The Hard Life on ‘The Rock’
KEN JAWOROWSKIJune 15, 2012: There’s a scene late in “Murder in the First” in which Willie, a prisoner at Alcatraz, recalls his grim and troubled life. Why have people been so cruel to me, he wonders aloud to his lawyer. It’s a sad and tender moment, superbly played by Chad Kimball. Yet as the scene draws to a close the lighting shifts and cinematic music wells up, signaling the audience as to how they should feel. Those effects are superfluous, as are many others in a show that succeeds in spite of its slick production.
READ THE REVIEW