Kim Kardashian has joined the producing team of Broadway‘s wrongful-conviction drama The Fear of 13 starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson as part of what the media personality and entrepreneur says is her continued effort to bring worldwide attention to criminal justice reform.
“My commitment to criminal justice reform has always been about more than just policy – it’s about people,” Kardashian said in a statement. “I’ve learned that sometimes the most effective way to change minds is through a powerful story. The Fear of 13 is that story. It’s a raw, honest look at Nick Yarris’s wrongful conviction and the systemic failures that kept him behind bars for twenty years. I couldn’t be prouder to make my Broadway producing debut with a project that carries such vital weight.”
Written by Lindsey Ferrentino and directed by David Cromer, The Fear of 13 is currently in previews at the James Earl Jones Theatre on Broadway, with opening night set for Wednesday, April 15.
The play tells the true story of Nick Yarris (Brody), who spent more than two decades on death row for a murder he did not commit. Through a series of prison visits with a volunteer named Jacki (Thompson), Yarris, as the synopsis states, traces a life shaped by impulse and consequence. As Nick and Jacki’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.
Kardashian joins a team that includes producers Seaview, Wessex Grove and Gavin Kalin Productions, alongside the production’s previously announced partnership with the Innocence Project, an organization mission is to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions and “create fair, compassionate and equitable systems of justice for everyone.”
As with Kardashian, The Fear of 13 marks the Broadway debuts of both Brody and Thompson. The cast also includes Ephraim Sykes, Michael Cavinder, Eddie Cooper, Victor Cruz, Eboni Flowers, Joel Marsh Garland, Jared Wayne Gladly, Joe Joseph, Jeb Kreager and Ben Thompson.
“The message this play carries with it is urgent and we welcome Ms. Kardashian and her activism to this production and to our Broadway community,” said producers Seaview, Wessex Grove and Gavin Kalin Productions. “The work she has done to shine a much-needed light on criminal justice reform is exemplary and we are proud to be collaborating with her.”
The Fear of 13 had its world premiere at the UK’s Donmar Warehouse in a production directed by Justin Martin.
