’12 Angry Men’ is school year’s first production

Benicia High School will be going back to the ‘50s for its fall play, but the themes touched upon in it are relevant to any era— especially right now.

That play would be “12 Angry Men,” which has had a long performance history. Reginald Rose wrote the teleplay which was performed in a 1954 episode of the CBS anthology series “Studio One,” adapted into both a stage play and a 1957 film directed by Sidney Lumet. The story focuses on a 12-member jury in the trial of an 18-year-old accused of stabbing his father to death and the intense deliberations that follow. None of the jurors are named, and the entire play takes place inside the courtroom.

This will be the first Panther Productions play directed by Nathan Day, who took over from 17-year veteran Christine Mani after she left to become a full-time theater instructor at Solano Community College. Day, who directed plays at Rodriguez High School in Fairfield for more than a decade, figured “12 Angry Men” would be a good production to introduce to Benicia High’s theater students for a variety of reasons.

“It’s a straight play which has a large cast, which is nice,” Day said. “A lot of straight plays have four or six characters. Especially coming in the first year taking over this program and getting to know the talent that I have, I wanted to pick a show that offered a lot of roles, to give a lot of kids an opportunity to be in the show and give me an opportunity to work with a lot of the kids.”

Additionally, Day feels the subject matter is important in this day and age.

“It’s always been one of my favorite scripts,” he said. “Even though it takes place in the 1950s, the issues that the script deals with are very much on the forefront of what we’re still dealing with in this country and things that have come to light with issues in our justice system, race issues, how we’re progressing or not progressing and personal prejudices.”

“It’s a good script for the kids to work with because it’s not just challenging them theatrically, but they’re really sinking into the reality of the story based on what they’re dealing with every day and what they’re seeing in the headlines,” he added.

The production will be largely the same, although half the roles had been gender flipped. Day said this was done to accommodate the many talented female students in Benicia High’s drama department who auditioned.

“If we were going to be completely historically accurate, all the jurors would be men,” he said. “When you’re dealing with high school students, the last thing you want to do is say ‘Hey, there’s no roles for a certain gender.’ While keeping it in the same time period, it does put a contemporary spin on it because we are dealing with interpretations of these characters from not just a male point of view but also a female point of view.”

Day said one of the biggest challenges for the actors was being on stage for the entire duration of the play. Although there are act breaks, the characters do not leave the stage during any portion as they would for other plays.

“It’s a new experience for a lot of these kids,” Day said. “They may not have a line for four or five pages, yet they’re still on stage and in character being engaged during that time because there is no down time. There is no chance to go backstage and check their makeup or look at a script. It’s all there on the stage.”

Nonetheless, Day believes the students have managed the task well.

“It’s been a really fun rehearsal process of seeing them figure out how to work with each other and get that chemistry down when they’re all there in that tiny little set for the entire show,” he said.

Additionally, Day admires the dedication students have put into the show, with some even going as far as to practice outside of rehearsal time.

“It’s not an easy script to do,” he said. “They have an off-book date that was given to them, and it’s always a nervous date because that’s the date when you really need to have it memorized. They don’t have their scripts in their hands any more, and it was one of the smoothest off-book rehearsals I’ve ever had working with high school kids. It was a very pleasing and proud moment.”

Day hopes audiences walk away thinking about the themes that were presented.

“We really want them to think about the show and its meaning long after the last line has been said and the lights have gone out,” he said.

“12 Angry Men” will be performed on Friday, Dec. 9 and 16 and Saturday, Dec. 10 and 17 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11 and 18 at 2 p.m. All shows will be held in the school’s Performing Arts Building, located at 1101 Military West. Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for students. There will be a $2 discount for tickets purchased in advance. Tickets can be purchased at the door or at BeniciaHighPerformingArts.org. For more information, call the school at 747-8325.