Winters Theater Company actors in rehearsal will perform Rodney Orozco's “12 Angry Jurors'' at the Winters Opera House in downtown Winters over two weekends in May. (Photo provided by WTC)
Do you think the American people are angry about, well, everything?
So are the actors in Winters Theater Company's latest production.
The company will perform Rodney Orozco's “12 Angry Jurors'' over two weekends in May at the Winters Opera House in downtown Winters.
Screening times are May 10th and 11th at 7:30pm and May 12th at 2pm. Held at the historic Opera House, 13 Main Street, on May 17th and 18th at 7:30pm and May 19th at 2pm.
In Orozco's version, the fast-paced, intermission-free production is based on the 1954 television play “12 Angry Men'' by Reginald Rose.
But Orozco's story is set in America in 1969, a time of social and political upheaval much like ours today. A jury of 12 men and women is locked in a room to decide the fate of a teenage boy accused of murdering his father.
But in reaching a unanimous verdict, they faced their own biases, prejudices, and anxieties that led to jurors' nervousness, anguish, and ultimately clarity about the long-standing tenets of our nation's criminal justice system. It will be food for you.
Rose's TV drama was later made into a 1957 black-and-white film, starring Henry Fonda as a man reluctant to rush to a conviction for a teenager accused of stabbing his father.
If Orozco's interpretation is faithful to the script, that person is Juror No. 8, the only juror to initially vote not guilty, repeatedly questioning the evidence in the case, and telling other jurors about his It encourages people to take their role seriously and demonstrates a commitment to justice and morality. And he was angry that two jurors were playing games and ignoring important civic duties.
Part of the tension in the deliberation room is that deliberations occur quickly, with jurors assuming that other jurors have reached the same guilty verdict as they (or perhaps she in Orozco's version) have reached. It originates from No. 7. Juror number 7 wants a quick decision in time for the Broadway play's opening time.
Juror No. 9 begins to take Juror No. 8's side, but Juror No. 10 is bigoted and sees the defendant as a symbol of a marginalized ethnic group cut off from “civilized” society. Ultimately, but reluctantly, Juror #4 sides with Juror #8.
Juror number 5 also subsequently decides to vote not guilty if presented with a reasonable doubt of innocence. And although Juror No. 3 most reluctantly resisted, ultimately, through deep personal anxiety, Juror No. 8's decision that each piece of evidence used in the trial was beyond reasonable doubt. I understood wisdom.
At each stage of the process, the tension rises and falls, until in the end he becomes convinced that the prosecution has not offered a conviction “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
For tickets, visit www.Winterstheatre.org, call (530) 795-4014 or email Winterstheatre@gmail.com.