River City Players report for jury duty

Judging by the number of legal dramas that have seen success on television and movie screens throughout the year, the courtroom really captures an audience's attention.

The River City Players' latest production, "Twelve Angry Jurors," takes place inside a jury room as 12 jurors try to decide whether the defendant in question is guilty or not guilty of murder.

The play takes place in real time and without any set changes, but to draw the audience into the world of these jurors, the River City Players present the play in a theater in the round presentation, meaning the audience surrounds the actors and the production.

A large table with 12 chairs is set up in the middle of The River City Yacht Club, with a very cleverly produced wooden structure that functions as a window off to one side and a door off to another side. This shows how a set can be successfully created out of a few basic items and even suggestions of items.

When we meet the 12 jurors they are on day six of a murder trial involving a young man accused of stabbing his father to death.

These jurors are hot, tired and cannot wait to see the trial and their duty completed and they are almost there until they take a vote on their decision.

Eleven jurors vote guilty while one juror holds out because he thinks there are just too many questions to be asked before they convict a man for murder.

After that vote is taken, the jury room turns into a battlefield as anger and frustration make the jurors tear into each other, especially the initial holdout juror, played by Matthew Heisserer and the juror, played by Bart Elfrink, who is certain of the defendant's guilt.

These two actors are especially effective as jurors at odds with each other. The actors and the characters they portray become an essential part of the play as they go back and forth on what decision they should make.

In the end, audience members are likely to leave the play asking themselves what they would do if they were on the jury.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182