Theater Review: Civic Duty and 12 Angry Men

It's not hard to find a dozen angry men in Los Angeles. Try any week day at rush hour. In Reginald Rose's classic play, 12 Angry Men, now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre, we have a dozen white men isolated in a dingy, stuffy juror's room on a particularly hot and humid day in NYC, circa 1954.

The men are predominately dressed in suits with neckties and hats yet we soon learn that clothes may establish class, but they don't make the men wearing them more civilized. In today's world the right "trial of the century" would mean instant celebrity and possible book deals post-verdict. In the 1950s, none of that offset the complaints about disruption to one's normal routine.

These men are deciding the fate of a young 16-year-old boy who is accused of murdering his father with a knife after an argument one night. The verdict must be unanimous and the jury can only convict if they believe beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty. And they know a guilty verdict will send this unseen boy to the electric chair.

As the one juror, Juror Eight, who holds out for a guilty verdict, Richard Thomas is perfectly cast. If you remember the 1957 movie directed by Sidney Lumet, Henry Fonda played that role. Where Fonda had an every man quality, he projected a more mature, steady, reserved persona. Thomas, despite being 56, still projects the same youthful, boyishness he had when he was in the 1970sTV series "The Waltons." Under the direction of Scott Ellis, Thomas projects an impetuousness and while he starts out calm, he soon explodes with self-righteousness that electrifies the jury room.

Both Fonda and Thomas project an open honesty and intelligence. Here, it is a perfect foil for bull-headed bigotry of Juror Three, played with a brooding, hidden agenda by Randle Mell. It's a thankless role, but Mell manages to make this hard-case bigot sympathetic. Julian Gamble plays his ally, Juror number 10, a racist garage owner whose prejudice is deeply contrasted by Juror 11, an immigrant with a European accent who is proud to be American and part of the democratic system, played with respectful conviction by David Lively.

Article Author: Purple Tigress

Former theater critic for the LA Weekly and Los Angeles Times . For the last five years, an editing slave at a dot-com but recently laid off. Currently an under-employed freelance writer and artist.

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