CMCS Drama Department to Present 12 ANGRY JURORS

The Calvary Murrieta Christian School Drama Department will present their performance of 12 ANGRY JURORS directed by Chelsea and Daniel Lybeck.

The play will debut March 23 at 7 PM with additional performances on March 24, 25, 30, 31, and April 1 at the same time. All performances are in the school's sanctuary at the upper campus.

The play is best known by its film adaption from 1957 (titled "12 Angry Men") that featured Henry Fonda in the lead role. It was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing of Adapted Screenplay. The story, written by Reginald Rose, takes place in a New York City courthouse where a jury commences deliberating the case of a 16-year-old boy from a slum, on trial for allegedly stabbing his father to death. If there is any reasonable doubt they are to return a verdict of not guilty. If found guilty, the boy will receive a death sentence. In a preliminary vote, all jurors vote "guilty" except Juror 8 (Nathaniel Parsons, junior), who argues that the boy deserves some deliberation. This irritates some of the other jurors, who are impatient for a quick deliberation, especially Juror 7 (Billy Fink, senior) who has tickets to the evening's Yankees game, and Juror 10 (Kathryn Quirk, sophomore) who demonstrates blatant prejudice against people from slums. However, none is more displeased with 8's hesitancy than Juror 3 (Morgan Young, junior) who has, for personal reasons, made it his mission to see the defendant to the electric chair. Tension, argument, and even violence erupts as the twelve deliberate and contend with each other's backgrounds, beliefs, and prejudices. Can one convince eleven?

The 12 Angry Jurors cast is rounded out by Michael Kilpatrick (freshman) as the Foreman, Luke Wangler (8th grader) as Juror 2, Nathan Jasso (junior) as Juror 4, Cody Lee-Rios (sophomore) as Juror 5, Ramah Shirey (junior) as Juror 6, Chloe Wangler (sophomore) as Juror 9, Lilli Cardwell (freshman) as Juror 11, Olivia Cardwell (senior) as Juror 12, and Avery Lund (8th grader) as the Guard.

"This play is extremely impactful and the amount of maturity it takes to even audition for a show like this says a lot about the actors cast in this production." said director and teacher Daniel Lybeck, "This is not your typical high school production. Audiences will be confronted with real issues and insightful problems that still plague our society today. Yet, the entertainment value is not lost. To anyone who likes 'Law & Order', 'A Few Good Men', and 'The People v O. J. Simpson', this is right up your alley."

General admission is $10; all students, senior citizens, and CMCS school staff are admitted for $8. Tickets can be purchased the night of the performance, at the door. CMCS is located at 24225 Monroe Ave. Murrieta, CA. For any additional information, contact clybeck@calvarymurrieta.com.