Reviewed by Dr. Tiffany Knight Raymond, Ph.D., and Theron Raymond (6th grader)
Prime Stage Theatre finishes its 28th season with Sherman L. Sergel’s adaptation of Reginald Rose’s 1955 play, Twelve Angry Men. The play was a fast-follow to Rose’s 1954 Emmy Award-winning TV movie of the same name. In 1957, legend Sidney Lumet directed the Academy Award-nominated film version. The story’s rapid adaptation across mediums is a testimony to its relevance in the cultural zeitgeist.
The show opens with the voice of God. The unseen presiding trial judge instructs the 12 jurors and reminds them to “deliberate honestly.” Director Shane Valenzi wisely freeze frames all 12 actors in the jury room during this speech. This not only heightens their deference but anchors the rule of law as the prevailing voice in the room. The judge’s voice is commanding and authoritative, reminiscent of the opening narration from Law & Order.
Costume designer Meg Kelly is true to the era with all dozen dressed in suits. However, it’s not a sea of sameness. Juror #4 (Keith Zagorski) wears a tailored pinstripe suit, distinguishing him as an authoritative executive and a man of means. The foreman (Mark Spondike) is hunched and dressed in a dated and worn looking suit with trousers a smidge too short that bespeak a working class life. These status subtleties are outward manifestations of how the assembled jurors differ in the deliberation process and deciding of a verdict. They may be 12 white men, but they’re hardly a homogenous group.
The play’s title is a little aggressive and off-putting but also inaccurate. Twelve Angry Men conjures a one-dimensional emotional valence. Anger is an emotion. However, there’s more frustration than anger. The jurors are motivated and distracted by highly relatable externalities. Juror #7 (Luke Hancock) wants a quick verdict so he can get to the Yankees game he has tickets for. Hancock imbues this with the modern equivalent of missing a Taylor Swift concert. The monetary and experiential costs of missing the game weigh more heavily on him than the fate of a man’s life.
As Juror #12, Marc Duchin paces, exuding the energy of an edgy, amped-up ad executive. He’s preemptively anxious about the prospect of a lengthy deliberation, worrying aloud that “my job could be gone.” Despite being a 70-year old play, the cutthroat concerns of employment security are remarkably resonant.
There’s also vulnerability in the emotional landscape. Juror #8 (Everett Lowe) asks thoughtful questions that force the jurors to dissect details of the trial’s timeline, which is unveiled over the course of the deliberation process. Lowe physically towers over the other actors, and his height becomes symbolic of his commanding wisdom.
Alex Barnhart’s mid-century set design is austere and brilliant. The wooden jury room floor is covered by an area rug that leaves a generous perimeter of exposed flooring. The area rug is shadowed by a rectangular table that’s uncomfortably small for 12 people. Barnhart’s concentric layering thoughtfully creates a sense of the walls closing in. His minimalist design also allows the people and their personalities to fill the set.
What director Shane Valenzi does miss is cigarettes and ashtrays. Smoking was the 1950s norm, including courtrooms and jury rooms. If you’ve ever seen Lumet’s film, the jurors smoke throughout the deliberation. Some full ashtrays and herbal cigarettes would have sharpened the era-specific feel and heightened the suffocation of small room claustrophobia.
Juror #11 (David Knackman) is a European immigrant. While Juror #11 is a naturalized citizen, Knackman leans into a lingering accent to earmark the immigrant. He echoes the omniscient, absent judge, making an impassioned speech for due process, the legal system, and democracy. He reminds the assembled that he came to America because it’s a place where “A man is entitled to unpopular opinions,” and it is “one of the reasons why we are strong.” With America’s courts and legal system currently under siege, that reminder of strength has never been more relevant.
-TKR, Ph.D. & TR
You can see Prime Stage’s production of Twelve Angry Men through May 11, 2025 at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212. Purchase tickets online here.
