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Innocent until Proven Guilty

A boy stabbed his own father. There were a few witnesses of the crime. All signs point to him truly being the culprit. But one juror out of the twelve jury members believes he is innocent. And so the tension already builds in the three-act drama 12 Angry Jurors, recently performed at Rockwood Summit High School.

As the play progresses, Juror Number Eight presents the evidence and his reasons, and the other eleven jurors are slowly convinced that the suspect is actually innocent. 12 Angry Jurors, adapted from Reginald Rose’s 1954 television show, was made into a stage play by Sherman L. Sergel. It ran on Broadway fifty years later for over 300 performances.

Kyle Twomey possessed the perfectly relaxed, mature stage presence needed for his character (Juror Eight), making great use of all aspects of the set. His emotions heightened at the appropriate times in the show, causing tension and suspense. Elyse Bertani, playing the role of Juror Ten, also looked very comfortable onstage and made a standout personality for her character thanks to various facial expressions and gestures. Another who fulfilled the requirements of his often tough role was Mr. Spencer Blow; the growth of his character, Juror Three, was visible and made a wonderful enhancement to the already enjoyable cast.

Lighting was nicely executed, not too much to take away from the acting, but just enough to be notable part of the production. The sound was a bit patchy throughout, but generally improved as the show went on. The set changes were indeed small, but the fact that the stage crew paid attention to detail was much appreciated.

Some of the supporting cast members’ acting stayed at about the same level the whole time, impairing the most climactic scenes. However, everyone worked well with each other, looking quite natural and distinct in his/her character.

A simple court case that climaxed into something a lot more personal, 12 Angry Jurors at Rockwood Summit provided memorable characters, a moving plot, and a striking message of justice.

by Marissa Schrader of Notre Dame High School