The Fear of 13 Broadway Tickets, News, Info & More
James Earl Jones Theater (Broadway)
138 West 48th St. New York, NY
The Fear of 13 tells the extraordinary true story of Nick Yarris, who spends more than two decades on death row for a murder he insists he did not commit. Through a series of prison visits with a volunteer named Jackie, Nick traces a life shaped by impulse and consequence. As Nick and Jackie’s conversations deepen, the line between witness and participant blurs, forcing both to confront what justice demands, what belief requires, and the perilous distance between true freedom and the illusion of self-determination. By turns devastating, darkly funny, and life-affirming, The Fear of 13 is a powerful exploration of truth and trust, conscience and connection.
The play is written by Lindsey Ferrentino and based on the documentary of the same name.
The Fear of 13 - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR The Fear of 13
‘The Fear of 13’ review: Adrien Brody goes to prison in a predictable criminal justice schlep on Broadway
3 / 10
It speaks volumes about Adrien Brody’s choice of roles that next to his anguished, Oscar-winning turns in “The Pianist” and “The Brutalist,” his Broadway debut as a wronged man who spends 22 years on death row comes off as positively chipper. Cracking jokes and animatedly telling stories in a sing-song street-corner voice, our Sufferer Laureate plays Pennsylvania inmate Nick Yarris in “The Fear of 13,” Lindsey Ferrentino’s curiously unmoving and talky, talky, talky play that opened Wednesday night at the James Earl Jones Theatre.
THE FEAR OF 13: Whose Life Is It Anyway? – Review
5 / 10
Brody is expectedly watchable and uber-committed, though the white-boy-swag vibe he loves to affect becomes grating in the wandering play, whose first 80 minutes or so are mostly just Yarris/Brody doing his thing while the plot assembles in the background. If that structure is meant to reflect destiny’s quietly uncaring machinations, the script is not nearly meaty enough to uphold it. Nick eventually falls for, and marries, Jacki (Thompson) a kind-hearted prison volunteer. It’s only when the two start to feel the weight of time on their relationship, in a skillfully rendered scene where his path to freedom locks into a regressive pattern through a series of procedural blunders, that the play finally takes on a painful immediacy and stance against the inefficiencies of our justice system.
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The Fear of 13 History
Other Productions of The Fear of 13
| 2026 | Broadway |
Broadway |
The Fear of 13 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Bryan Carter (music supervisor and arranger) |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Heather Gilbert |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Heather Gilbert |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Lee Kinney |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Lee Kinney |
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