York Little Theater Presents 12 ANGRY JURORS, Opens 1/15/2010

The American judicial system is as much on trial as the defendant when twelve diverse jurors dramatically wrestle with their civic duty. Locked in a jury room, tempers flare and frustration abounds as their own prejudices, fears, and cultural biases boil to the surface in what was expected to be an open-and-shut case of an inner-city teen on trial for the murder of his abusive father. Written by Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men was originally presented as a televised play on CBS's Studio One, in 1954. By 1955, Rose's drama was adapted into a stage play. Since then it has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and countless regional Theater Productions.

"This is a remarkable thing about democracy," says the foreign-born juror, "that we are notified by mail to come down to this place-and decide on the guilt or innocence of a man; of a man we have not known before. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing." But personal it does become, as tempers get short, arguments grow heated and each juror reveals his or her own character as the various testimonies are re-examined, the murder is re-enacted, and a new murder threat is born before their eyes. The play intentionally avoids providing easy answers and we are never given proof of the defendant's guilt or innocence. The audience, like the jury in the play, must make up their own minds as to the verdict of the case.

The original production of Twelve Angry Men presented an all white, all male jury but modern productions of Twelve Angry Jurors include women and a racially diverse jury making the division between "us and them" play out differently. YLT's production is directed by Warkenda Williams Casey who specifically cast the diverse jury to blur the divisions. "Everyone has a ‘them,'" begins Casey, "and it's not until the characters unfold themselves that we learn who their ‘thems' are-and they may be sitting across the table looking directly at one another."

12 Angry Jurors is part of YLT's Studio Series and is staged "in the round" in their Black Box Theatre. By seating audience members all around the jury, the intimacy of the smaller theatre space is enhanced and audiences feel they, too, are sequestered in the jury room.

This is an ensemble piece and every character is on stage all the time. "This show stands on the strength of its actors," explains Casey. YLT's production features a local cast of 13 including Eartha Anderson, Beatrice Gilbert, Todd Gutierrez, Ashley Holtzapple, Dani Hoy, Darcel Lee, Colleen Mundis, Rodd Robertson, Rene Ruiz, Charles Smith, Ashley Thompson, Brian Valley and Ed Watson. "The cast is phenomenal," adds Casey. "Each character is completely fleshed out and fully dimensional. You may not like all the characters, but you will understand them, and even feel pity for some of them."

Casey says she has become, "quite passionate about this play. The movie has a happy movie ending which is handed to you. This play hands you nothing. You have to think through every single moment."

Some have characterized this as a play about the faith we hold so dearly in our judicial system, but Casey feels it is our own biases and prejudices on trial. She questions whether "justice is really blind." To further explore the themes of the play, YLT will facilitate an audience talk-back discussion following the performance on Sunday, January 17.

Performances are on January 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 at 8 p.m.; and on January 17 and 24 at 3 p.m. 12 Angry Jurors is part of YLT's 2009-2010 Columbia Gas Season and is sponsored by CGA Law Firm. Ticket prices are $10 - $20. More information and tickets are available by calling the box office at 717-854-5715, 11 - 6, Monday through Friday, or visiting www.ylt.org.

York Little Theatre is a nonprofit community theatre which values and nurtures the irreplaceable role of the arts and is dedicated to engaging and enriching its entire, diverse community in the dramatic arts through a broad range of professionally directed, entertaining, stimulating, and sometimes provocative performances.

York Little Theatre is located at 27 South Belmont Street, York PA, just south of Market Street at the intersection of I83. York Little Theatre is a proud member of The Cultural Alliance of York.

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