Review: TWELVE ANGRY MEN at Hale Centre Theatre is a Realistic, Relevant Snapshot

TWELVE ANGRY MEN on Hale Centre Theatre’s Jewel Box Stage is a realistic snapshot of one man’s trial in the 1950s that reverberates to relevance today through impactful storytelling. 

TWELVE ANGRY MEN by Reginald Rose was a live CBS teleplay in 1954, adapted to a film starring Henry Fonda in 1957. Played out in real time, a jury enters their deliberation room after hearing the arguments in a murder trial. At first the verdict seems all but inevitable, but then they must wrestle with the question: could there actually be reasonable doubt?

The cast brings a groundedness and natural chemistry to the interplay between jurors, with standouts including Dylan Hamilton Wright as No. 8 (double cast with Morgan Gunter), Jake Ben Suazo as No. 3 (double cast with Paul Cartwright), Brian Neal Clark as No. 10 (double cast with David D’Agostini), and Mark Fotheringham as No. 11 (double cast with Ammar Al Saffar).

The other jurors include Bradley Moss as No. 1 (double cast with Ben Parkes), Bradley Mackay as No. 2 (double cast with Armando Serrano Huerta), Neal C. Johnson as No. 4 (double cast with Thomas Cowan), Garret Woolley as No. 5 (double cast with Sten Shearer), Dustin Bolt as No. 6 (double cast with Spencer Hunsicker), Bryan Dayley as No. 7 (double cast with Joe Doria), David Nieman as No. 9 (double cast with Randy Honaker), Derrick Dean as No. 12 (double cast with Chandler Bishop), along with Parley Lambert as the Guard (double cast with Abrin Tinney).

Director Stephanie Breinholt keeps the pacing brisk while not being afraid to linger when necessary. The stage business is authentic with focus pulled in the right places at the right times.

The lighting by Emma Belnap is subtly effective in supporting the direction, and paired with the video/projections by Madeline Ashton, it provides a gloominess and pallor to the rainy day inside the courthouse. 

The pleasing set by Jenn Taylor feels authentic to the time and place, meshing well with the period character-creating costumes by La Beene. 

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