Batavia High updates classic offering 'Twelve Angry Jurors'

Batavia High School will present an updated version of the classic play, "Twelve Angry Men," today known as "Twelve Angry Jurors," directed by Josh Casburn, and featuring two talented casts.

Twelve jurors deliberate on what is supposed to be an open-and-shut murder case. Open and shut, that is, until one juror swims alone against the powerful current of opinion, attempting to convince the other jurors to take a second look at the evidence. Tempers flare as two of them stand off about the murder case, about their prejudices and about the passion for justice that lives in each of us.

Attend this production as the two lead actors, the male, Griffin Price and the female, Darcy Coussens, alternate roles each night, emphasizing the complicated struggle for justice in every juror. Our gender, our background, our prejudices can all influence our desire and ability to reason and to make morally difficult decisions.

The characters represent many facets of society. "Twelve Angry Jurors" portrays a variety of personalities, creating a questionable outcome for the accused. The jurors consist of a subdued juror, Clarie Heronemus and Mary Alcott; an affluent juror, Leslie Billing and Maddie Mueller; the poor juror, T.S. Bowman; and the frustrated juror, Emma Kegerris and Hannah Kettering. Also included on the jury are a selfish juror, Hannah Bishop and Paul Bartow; an elderly juror, Doug Burrichter and Tyler Spitz; the bigoted juror, Katie Billing; a juror of foreign descent, John Schueneman; and the entrepreneur, Nick Coussens and Tyler Spitz.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 to Saturday, Nov. 7, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8. The cast for the shows Nov. 5 and 7 is different from the cast Nov. 6 and 8.

All tickets are $6 and reserved seating is recommended. For a ticket order form, visit Batavia High School theater parent organization, STAGE, at bataviastage.org. Or visit the Batavia High School Web site, bhs.bps101.net or the ticket hotline, (630) 937-8999, ext. 7949.