Don't miss DHCT's closing of "Twelve Angry Men" at DHS

By SUE SUCHYTA

            Don't miss your one remaining chance to see the Dearborn Heights Civic Theatre's production of "Twelve Angry Men" at 8 p.m. April 20 at Dearborn High School.

Dearborn High School is hosting the DHCT production, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the DHS theater program.

Directed by Cynthia Frabutt, the jury room drama features twelve jurors who must decide the outcome of a felony murder trial. Initially, most believe the defendant is guilty, but a lone dissenter on the jury slowly begins to sow seeds of doubt, which cause the others to re-think their initial assumptions.

The show is also about socio-economic class distinction and prejudice as well.

The cast features Patrick Coon as juror #1, the jury foreman. The other jurors, as numbered, are: #2 – Barret Kaltz, #3 – Chuck Bollman, #4 – Phil Walling, #5 – Chris Rivard, #6 – David Wood, #7 – Jeff Bartos, #8 – Paul Morgan, #9 – Pat Denyer, #10 – Marc Walentowicz, #11 – Tom Morgan and #12 – Cory Chambless.

Jerry Kondraciuk plays the clerk, with Michael Kinnell is the baififf.

Paul Morgan rises to the challenge of playing the initial  lone juror who sows the seeds of doubt, then slowly influences the other jurors to take a closer look at the evidence. 

Pat Denyer does a good job portraying an older gentleman on the jury who offers an interesting perspective to the other jurors about the possible inconsistencies in some of the eyewitness testimony. 

Jeff Bartos is entertaining as a jury member focused on getting a verdict quickly so he can get to a baseball game. He, along with the others, do a good job convincing us that they are in a hot conference room in a pre-air-conditioning era. Bartos almost convinces us it is sweltering in the room!

Each actor on the jury brings to life their character's unique perspective to help interpret the evidence, as well as each character's inherent prejudices. 

The audience sits on stage in an intimate black box setting, so you are right at the center of the action.

One more show remains -- so if you liked the movie, you won't want to miss the stage play! 

            .