And to think, four years ago, Spotlight Theatre Company was performing in a library.
“12 Angry Men” marks this 10-year-old small theater’s move from a Lakewood strip mall to resident company of its first honest- to-goodness theater, the John Hand, at Lowry’s Colorado Free University.
More important, it marks significant growth in the scope and overall quality of the company’s work.
“12 Angry Men” is 54 years old, so there’s little shock value left in it. But it still requires a capable ensemble of 13 to pull off, and director Linda Suttle has culled a surprisingly deep roster that is, for the most part, up to the challenge. Ironically, it’s when her actors chill out, not when they turn up the heat, that they are most effective.
Leading the way is veteran Paul Page, who is remarkably measured here as the lone juror not immediately ready to convict a kid for murder based on persuasive circumstantial evidence. He’s not at all certain the boy is innocent; he just wants to talk about it. Inevitably, of course, all that talk swings the vote — and tempers — like a pendulum.
But here’s the thing: “12 Angry Men” isn’t a murder mystery at all. It is, rather, as the title suggests, a cautionary study in testosterone-fueled human behavior. It’s an examination of prejudice, both latent and blatant.
It’s about the danger of having a criminal-justice system based on peers judging peers, when that responsibility is taken cavalierly by some. One juror is ready to throw this boy away not based on thoughtful opinion but because it will get him to a baseball game on time. Worse, when the tide of opinion swings, he’s willing to throw his vote the other way for exactly the same reason. That kind of nonchalance remains a far greater threat to our personal freedoms today than the Patriot Act.
Reginald Rose’s precisely written tale is a tense, entertaining yarn that, despite its foregone predictability, serves as precursor to John Patrick Shanley’s recent Pulitzer-winning treatise on uncertainty, “Doubt.” Rose’s is ultimately more hopeful for showing man’s extraordinary ability to overcome machismo and arrogance, to reason and change one’s mind.
This is all the more remarkable at a time when we appear headed for our third straight razor-thin presidential election — and in a political climate where Americans afford their candidates the same adulation and loyalty we normally reserve for sports teams. On the playing field, we root for the jersey, not the men inside. On the dais, we keep one ear open only to arguments that support our existing beliefs; the other completely closed to the ideas of the opposition.
But here, 11 stubborn blockheads ultimately find the wherewithal to admit that they may have been wrong. That’s what makes it such a remarkably hopeful play.
Several actors distinguish themselves among this competent ensemble, among them Rick Bernstein, who runs the Miners Alley Playhouse but rarely appears on stage himself; Roger L. Simon as the old man who uncovers a key piece of evidence, and more.
Robert Kramer and Jesse Pearlman have the toughest jobs because their hyperbolic characters must go from buttoned-down to utterly unglued in a very short time span. Almost always, a stage invective delivered in calm, controlled whisper will bring more chills than a blurted one.
Quibbles: The story is set in 1954 New York, but only two actors sound remotely like New Yorkers, which makes them distracting. Idleness turns some jurors vacant for long spells. And there’s a buzz emanating from the stage lights so loud it at times drones out dialogue.
But the large cast combined with the intimacy of the John Hand Theater heighten the feeling of heat, tension and claustrophobia.
In the end, if any staging of a play this familiar can make its audience feel as if it is inside the room, and if it can instill real cautionary pause in them about how things might have turned out, then it’s a job well done.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“12 Angry Men” *** (out of four stars)
Jury drama Presented by Spotlight Theatre at the John Hand Theater, 7653 E. First Place in Lowry. Written by Reginald Rose. Directed by Linda Suttle. Through Sept. 27. 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 6:30 p.m. Sundays. 1 hour, 40 minutes, no intermission. $13-$16. 720-880-8727 or
This weekend’s theater openings
“Bubs, A One-Man Musical” Daring new rock musical performed by a single actor with a band of six. An unusual and poignant story of a songwriter father and his only son. Starring Erik Sandvold. Through Sept. 4. The Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave., 303-321-5925 or
“Curse of the Starving Class” The 30th anniversary production of Sam Shepard’s 1978 drama about a family in the throes of farm foreclosure. Curious is only the second theater in the country to land the rights to Shepard’s 30th-anniversary revision that premiered in San Francisco just a few months ago. Through Oct. 18. 1080 Acoma St., 303-623-0524 or and here’s
“Midlife: The Crisis Musical” The worst among the raging genre of raging hormonal aging musicals returns to Boulder’s Dinner Theatre, where it was an inexplicable hit last year. Through Nov. 8. 5501 Arapahoe Ave., 303-449-6000 or and here’s
New Rocky Mountain Voices One-act and 10-minute plays by authors from the Rocky Mountain States. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5-6, only. Westcliffe Players, 119 Main St., 719-783-3004 or .
“ A Nice Family Gathering” A dead man comes back to haunt his youngest son into persuading his mother that he loved her. Through Sept. 20. Arvada Festival Playhouse, 5665 Olde Wadsworth Blvd., 303-422-4090 or .
“Noises Off” The celebrated modern farce about the antics of an inept acting troupe. Through Sept. 27. Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St., 303-772-5200 or .
“Nunsensations” Those zany, annoying “Nunsense” nuns return in this light spoof of Vegas revues. Through Nov. 30. Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, 4747 Market Place Drive, Johnstown, 970-744-3747, 1-877-240-4242 or .
“Out of Order” Ray Cooney farce about a governmental figure who plans to spend the evening with one of the opposition’s typists. Of course, things go disastrously wrong, beginning with the discovery of a dead body trapped in the hotel’s window. Through Oct. 4. Victorian Playhouse, 4201 Hooker St., 303-433-4343 or .
“She Stoops to Conquer” Classic comedy by Oliver Goldsmith about a wealthy country girl who pretends to be common to make her suitor fall in love with her. Through Sept. 20. Upstart Crow at the Dairy Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-444-7328 or .
Compiled by John Moore
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page.
This week’s podcast: Running Lines at …
This week, Denver Post theater critic John Moore reports from Aug. 23 performance of the “Retro Loud,” a surprise celebration of 33-year veteran T.J. Mullin’s 60th birthday. Interviewees include Mullin, Annie Dwyer, Mark Rubald, Rory Pierce, Amie Mackenzie, Melissa McCarl, Bob Moore, Wendy Moore, Mandy Moore, Dan Dobbins, Renato Lunno and Melinda Foster. Run time: 17 minutes.
Bonus: To see a slideshow of photos and video performance excerpts from Mullin’s big night,
