Scott Ellis (1776, She Loves Me) directs the new staging of the classic Reginald Rose jury room drama which began previews Oct. 1 and opened Oct. 28 for a limited engagement at the American Airlines Theatre originally slated through Dec. 19. The work has now extended five times, but will close April 3 to make way for Roundabout's late-season entry Passion Play.
Set in a jury room,Twelve Angry Men tells the story of a murder trial in which a youth is alleged to have killed his father. The case seems like an open-and-shut situation as eleven of the unnamed jurors believe the defendant to be guilty. Juror #8, however, is not so certain, stirring up the room and setting off a number of arguments.
The anonymous deciding dozen are currently Mark Blum (The Graduate) as Juror #1, Kevin Geer (Side Man) as Juror #2, Philip Bosco (Copenhagen, Lend Me a Tenor) as Juror #3, James Rebhorn (Dinner at Eight) as Juror #4, Michael Mastro (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) as Juror #5, Robert Clohessy (Rounding Third, "Oz") as Juror #6, John Pankow (Barbra's Wedding, "Mad About You") as Juror #7, Boyd Gaines (Contact, Cabaret) as Juror #8, Tom Aldredge (Twentieth Century, Into the Woods) as Juror #9, Peter Friedman (Ragtime, The Heidi Chronicles) as Juror #10, Larry Bryggman (Proof, Picnic) as Juror #11 and Adam Trese (A View From The Bridge) as Juror #12. Matte Osian will perform as a guard.
Robert Foxworth (Judgement at Nuremberg, "Six Feet Under") and Byron Jennings (Sight Unseen, The Foreigner) will join the cast Feb. 1 in the roles respectively played by Philip Bosco and Larry Bryggman. Bosco will leave to perform in the upcoming Broadway musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang while Bryggman will next appear in the Atlantic Theatre Company's staging of David Mamet's Romance.
Twelve Angry Men has proven the most popular Roundabout staging at its current home, the American Airlines Theatre, since the company's reopening of the venue in 2000. The Rose drama will have outrun the longest running production in the space by two times: the 2001 revival of Clare Boothe Luce's The Women — starring Kristen Johnston, Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Tilly played 13 weeks. By April 3, Twelve Angry Men will have played 26 weeks. (The former Selwyn Theatre was home to the long-running Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman 1927 comedy The Royal Family which played 345 performances.) Tickets to Twelve Angry Men at the American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42 Street are available by calling (212) 719-1300. For more information, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.
