The verdict’s in

Mad Horse rears 12 Angry Men

By Katherine Joyce

12 Angry Men shows at the Portland Stage Company space, on Forest Ave., through Feb. 24. Call (207) 774-0465.

TENSIONS RISE: 12 Angry Men, seen here in the 1957 movie adaptation.

So, let’s get down to business. How many of you have tried to get out of jury duty? Do you remember thinking to yourself that it was a hassle, a waste of time, or an annoyance? As you griped about what a pain the whole thing is, there may have been one person in your life who acted as your conscience — suggesting to you that jury duty is of central importance to the operation of our judicial system. Perhaps that person suggested that you imagine yourself in the shoes of the defendant, and ask yourself whether having a jury of your peers was part of the process by which you might obtain a fair trial. Mad Horse Theatre’s 12 Angry Men could be that friend.

In 1954, a young man is on trial for the murder of his father. It is a time when juries are made up of white men — a formula that brings the fairness of the trial into question when the defendant is not a white man. The jury members have been instructed that if they find the defendant guilty, the death sentence is mandatory — any appeal for clemency will fall on deaf ears. This is one of the most difficult moral situations a potential juror might foresee. And the play is a testament to the gravity and importance of participating in society.

The set is simple, and just as one might imagine. The seating is completely in the round, and in the center of the stage area is a long table with 12 chairs. It is most common for this play to be staged in proscenium, with the table split in two, all chairs facing the audience. According to director Christine Louise Marshall, staging the show in the round was one of the major challenges of the production. She met this challenge head on. There is something attractively authentic about this play in the round. It forces the audience to pay close attention, and to engage with the cast and the story in a special way to keep from missing something, even if just backs are visible for a moment.

Although the lighting opportunities are small in the space used, particularly when performing in the round, the bold decision is made to use general lighting. This reminds the audience that it is in the room with the jury, and gives the cast the additional challenge of maintaining its loosely held order with the eyes of an audience staring at them in broad light. The seating and the lighting combine to create a very intimate experience.

12 Angry Men begins with the voice of the judge offstage, charging the jury with its duty of deliberations. Then, the 12 jury members enter the room, dressed in their Sunday best. For some, that is a suit and tie, for others a shirt and blazer. The diversity of the jury is in their ages and their social backgrounds. They each carry themselves in a unique fashion, but not one juror seems to know where to begin. For a few moments, they fall into small groups, making small talk about different things, including the case. One man, in particular, looks contemplative and a bit sad. They finally bring themselves to order, and take a vote to see where they all stand on the defendant’s guilt or innocence. And the journey begins.

Mad Horse has put together an all-star cast for 12 Angry Men, with many actors seen recently in popular shows (such as Savage in Limbo, A Sid and Nancy Xmas, and Misanthrope, among others) in and around Portland coming together to perform this moving and difficult play. The group dynamic of this cast is incredible. A play like this one, where no juror leaves the stage until the decision has been made, can be exhausting. The actors all rise to the challenge, and give hard-hitting and complicated performances, both as individuals and as an ensemble. They manage to keep their staging clean, keep the overlapping and fast-paced dialogue moving, and portray the subtle (and not so subtle) emotional experiences of 12 men faced with a very difficult situation. J.D. Merritt, Mike Dow, and Brian Hinds all give particularly riveting performances.

Amazingly, this cast only experiences one stumbling block in a script full of potential difficulties. At times, different jurors are involved in different conversations with one another. When one conversation is had at full volume for the audience to hear, the other interactions are unscripted. The two options the non-featured actors have are to commit to silence or to commit to low-volume conversation. There are moments when the actors speak as if they knew they shouldn’t be speaking. This is a difficulty with the script that requires a definitive decision for such moments to be clean.

So, if you are out there looking for Mad Horse Theatre, look no further. If you thought that the closing of the Oak Street Theatre meant the end of Mad Horse, think again. Although hopping from space to space, Mad Horse is going strong. This time, they can be found in the old dance studio at the Portland Performing Arts Center (home to Portland Stage Company). They are still, as Marshall says, “maintaining a tradition of both embracing and defying tradition.” They are doing so with passion and clarity, not to mention incredible creativity and talent.

Katherine Joyce can be reached at ingliskat@aol.com.