Cast List (with nomination possibilities out of 10)
NY TIMES REVIEW EXCERPTS:Back in a Sweaty Room With 12 Seething Men:The Roundabout Theater Company's production of "Twelve Angry Men," which opened last night at the American Airlines Theater, suggests that sometimes the best way to present a fossil is just to polish it up and put it on display without disguise, annotation or apology. This tidy portrait of clashing social attitudes in a jury room definitely creaks with age. But somehow the creaks begin to sound like soothing music, a siren song from a period of American drama when personalities were drawn in clean lines, the moral was unmistakable and the elements of a plot clicked together like a jigsaw puzzle without a single missing piece. Directed with brisk straightforwardness by Scott Ellis, this 90-minute, intermissionless show, built around the dissection of a murder, is for folks who would usually rather stay home with "Law & Order" or Agatha Christie than schlep to the theater. Everyone in the cast does enjoyable work, swapping jabs in lively period dialogue and building to their big moments of explosion and/or revelation with a judicious use of tell-tale tics and mannerisms. Mark Blum (as Juror One, the Harried Foreman), Tom Aldredge (as Juror Nine, the Touching Old Gentleman) and Michael Mastro (as Juror Five, the Not-as-Goofy-as-He-Seems Guy) turn in particularly sharp studies in quick-take craftsmanship. And Peter Friedman (as Juror Ten, the Bigot) brings just the right weight and menace to a character that could easily be overdone. But it's Mr. Bosco, an actor's actor of long standing ("Copenhagen," "Lend Me a Tenor" and a whole lot of Shaw), who has the most to work with, and you can bet that he runs with it. Juror Three is the One With a Secret. You can predict where the script will take him. But Mr. Bosco, his face uncannily turning a spectrum of reds and purples as his character's dudgeon rises, keeps you emotionally engaged through every predictable moment. Indeed, when Juror Three finally collapses into sobs, you can hear echoing sniffles throughout the audience. The right actor, it seems, can draw blood from even the most artificial structure. Or is it partly because of the show's artificiality, and the ways it reinforces a patriotic trust in American goodness, that "Twelve Angry Men" still makes people mist up? Heck, I'll admit that even as my mind sneered, I found tears in my eyes when the Little Old Watchmaker delivered his paean to the democratic spirit. There's nothing like a nostalgic glimmer of old-fashioned hope in hope-poor times to make a jaded theatergoer take out his handkerchief. TONY AWARDS HAVEN OPINON: Look for a Best Revival of a Play Nod, with a win possible if they do indeed do a commercial transfer. With solid reviews across the board, this show will have a healthy life. Direction nod (possible win), and set design nod also likely. Bosco is the new frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor in a Play, with Gaines not far behind.
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