“Murder in the First” benefits from an excellent script and cast: Public defender Henry Davidson (Guy Burnet, left) puts all of Alcatraz on trial to defend Willie Moore (Chad Kimball), who murders a fellow prisoner after being released from solitary. (Carol Rosegg)
From its startling opening image of a naked prisoner to its climactic reading of a jury’s verdict, “Murder in the First” is the sort of juicy courtroom drama we rarely get these days.
Dan Gordon’s gripping, fact-based play — about the 1940s murder trial that exposed abuses at Alcatraz — was adapted from his screenplay for the 1995 film starring Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon. But this theatrical rendition is far more than six degrees better than the sensationalized movie.
Chad Kimball, last seen as the DJ of “Memphis,” makes a powerful dramatic debut as Willie Moore, a small-time thief sentenced to solitary confinement for three years after an escape attempt. By the time he’s let out, he’s so damaged that he kills a fellow prisoner in front of 300 witnesses.
On trial for first-degree murder, he’s assigned a public defender, Henry Davidson (Guy Burnet), who’s never tried a case before. Hopeless as it seems, the idealistic Henry, whose heroes are Émile Zola and Clarence Darrow, is bent on justice.
He comes up with an ingenious defense.
“Willie Moore is not the only defendant here,” he declares in his dramatic opening statement. “Alcatraz is on trial!”
The play bogs down a bit in subplots involving Henry’s hotshot lawyer brother (John Stanisci) and an unscrupulous reporter (Joseph Adams) who sees the trial as his fast track to the big time. But the courtroom scenes — especially Henry’s grilling of the self-righteous prison warden (Robert Hogan) — are as compelling as the major players.
Kimball finds both pathos and sardonic humor in Willie, a man so desperate for human interaction that Henry smuggles a prostitute (Anthoula Katsimatides) into his cell.
Burnet, a British television star making his US stage debut, superbly conveys both Henry’s starry-eyed view of the law and his steely determination. His American accent is flawless.
Hauntingly staged by Michael Parva — who has Willie onstage throughout, seen sitting forlornly in his cell even when not involved in the action — “Murder in the First” is first-rate.