Death-row dramas have been a theatrical staple since the ’30s, and “When I Come To Die,” Nathan Louis Jackson’s new take, adds little that’s fresh.
Damon Robinson (Chris Chalk), in prison for 10 years, has somehow survived an attempt to dispatch him by lethal injection. Now, the man dubbed “the Marion County Miracle” awaits word on whether the state will try again.
Along the way, we witness his dealings with Roach (David Patrick Kelly), the bug-loving prisoner in the next cell who spends hours rehearsing his pre-execution speech; Father Crouse (Neal Huff), the prison chaplain who encourages Damon to use his remaining time productively; and his younger sister Chantel (Amanda Mason Warren), who’s finally come to visit him.
The reason turns out to be more financial than sentimental: Now that Damon’s a media sensation, she wants him to publish the hundreds of letters he’s written to family members that have been returned to him unopened.
“Nothing brings families together like money, money, money,” Damon says, bitterly.
As presented by Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3, the play lurches along to a predictable conclusion. Director Thomas Kail (“In the Heights”) provides a suitably ominous atmosphere, but there are few dramatic sparks.
Chalk, so powerful as the angry teenage son in last year’s “Fences,” delivers another strong turn here, but you know a death-row drama isn’t working when you eagerly await the execution.