another year pass, another two years passed, the audience every time would be oh like you would hear the audience engaging, like, wow, it's so much time of your life. Twenty years of your life is so long. And I think that prompts a big question to everyone, and like lets you, when you're leaving, you say, Wow, this is something I don't ever really think about.

[24:49] Jeff Malone: Yeah. That's one of the things that I felt when I was leaving. How often do you think about wrongfully um committed people? And I I say we don't really think about that. We kind of just go on with our days. And something like this, and and when you see someone like Jackie, who is going there and wants to hear the stories of people and wants to help people, you know, it leads to a bigger thing. The show has a partnership with the Innocence Project, which connects uh the story to ongoing work freeing wrongfully convicted people. I think that's important here.

[25:21] Richie Grasso: Oh, does we look at this and we're saying the show is doing beyond that? It's it has a partnership with people that are trying to go and help those that were like put in jail for no reason because they just maybe looked like someone or they fit the mold of someone, and they were like the the right answer for uh, you know, the officers or who's ever working on this case to convict someone?

[25:44] Jeff Malone: Yeah, you know, it makes me think of like a modern TV show right now because we watched The Hunting Wives and how the the police officers were getting ready to wrongfully convict someone for committing a crime that they didn't do, and that's like a big thing. And I'm looking at and and that's obviously fake, but this is a real story now. So, like someone has that idea from something, right? And how someone could frame someone. So I think that's a big deal.

[26:11] Richie Grasso: Yeah. I I love the connections there, and I think that's really important for sure. And like, as a final question, kind of before we wrap up on here, um, did you walk out more focused on Nick's story overall, or like how the justice system works?

[26:29] Jeff Malone: It would it definitely felt like this reflected much more on the justice system in general. I definitely had empathy for his situation, and I think that his story was heartfelt and profound. But this it the piece seemed to be making a lot of commentary on the system, and that the system can be broken, and the system has its flaws, and in some ways needs work and to avoid many, many, many lost years on someone like that.

[26:55] Richie Grasso: Totally. Yeah. So do you agree?

[26:57] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I agree. I look at that and I say, yeah, I walked out of here thinking more about the justice system. I I have sympathy for someone like Nick, and I'm happy to hear that he uh has a life outside of this now. But I I look at this and I say, no, this feels more like a piece on the justice system and leaving and saying, wow, there were a lot of issues with the justice system as technology has progressed, it helps people, but there were still a lot of issues with it.

[27:27] Richie Grasso: So yeah. Just about out of time. So we're about that time for us to do our final half minute, and I'm gonna ask you first. This is when we set our timer for 30 seconds, and we have to go on about something for 30 seconds. So you're gonna go first, yes, you said.

[27:48] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I'm gonna tell you. So Richie, if you had 30 seconds alone with the creative team, what note or compliment would you give them go?

[27:58] Richie Grasso: I would say that this piece is very, very strong. It's collaborative, it's got a great team of people telling the story. I like I said earlier, I probably would have wanted a little bit more of some more scenes that involved just some more conversation and building character than just hitting plot point, hitting plot point, hitting plot point. But however, this is a long plot to tell. And I think David Cromer at the helm of this is very, very strong and makes this all work along with Adrien Brody, of course, too. So that's okay.

[28:24] Jeff Malone: I'm gonna ask you the same question. What notes or thoughts would you give the creative team of The Fear of 13 for 30 seconds? Go.

[28:30] Richie Grasso: Okay. My notes here would be like I am very, you know, compliment first. I would say this is a great story to be putting on the stage and great story to be telling in many different ways. I love the partnership that's happening with uh the Alliance program here that it would say, um, let's help people in this situation. If I had to give a note on this, I would say it comes down to the book. I think there are many things that we could be doing with the book to make this more theatrical in a way that could be a little bit more over the top.

[29:01] Jeff Malone: There we go. Perfect timing. Great, amazing. All right, what are your final thoughts on The Fear of 13 on Broadway?

[29:07] Richie Grasso: Um, I would highly suggest people to go and see this, where you can go and see a play that is talking about the justice system. I think it's a more serious note that some people like when they're seeing something on theater. And I do think both Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson are giving great performances that many people would want to see. So, you know, it's a short run, limited run here. And uh go check it out.

[29:30] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I would also say I know we didn't talk about this earlier, but my final thoughts I want to mention was the title, The Fear of 13, and how that means so many different things, and that he has this fear of that number and what that number meant. Maybe uh that's a coming of age year for people when they turn 13. He had a lot of difficult things happen to him when he turned 13. And but there's the there is a fear of that number, and that he mulls on that. And I think to keep that the title of this was also very interesting, too. So I just wanted to kind of throw that in.

[29:58] Richie Grasso: Yeah, and it is a title that people could kind of debate in many different ways. And I think that's one thing that the play does kind of let you do. They don't kind of fully go down the road of like what the title actually means. So yeah, and I like that instead of saying like Nick Yarris' story or something like that, you know, instead they title it this and it makes you think so.

[30:15] Jeff Malone: Right. Yeah, cool stuff. Well, that does wrap up our discussion of this episode. We hope you enjoyed our deep dive into The Fear of 13. And remember, we want to hear from you. Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and TikTok at Half Hour Podcast, and drop us a comment on Spotify and let us know your thoughts on The Fear of 13. Please also leave us a review. Your reviews mean so much to us, and remember to subscribe to our channel for all past and future episodes. Until next time, I'm Jeff.

[30:37] Richie Grasso: And I'm Richie saying ta-ta for now.

[30:39] Jeff Malone: Bye.