Twelve Angry Men

Tightly written with solid stage directions. Great show for good actors. Demands ensemble acting.

Ed Cornely, Cornely Productions, Sturbridge, Mass.

Twelve Angry Jurors is a perfect show to do with high-school students. It is easy to understand and portray "real" characters facing their own discriminations.

Laura Woods, California High School, San Ramon, Calif.

A fast-moving, behind-the-scenes courtroom drama, ideal for a high school with a variety of talent and/or minimal men. Easily adaptable to virtually any space, can be done in the round, fully-staged, or with minimal costumes, props and scenery requirements. Engaging, tightly paced, and one of the classics of the American theatre.

Pat Burr, Northeast High School, Goose Lake, Iowa

This was the perfect choice for our first play of the year. Not knowing how many girls and how many boys I would have, this play allowed for flexible casting. The show had relevancy to our judicial system and constitutional rights learned in history and government classes.

Rita Powers, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas

We performed the play as a reader's theatre-radio drama. Received countless positive comments about the play and conflict resolution and civility. The cast were from the community and college personnel. Wonderful experience.

Susan Sutton, Cloud County Community College, Concordia, Kan.

One of the great character pieces of recent years. Community members by the score have expressed how excited they were to see this show, citing it as one of their favorites.

Mitch Travis, Elizabeth High School, Elizabeth, Colo.

The show was an amazing piece of drama. It's a classic of American theatre.

Tom Varner, Hard Road Theatre, Sorento, Ill.

The opportunity for an actor to remain onstage for an entire production is a challenge. To offer that challenge to 12 students was a great experience for me as the director and [for] the strong ensemble that emerged as a result of our production.

Honore Schiro, Brookfield Central High School, Brookfield, Wis.

We used both scripts (combined) as we had men and women in the cast. The lines in the scripts are timeless! Our audiences loved it! It's a wonderful ensemble piece, and our company had a lot of fun with it.

Barbara Fatum, Calvary Theater Group, San Francisco, Calif.

The subtlety of the dialogue was compelling and very interesting for our students to work with. Most students are used to "over the top" acting, but this asked more of them as young actors and us as young directors. It was a wonderfully challenging experience!

Alison Mizen, Euclid High School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Performed in our historic Courthouse on the Public Square, this powerful production peers into an insulated environment and shows the rawness of human interaction, personal power, secrets and emotions. The community turned out full force for this experience.

Candy Roberts, Murfreesboro Little Theatre, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

This production was a deeply enriching experience for our cast. It prompted thought and discussion from our audience. Our cast received a standing ovation each night.

Judith Manley, Bishop Hartley High School, Columbus, Ohio

In this time of Covid, We were told to pick a small cast that shared the stage most of the time together. This play fit the bill. Our kids loved the characters they developed. We had many discussions about differences and similarities in when it was written to today. We even received 2 standing ovations which usually does not happen during a play.

Don Markham, Cleveland High School, Cleveland, Tenn.

This production went off very well. We filled every seat and the students enjoyed the experience so much they can't wait to do another. This was our school's first production ever!

Matthew C. Hartman, G. W. Community School, Springfield, Va.

Excellent challenge for student actors. All thirteen characters have an opportunity to develop specific characterizations and be featured in a pivotal moment of their own.

Rob Gleason, Holt High School, Wentzville, MO

It is a compelling drama that challenges both the audience and the actors. Our production was powerful, thought-provoking, and sold out.

David Payne, Logan School, Denver, CO

This play presents a great challenge to actors. It's not about breathtaking sets or special effects. It's about capturing the passion and intensity of your characters.

John Ashenmacher, Northland Lutheran High School, Mosinee, WI

At the beginning of our rehearsal period, I had 13 students who were skeptical about being able to perform anything but comedy. Seven weeks later, I had 13 students who were convinced that serious drama is well worth the effort. The results of their many hours of character development and hard work were absolutely awesome!

Judi Spitzer, Westlake High School, Westlake, OH

In a community where it is assumed that a drama will never play as well as a comedy or musical, this one was VERY well received. Word spread after our first weekend, and the second weekend people were lined up out the door and down the block!

Shirley Baker, Apollo Civic Theatre, Martinsburg, WV

One of the most intense yet best plays I've seen. Great story.

Susan Lisle, Little Theatre of Gastonia, Gastonia, NC

The performance was enjoyed by all who attended. The students worked very hard and had fun putting the show on.

Brian Herman, St. Laurence High School, Burbank, Ill.

This is an incredible script which allows twelve actors to interact all at once. It allows a director to showcase a great variety of actors with a spectrum of skills. There is nothing to change about this.

James Spencer, Greenville High School, Greenville, Ill.

This is an old story but one that is relevant still today. How quickly we are to judge someone before we really listen and look at the facts.

Stacy Clawson, Zane Trace Players, Zanesville, Ohio