Blind Injustice

FEBRUARY 3, 2025 7:30PM ROSE THEATER MASTERVOICES: BLIND INJUSTICE Six lives. 79 years wrongly incarcerated. One story of exoneration and hope. “A masterpiece.” – CityBeat “Seamless, hard-hitting and affecting. A powerful critique of the criminal justice system.” – The Wall Street Journal “Deeply moving and profound.” – Cincinnati Business Courier RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes, no intermission. Immediately following each performance, there will be a public conversation featuring selected exonerees, artists, and experts. Conversations are free to ticketholders for the respective date. ABOUT THE SHOW: This timely and riveting new 90-minute opera follows the Ohio Innocence Project’s efforts to overturn the convictions of six men, women, and teens who were wrongly imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit: ­— Nancy Smith, a school bus driver convicted of molesting children at the height of the “nursery school hysteria” sweeping the nation. Imprisoned for 15 years. — The “East Cleveland 3”, teenage boys convicted of murder, identified solely by their gender and race. Imprisoned for 19 years. — Clarence Elkins, convicted of the murder and rape of his mother-in-law and his niece, based on vague testimony by a traumatized child. Imprisoned for six years. The actual perpetrator ultimately confessed. — Rickey Jackson, convicted of murder and robbery based on the coerced testimony of a child who, after Jackson was imprisoned for 39 years and sent to Death Row, played a key role in his release. Featuring an operatic score infused with jazz, gospel, funk, and hip-hop, and a libretto drawn substantially from the exonerees’ own words, this deeply human production asks “What makes a person strong enough to endure injustice? What makes a person free?” CREATIVE TEAM: Music by Scott Davenport Richards Libretto by David Cote Based on the book Blind Injustice by Mark Godsey and casework by the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law Director and Dramaturg — Robin Guarino Conductor — Ted Sperling