Arts & Entertainment

"12 Angry Men" Opens At George Street Playhouse

The classic American legal drama runs through April 8.

On the opening night of "12 Angry Men" at the George Street Playhouse, director David Saint took a moment to reflect on the "extraordinary" climate in which the curtain was raising on the famous legal drama.

Less than two blocks away, on the same day, a verdict came in on the trial of 20-year-old Dharun Ravi,related to an internet spying and bullying case that exploded into national headlines over a year ago.    

Saint recounted the actors going to lunch in New Brunswick, surrounded by actual jurors from the nearby Middlesex County Courthouse, wearing their juror tags, and said the coincidence was not lost on him.

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"12 Angry Men" is set in a 1954 jury room in New York, in which 12 men are deliberating whether to find a teenager guilty of killing his father. If the boy is found guilty, he will be put to death.

A lone juror, who does not explicitly say if he believes the boy is innoccent or guilty, stands against his 11 peers, demanding they examine the facts of the case to ensure that there is no reasonable doubt among them. And as the play progresses, it becomes apparent that there is, hidden behind personal prejudices. 

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It's difficult not to compare this show against the classic film, starring Peter Fonda and Jack Klugman, as the acting in the film is so memorable. But the cast does a great job, breathing life into the varying personalities of each man on the jury, identified only by their numbers.

The cast boasts many experienced names, including Law and Order's James Rebhorn, Terry Layman and David Adkins, and David Schramm, of the television series "Wings."

Klugman, now in his late 80's, was originally slated to play Juror 9, the one elderly juror, but stepped out, due to personal health issues. He was replaced by David Canary, who also had to leave the production for personal reasons, and was replaced by Layman.

Klugman's health has since improved, according to Saint.

Klugman's absence is a slight disappointment, but the role of the elderly juror, who despite his years is sharper and more perceptive than some his younger peers, is filled well by Layman.

Schramm's bigoted Juror 10 rants and spits his way through the production, bringing most of the play's few spots of humor.

He pulls off the famous rant against "Those people," (Of which the boy on trial is) without missing a beat and causing the discomfort felt on stage to spill into the audience.

Gregg Edelman plays Juror 8, the first voice of dissent who digs deeper into evidence than the attorneys in the case, who we never see, did while questioning witnesses. He is likeable, firm and cool-headed throughout the proceedings.

In the show's playbill, Saint writes that the message of the show is one that still holds up today.

"Even as individual prejudices and temperaments threaten to dominate the proceedings, the ritual of trial by jury manages to emerge as a basic political tenet of our society which still works," he said.

"12 Angry Men" runs through April 8. It runs approximately one hour, 40 minutes, without an intermission. Tickets are $41.50, and can be purchased at georgestreetplayhouse.org.


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