Written in the 1950’s, Reginald Rose’s play is about 12 jurors that must decide the fate of a 19 year old who is convicted of stabbing and killing his father with a switchblade. The vote among the jurors must be unanimous and if they vote guilty, the convicted will be sentenced to death.

The play starts with an omniscient voice explaining the situation; the voice says their decision to find the defendant guilty must be “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The first vote is almost unanimous with Juror Number 8 being the only one to vote “not guilty.”

Discussions, arguments, and tantrums ensue as Juror 8 defends his position. He does not say the defendant is innocent, but he has doubt and explains his case while meeting angry opposition from the other jurors.

Twelve men with different personalities, occupations, and backgrounds are kept in a small room with no air conditioning. While these men are supposed to judge on the evidence alone, the play gradually reveals that personal views are getting in the way of their judgments.

The play is presented in an arena theatre with the stage in the center; the audience can view the play from different angles. This allows actors to move freely on stage, facing different directions and giving the set a natural feel.

The cast gave a convincing performance. The twelve jurors are listed in the order of their numbers: Al Scheider, Mike Coulter, Rich McCoy, John Paris, Joe-Michael Jackson, Matthew Ratz, Matthew Schwartz, Matthew T. Dearing, Don Schneider, Harvey Mack, Barry Weiss, and Mark Wolfe. Linda Schneider played the bailiff.

Matthew T. Dearing, playing protagonist Juror #8, performed well. His character was calm, reasonable, and sympathetic. His reactions to the outbursts of others were his strongest moments in the play, standing up for “the boy” who could not defend himself in that room.

Dearing is earning his gemology degree with the Association of Great Britain. He has performed before at Hoogland in Tuesdays with Morrie and The Mouse Trap.

Matthew Schwartz plays Juror #7, a young, brash man who is anxious to see a baseball game. His character believes he will attend the game on time, but as hours of debate pass, he grows annoyed and disappointed. He is the most amusing character of the cast, making jokes and taking shots at the other jurors whenever he gets the chance.

Schwartz is a producer at TriCara Productions. He has also directed TriCara’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Caberat.

There were no weak characters in the performance or as written. Each character goes through a character arc, changing by the time they have reached their unanimous decision. The hypocrisy of characters is played for laughs, but there are also near-physical yelling matches and breakdowns that bring the audience back to solid ground.

The 1957 film is a classic, but seeing the performance in person with the characters a few feet away makes for an entertaining and intense experience.

Diana Douglas, an attorney, attended Saturday’s show. She said her favorite scene was during the revelation that one of the jurors is a racist and the other jurors turn their back to him as he goes on a tirade. She said: “I think it’s really accruable on what’s going on today. I just thought they did a really good job presenting the play and getting the meaning across.”

Curtis and Ann Meinhardt also attended Saturday’s show. C. Meinhardt was familiar with the play before going in. “I thought the show was truly outstanding,“ he said. “I was very impressed with it.”

C. Meinhardt added his favorite part of the play was, “When the loudmouth who tried to boss everyone around (Juror #2) comes in terms to his own shortcomings as a man.”

C. Meinhardt’s wife had never seen the play before Saturday. “I didn’t know anything about it. I just enjoyed watching all the personalities of the characters as a reflection on society. You see people like that. You see people that are passionate. You see people who are hard-nosed,” she said.

Twelve Angry Men will play again this weekend on Oct. 5 & 6 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.  For upcoming events in Hoogland Center for the Arts, visit their site at www.hcfta.org/