Philly's felons: One-man show offers unique perspectives on violent crime in the city

WHEN PLAYWRIGHT Sean Christopher Lewis moved to Philadelphia from San Francisco, he was familiar with the city's sports teams and die-hard fans, but not its violent crime.

After interviewing lifers at Graterford Prison, talking with victims of crime, and observing the city and its politics, Lewis came to know Philadelphia as a city struggling with violent crime and the fear it generates. The play he wrote and stars in, "City of Numbers, mixtape of a city," captures the complexity of this urban issue.

"City of Numbers," which opened last week, is a joint venture between the Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program and InterAct Theatre Company, and is the centerpiece of a monthlong celebration of the transformative power of art as a tool for social justice.

In this one-man show, Lewis delivers monologues spoken by more than a dozen characters - prison inmates, crime victims, political figures (including Mayor Nutter) and besieged citizens.

"City of Numbers" has been two years in the making.

In June 2008, Lewis began interviewing Graterford lifers in the Mural Arts' Restorative Justice Program, in which inmates paint murals that are installed by volunteers in neighborhoods throughout the city. His intent was to write a 20-minute play to be produced for the prison.

He found the inmates to be incredibly helpful and forthcoming, open and often charming. Too charming, he came to believe, realizing there was more to the story than the prisoners' perspective alone.

When he completed his work at the prison and started writing, the work "felt wrong," he said. He realized he couldn't paint a complete picture of crime's reach or complexity.

With the help of victim advocacy groups, he reached out to victims of violent crime and their families. For the political perspective, he studied politicians' public statements about crime and law enforcement, many of which found their way into the play.

By expanding the scope of the play, it grew to the current 75-minute, documentary-style drama that is on stage at the Adrienne Theatre.

"Whenever a project like this starts, you never know where it's going to go," said Robyn Buseman, director of the Mural Arts Restorative Justice Program. "It's a really thought-provoking piece that he came up with."

Buseman, who has more than 20 years of experience in criminal justice, said that "City of Numbers" captures the complexity of the issue.

"It's wonderful in the fact that it captures each phase of crime" from offenders, to victims, to political figures and the families living in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

Before the play debuted in Philadelphia last week, Lewis workshopped it in cities across the country.

The response was enthusiastic and heartening.

"As a writer, you always hope it will connect with people," he said. "An amazing thing is people would come up to me after or e-mail me after with amazing, incredibly personal stories."

The feedback "has almost become a second act at this point. I'm a moderator as much as a participant," Lewis said.

Besides "City of Numbers," InterAct and the Mural Arts Program will host a free discussion with Nutter and other city officials on Feb. 15, an exhibition of art created through the Restorative Justice Program and a Young Voices Monologue Festival.

Lewis hopes the collaboration will provoke further conversation and sees dialogue as a key to solving the city's intractable crime problem.

"Once headlines die down, people don't really talk about it," he said. "The idealist in me wants to say, 'Don't stop the conversation till [crime] is at zero.' "

"City of Numbers: mixtape of a city," Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom St., 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Feb. 21. $25-$29. Tickets: 215-568-8079, www.InterActTheater.org.

Citizens In Action, Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom St., 7 p.m. Feb. 15, panel discussion with Mayor Nutter, Ellen T. Greenlee, chief defender, Philadelphia's Defenders Association, Everett A. Gillison, deputy mayor for public safety, and Jane Golden, executive director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Free.