Twelve Angry Men (play)
 | |
| Written by | Reginald Rose |
|---|---|
| Place premiered | The juror's room |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | A courthouse drama: a boy's life at stake in the hands of the jury |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | 1954, late summer in a court jury room, New York City, New York |
Twelve Angry Men is a play by Reginald Rose adapted from his 1954 teleplay of the same title for the CBS Studio One anthology television series. Staged first in San Francisco in 1955, the Broadway debut came 50 years after CBS aired the play, on October 28, 2004, by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 328 performances.
Characters and story
[edit]The drama depicts a jury deliberating a verdict in a murder trial, in which the case at hand pertains to whether a young man murdered his own father. The story begins after closing arguments have been presented in the case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. As in most American criminal cases, the twelve men must unanimously decide on a verdict of "guilty" or "not guilty". (In the justice systems of nearly all American states, failure to reach a unanimous verdict, a so-called "hung jury", results in a mistrial.) The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence.
In the jury room, the first vote is a nearly unanimous decision of guilty, with a single "undecided" dissenter, who throughout the deliberations sows a seed of reasonable doubt. The jurors become acquainted with the personalities of their peers. Several of them have different reasons for discriminating against the defendant: his race, his background, and the troubled relationship between one juror and his own son. The one dissenter gradually wins over the other jurors to a unanimous not-guilty verdict, by questioning the reliability of the evidence presented in court and exposing his fellow jurors' prejudices.
The characters are unnamed; throughout their deliberation, not a single juror calls another by his name, and they are identified in the script merely by number.
Productions
[edit]
Rose wrote several different variations of the stage adaptation of the story. Once dramatic rights to the film were sold, several versions based on the film were staged as well.
It was staged in San Francisco in 1955[1] and in Europe in 1958, including an adaptation by Andre Obey in Paris.[2]
In 1964, Leo Genn appeared in the London production, directed by Margaret Webster. For other theatrical adaptations, wherein female actors are cast, the play is often retitled 12 Angry People or 12 Angry Jurors.
Harold Pinter directed a production of the play, which opened at the Bristol Old Vic on March 7, 1996.[3] With set design by Eileen Diss, lighting design by Mick Hughes, and costume design by Tom Rand, its cast included Stuart Rayner (Juror 1, Foreman), Kevin Dignam (Juror 2), Tony Haygarth (Juror 3), Timothy West (Juror 4), Maurice Kaufmann (Juror 5), Douglas McFerran (Juror 6), Tim Healy (Juror 7), Kevin Whately (Juror 8), Alan MacNaughtan (Juror 9), Peter Vaughan (Juror 10), Robert East (Juror 11), Christopher Simon (Juror 12), Joshua Losey (Guard), and E. G. Marshall, as the Voice of the Judge.[3] Marshall had portrayed "#4" in Sidney Lumet's 1957 film version of the play. The production transferred to the Comedy Theatre in London the same year.
In 2003, the British producer/director Guy Masterson directed an all comedian revival[4] at the Assembly Rooms including Bill Bailey as Juror 4, Phil Nichol as Juror 10, Owen O'Neill as Juror 8, Stephen Frost as Juror 3 and Russell Hunter as Juror 9 during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which broke the existing box office record for drama at the Fringe Festival and garnered much critical acclaim.[5]
The Roundabout Theatre Company presented a Broadway production of the play in 2004, starring Boyd Gaines as a more combative Juror 8, with James Rebhorn (Juror 4), Philip Bosco (Juror 3), and Robert Prosky as the Voice of the Judge. Prosky had starred as "#3" in a Washington D.C. production of the show, opposite Roy Scheider as "#8" and Rene Auberjonois as "#5".
In 2005, the British producer/director Guy Masterson directed a hugely successful Australian version of his hit Edinburgh 2003 production produced by Arts Projects Australia and Adrian Bohm[6] at QPAC Brisbane, Sydney Theatre and Melbourne Athenaeum including Shane Bourne as Juror 3, Peter Phelps as Juror 4, Marcus Graham as Juror 8, George Kapiniaris as Juror 2 and Henri Szeps as Juror 9.[7] This production won three Melbourne Green Room Awards and a nomination for "Best Play" at the Helpmann Awards.
In 2005, L.A. Theatre Works presented a production of the play that was recorded and released in 2006 as an audiobook; directed by John de Lancie, the cast included Dan Castellaneta, Jeffrey Donovan, Héctor Elizondo, Robert Foxworth, James Gleason, Kevin Kilner, Richard Kind, Alan Mandell, Rob Nagle, Armin Shimerman, Joe Spano, and Steve Vinovich.[8]
The London West End production opened in November 2013 (running until March 1, 2014) at the Garrick Theatre. Directed by Christopher Haydon, the cast included Martin Shaw, Robert Vaughn, Jeff Fahey, Nick Moran, Robert Blythe, Miles Richardson and Martin Turner.[9]
In 2014, Independent Theatre Pakistan performed an adaptation of this play at Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore, directed by Azeem Hamid.[10]
Screen adaptations
[edit]A 1954 television production for Studio One
Cast:
- Norman Fell – Foreman/Juror No. 1
- John Beal – Juror No. 2
- Franchot Tone – Juror No. 3
- Walter Abel – Juror No. 4
- Lee Phillips – Juror No. 5
- Bart Burns – Juror No. 6
- Paul Hartman – Juror No. 7
- Robert Cummings – Juror No. 8
- Joseph Sweeney – Juror No. 9
- Edward Arnold – Juror No. 10
- George Voskovec – Juror No. 11
- Larkin Ford – Juror No. 12 (credited as "Will West")[11]
Sweeney and Voskovec repeated their parts in the 1957 film.
A 1957 feature film adaptation, produced and written by Rose himself, and directed by Sidney Lumet. Nominated for 3 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Cast:
- Martin Balsam as Juror No. 1 (Foreman)
- John Fiedler as Juror No. 2
- Lee J. Cobb as Juror No. 3
- E. G. Marshall as Juror No. 4
- Jack Klugman as Juror No. 5
- Edward Binns as Juror No. 6
- Jack Warden as Juror No. 7
- Henry Fonda as Juror No. 8 / Davis
- Joseph Sweeney as Juror No. 9 / McCardle
- Ed Begley as Juror No. 10
- George Voskovec as Juror No. 11
- Robert Webber as Juror No. 12
A 1997 feature film adaptation, directed by William Friedkin.
Cast:
- Courtney B. Vance as Juror No. 1 (Foreman)
- Ossie Davis as Juror No. 2
- George C. Scott as Juror No. 3
- Armin Mueller-Stahl as Juror No. 4
- Dorian Harewood as Juror No. 5
- James Gandolfini as Juror No. 6
- Tony Danza as Juror No. 7
- Jack Lemmon as Juror No. 8
- Hume Cronyn as Juror No. 9
- Mykelti Williamson as Juror No. 10
- Edward James Olmos as Juror No. 11
- William Petersen as Juror No. 12
12. A 2007 film adaptation. Director Nikita Michalkov
Cast:
- Sergei Makovetsky – Juror No. 1
- Nikita Mikhalkov – Juror No. 2
- Sergei Garmash – Juror No. 3
- Valentin Gaft – Juror No. 4
- Alexei Petrenko – Juror No. 5
- Yuri Stoyanov – Juror No. 6
- Sergei Gazarov – Juror No. 7
- Mikhail Yefremov – Juror No. 8
- Alexey Gorbunov – Juror No. 9
- Sergei Artsibashev – Juror No. 10
- Viktor Verzhbitsky – Juror No. 11
- Roman Madyanov – Juror No. 12
- Alexander Adabashyan – Bailiff
- Apti Magamayev – Chechen boy
Awards and nominations
[edit]2004 Broadway revival
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tony Award | Best Revival of a Play | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Play | Philip Bosco | Nominated | ||
| Best Direction of a Play | Scott Ellis | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Won | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Philip Bosco | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Director of a Play | Scott Ellis | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Won | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Philip Bosco | Nominated | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Revival of a Play | Won | ||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cone, Theresa Loeb (December 10, 1955). "'Twelve Angry Men' Drama Staged at S.F." Oakland Tribune. p. 4. Retrieved September 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hy Hollinger (December 24, 1958). "Telecast and Theatre Film, Looks As If '12 Angry Men' May Reap Most Dough As Legit Play". Variety. p. 5. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b "Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, The Bristol Old Vic, 7 March 1996". HaroldPinter.org. Harold Pinter. March 7, 1996. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
- ^ Theatre Tours International Past Shows
- ^ Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland.org.
- ^ Theatre Tours International Past Shows
- ^ Guy Masterson's Australian Production of 12 Angry Men
- ^ "Twelve Angry Men". DC Public Library. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ^ Mountford, Fiona (November 12, 2013). "Twelve Angry Men, Garrick Theatre - review". London Evening Standard. Alexander Lebedev/Evgeny Lebedev/Daily Mail and General Trust. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ^ "Pakistan Today Paperazzi Issue #25". issuu. February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- ^ Studio One In Hollywood: "Twelve Angry Men", IMDb
Further reading
[edit]- Reginald, Rose; Sergel, Sherman L. (1955). Twelve Angry Men: A Play in Three Acts (First ed.). Chicago: Dramatic Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0871293275. OCLC 13939636.