The Lucasville riot, one of the longest and deadliest prison uprisings in U.S. history, will enter the spotlight again tonight.

On the 14th anniversary of the start of the 11-day revolt, which left nine inmates and one guard dead, a play based on events surrounding the rioting will open in Portsmouth, just south of the prison.

Portsmouth marks the first stop on a seven-city tour, which will arrive April 21 in Columbus.

The new production, which also represents the first tour sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, includes two former prisoners among the 18 cast members.

It employs the unconventional vehicle of the stage to protest what its authors view as an injustice.

"Using a different form like theater, you can really reach out to people and appeal to a much broader audience," said Mike Brickner, communication coordinator for the ACLU.

The play -- Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising, written by Gary Anderson and Staughton Lynd -- is based on Lynd's 2004 book with the same title.

Anderson, a playwright and director, and Lynd, an ACLU lawyer, wrote the two-act drama with the cooperation of the "Lucasville Five," the only rioters sentenced to death.

Four were convicted of slaying the guard; the fifth was convicted of leading a group that killed other inmates.

All remain on Death Row while appeals are pursued.

The book and play rely on trial transcripts and other documents to contend that the men shouldn't have been found guilty.

"We hope this tour will engage people emotionally and intellectually," Anderson said, "and provide court transcripts, troopers' notes and other documentation that make a dramatic case for the innocence of the Lucasville Five."

The play claims that the men were wrongly convicted on the basis of perjured testimony.

"Our narrow project is to show that the convictions of the five men sentenced to death depended on unreliable snitch testimony and should be reversed," said Lynd, who plays a bit role as a judge in the drama.

"Our broader project is to call into question the view that death-penalty trials in Ohio are fair and impartial."

Youngstown janitor Lessley Harmon, making his acting debut with other northeastern Ohio performers on tour, has a personal reason behind his participation.

While in prison in the 1970s, he became friends with James Were -- a member of the Lucasville Five who later changed his name to Namir Abdul Mateen.

"What I'm hoping is that when the truth comes out -- what actually happened during the Lucasville riots -- everything will come out OK," Harmon said. "Really, the Lucasville Five were only negotiators between the hard-liners and the prison officials. They weren't the killers."

Mark Piepmeier, the assistant Hamilton County prosecutor who was appointed to lead the case, continues to insist on the guilt of the Lucasville Five.

"I totally stand behind everything we did," he said this week. "Lynd's book and play are fiction."

On most of the tour, Lucasville will be paired with another production, also written by Anderson, called Clarence Darrow: The Search for Justice.

The play honors the 150th anniversary of the birth in northeastern Ohio of the future defense lawyer.

Anderson portrays Darrow in the one-man work, which concerns his fight for civil liberties and against death sentences.

"The plays are a remarkable pairing," the writer said, "because of their linked views on social justice, the death penalty and wrongful convictions."

mgrossberg@dispatch.com

---

will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 21 -- with at 2 p.m. -- at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Rd. Tickets cost $12 and $15, or $20 and $25 for both plays; call 614-267-4946. For a list of performances elsewhere in Ohio, call 216-472-2209 or visit .