Review: TWELVE ANGRY JURORS at Ottawa Little Theatre

As 12 Angry Men is one of my favourite movies, I have been looking forward to Ottawa Little Theatre's production of Twelve Angry Jurors, but I would be perjuring myself if I didn't admit to feeling a hint of trepidation that the production would be unable to do justice to the classic film. This is not Ottawa Little Theatre's first kick at the proverbial can, however; OLT first produced Reginald Rose's screenplay, adapted for the stage by Sherman L. Sergel, in 1990. In fact, Lawrence Aronovitch, who was in OLT's original 1990 cast, makes a cameo appearance as the Judge in this production.

In Twelve Angry Jurors, a young man from the slums is accused of violently murdering his father by stabbing him with a switchblade he bought earlier that same night. The evidence against him is damning - testimony from two key witnesses, a strong motive, the murder weapon, his past criminal history, and the absence of a verified alibi. If convicted, his punishment will be execution. The jurors must together decide the man's guilt or innocence and, thus, his fate.

This production is a slick one in every aspect. The sound (Barry Sims) and lighting (Garret Brink) were flawless. The set design (Patti Vopni) is one of the best I've seen from OLT. Together with the costumes (Isabella Redgate) and hair and makeup (Andrée Benson), the audience is transported back in time to a stifling hot jury room in 1950's New York City. All these elements combine to make the audience feel like a fly on the wall, sequestered in the room with the jurors.

Performances from the entire cast were outstanding. Each juror has a personality trait or a skill that they bring to the table that serves to either frustrate or enlighten the task at hand.

• Juror No. 1 (Garret Lee) is the foreman; he tries to remain unbiased and keep the jury focused on the case as tensions flare in the heat.

  

• Juror No. 2 (Anissa Stambouli) is sweetly concerned for the older jurors in the summer heat, but she struggles to express her own opinions and is easily swayed.

  Juror No. 3 (Ross Long) is the antagonist of the play. He is stubbornly adamant that the boy must be found guilty.

• Juror No. 4 (Sarah Hearn) is a wealthy older woman who believes that everyone is entitled to express their opinions.

• Juror No. 5 (Dan DeMarbre) is a quiet, thoughtful man who knows what it is like to grow up in the tenements.

• Juror No. 6 (Becky [Beckett] Long) is fact driven and wants to absorb as much information as possible before rendering a verdict.

• Juror No. 7 (Chris Torti) is initially more concerned with his Yankees' tickets for the game that night than the consequences of his vote.

• Juror No. 8 (Corey Pelow) is the protagonist of the story. Unwilling to casually cast a vote that will send a man to his death, Juror No. 8 insists that his fellow jurors review the evidence to ensure that any reasonable doubt of the accused's guilt is eliminated.

• Juror No. 9 (Ann Scholberg) is a frail, elderly woman who, as the play moves forward, increasingly speaks out against injustice and shares insight that proves crucial to the story.

• Juror No. 10 (Kevin Reilly) is an older man who has underlying prejudices that lead him to make questionable decisions.

• Juror No. 11 (Maisaloon Hammoud) is a recent U.S. immigrant and tries to remind the other jurors of the importance of their role in the democratic process; in other countries, the fate of this young man would have been arbitrarily decided.

• Juror No. 12 (Adrian Volmer-Bruce) is an impatient marketing executive who just wants to get back to his life as quickly as possible.

The direction (Susan Monaghan) is commendable. Many intricate details and subtleties helped to make the story compelling from beginning to end. For example, the mopping of brows, divising makeshift handheld fans and continual trips to the water cooler reminded the audience of how uncomfortably hot the room was. After intermission, the lights went up on a scene that had been in mid-action, highlighting the fact that there was no break for the sequestered jurors.

The only disappointment for me was that the finale seemed slightly rushed and the climax for Juror No. 3 was a little too subtle; his ultimate vote seemed to be more the result of bullying, rather than self-awareness leading him to make an impartial decision. Still though, this is an impressive production, and I would even go as far as to say that, so far, this is shaping up to be the must-see production of OLT's 2023 season. Twelve Angry Jurors is now in performances through May 20th. Click here for more information or to buy tickets.

Watch the trailer here:

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