Luckily, 12 Angry Men is a show that stays with you; there's a reason it's such a classic. It's about the specific murder case, but also about universal themes and the way our minds work. As ace-director Bob Robinson writes in his Director's Note, it "forces us to examine the concept of justice, the sometimes debilitative emotion of doubt, the 'differences' of class, the complicated relationships between parent and child and the pressures of standing alone against the opinions of all others."
I was impressed with the flow of the piece that was dynamic in motion and activity, despite being "just 12 guys sitting at a table." The various confrontations were well orchestrated around the convincingly "1962" jury room (designed by Bob Nees and Bob Robinson.)
Michael Hays and James Houska were impressive champions of prejudice challenged by subtle but persistent questioning of the pivotal Juror #8, Jeff Magnuson. The show is very much an ensemble led by foreman Charles Sartorius, with a wide variety of types and attitudes, the flashy wisecracking Alex Freeman, the smarmy ad man Gary Mitchell, the earnest immigrant Leo Poroshin, the restrained analytical Todd Heywood, the straightforward Erik Grill, the sincere John Liskey, the meek Justin Banks, the naive Mark Polzin ... with the scene-setting Voice of the Judge by Jack Dowd, and the official guard duties by Tim Ekola.
I'm not alone in my praise. Check out the City Pulse review.
http://npaper-wehaa.com/citypulse#2014/01/15/?article=2124583
Don't miss this excellent show. One More Weekend: 7pm "Bargain Thursday" $10/$8
and 8pm Fri/Sat and 2pm Sunday($14/$12)
www.riverwalktheatre.com