The theater is dark with black ceilings, floors and walls situated in the corner of a room. As the quaint audience files in, there are nine wooden chairs situated at the front of the stage with three chairs on a platform above. The only backdrop is a simple grey wall with dim yellow lighting behind to light the stage. The intense mood right before an emotional awakening is set as the NIU School of Theatre and Dance waits to perform Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s “The Exonerated.”

Twelve NIU theater students proved their immense talent onstage in the new NIU production. As the lights came up on the stage, the audience was in for a real treat.

Jeremy Collins (Delbert) demanded the audience’s attention as he began the play with a quick monologue of introduction. Eight other cast members sat frozen while Collins spoke. In the first few minutes of the play, the introduction of each character’s situation came through either a quick monologue or a dialogue between characters.

Any person can memorize a few lines, but each cast member of “The Exonerated” clearly went above and beyond duty to really feel the emotions behind the lines, as their facial expressions and hand gestures made the audience believe the characters each actor portrayed. With such a heavy subject matter of innocent people sentenced to death row, the actors faced the challenge of keeping the audience engaged with ease.

“I really enjoyed how the play explained more than just people being wrongly accused,” said elementary education major Bianca Bond, “but that the play looked at the affect it had on each of the people.”

Throughout the play the cast proved that whether a sophomore or senior student, each of the cast members pulled their weight to make the play run entertainingly smooth. The only negative aspect of the performance was that the characters remained seated for most of the play which is not visually appealing. However, the actors do make up for the loss by making large expressions to engage the audience.

Six different stories of people facing execution were told. The characters wear everyday clothing and beg for the audience to appeal to their defense.

In the last few moments, the viewers are left speechless as each character connects emotionally to the audience with their stories of life after being freed from their sentences. During the last second, actor Jeremy Staple makes the audience tear up as he reaches his hands toward heaven – the audience sprung to their feet in a standing ovation.

Anyone who missed out on the play missed out on an amazing production.