The most thought-provoking piece the Theatre in the Round has staged in some time, Bruce Graham’s play centers on two death-row inmates who strike up a friendship. As they reveal their circumstances, they raise the kind of questions that trouble a civilized society: What is an appropriate punishment for killing someone? What kind of crime is so heinous it merits no mercy? Do some murderers deserve more mercy than others? On one side of the wall is Bobby, a disarmingly charming white supremacist who says he did God’s bidding in burning alive a church full of black worshippers. On the other is John, an arrogant and educated newsman who deliberately murdered an evil man for the “larger good of society.” Audiences may step out into the night feeling their own convictions about capital punishment have been rattled. 245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis; 612-333-3010, www.theatreintheround.org
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