Twelve Angry Men is a play by Reginald Rose

Reginald Rose

Reginald Rose was an American film and television writer most widely known for his work in the early years of television drama. Rose's work is marked by its treatment of controversial social and political issues...

 adapted from his 1954 teleplay of the same title for the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 Studio One anthology television series. The play's Broadway debut came 50 years later on October 28, 2004, at the Roundabout Theatre, where it ran for 328 performances.

Characters and story

The drama depicts a jury forced to reconsider its nearly unanimous decision by the single dissenter who sows a seed of reasonable doubt. The story begins after closing argument

Closing argument

A closing argument, summation, or summing up is the concluding statement of each party's counsel reiterating the important arguments for the trier of fact, often the jury, in a court case. A closing argument occurs after the presentation of evidence...

s have been presented in a homicide case, as the judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 is giving his instructions to the jury. As in most American criminal cases

Criminal law

Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...

, the twelve men must unanimously decide on a verdict of "guilty" or "not guilty". (In the justice systems of nearly all American states, failure to reach a unanimous verdict, a so-called "hung jury

Hung jury

A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...

", results in a mistrial.) The case at hand pertains to whether a young man murdered his own father. The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence. These twelve then move to the jury room, where they begin to become acquainted with the personalities of their peers. Throughout their deliberation, not a single juror calls another by his name because the names are unknown by the jurors. Several of the jurors have different reasons for discriminating against the witness: his race, his background, and the troubled relationship between one juror and his own son.

Productions

Rose wrote several stage adaptations of the story. In 1964, Leo Genn

Leo Genn

- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....

 appeared in the play on the London stage. In other theatrical adaptations in which female actors are cast the play is sometimes retitled 12 Angry Jurors or 12 Angry Women.

Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...

 directed a production of the play, which opened at the Bristol Old Vic

Bristol Old Vic

The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...

 on March 7, 1996. With set design by Eileen Diss, lighting design by Mick Hughes, and costume design by Tom Rand, its cast included Stuart Rayner (Juror 1, Foreman), Kevin Dignam (Juror 2), Tony Haygarth

Tony Haygarth

Tony Haygarth is an English television, film and theatre actor.-Career:At the age of eighteen, Haygarth worked unsuccessfully as a lifeguard in Torquay, and also tried escapology, equally unsuccessfully...

 (Juror 3), Timothy West

Timothy West

Timothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...

 (Juror 4), Maurice Kaufmann

Maurice Kaufmann

Maurice Harington Kaufmann was a British actor of stage, TV and film, particularly well-utilized in whodunnits and horrors who acted from 1954 to 1981, when he retired....

 (Juror 5), Matt Ferren (Juror 6), Tim Healy

Tim Healy (actor)

Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor. He is best known for playing Dennis Patterson in the television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He is married to the actress Denise Welch.-Career:...

 (Juror 7), Kevin Whately

Kevin Whately

Kevin Whately is an English actor.Whately is known for his starring role as Neville Hope in the British television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, his role as Dr Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, and as Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas Inspector Morse and...

 (Juror 8), Peter Vaughan

Peter Vaughan

Peter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...

 (Juror 10), Robert East

Robert East (actor)

Robert Gwyn East East is an accomplished theatre and tv actor. He also wrote Incident at Tulse Hill, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre in December 1981 under the direction of Harold Pinter....

 (Juror 11), Christopher Somin (Juror 12), Joshua Losey (Guard), and E. G. Marshall

E. G. Marshall

E. G. Marshall was an American actor, best known for his television roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the 1960s, and as neurosurgeon David Craig on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in the 1970s...

, as the Voice of the Judge.

The Roundabout Theatre Company

Roundabout Theatre Company

The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...

 presented a Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production of the play, starring Boyd Gaines

Boyd Gaines

Boyd Payne Gaines is an American stage, film, and television actor.Gaines was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Ida and James Gaines. He has appeared in a number of films and television shows, including Fame, L.A...

 as a more combative Juror 8, with James Rebhorn

James Rebhorn

James Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...

 (Juror 4), Philip Bosco

Philip Bosco

-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...

 (Juror 3), and Robert Prosky

Robert Prosky

Robert Prosky was an American stage, film, and television actor.-Life and career:Prosky, a Polish American, was born Robert Joseph Porzuczek in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Helen and Joseph Porzuczek. His father was a grocer and butcher...

 as the Voice of the Judge.

In 2007, L.A. Theatre Works

L.A. Theatre Works

L.A. Theatre Works is a non-profit media arts organization based in Los Angeles.- History :Founded in 1974, the organization was originally called “Artists in Prison,” and used theatre as a means to provide a voice to incarcerated men and women who were traditionally unheard and underserved. In...

 presented a production of the play that was recorded as an audiobook; directed by John de Lancie

John de Lancie

John de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....

, the cast included Dan Castellaneta

Dan Castellaneta

Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...

, Jeffrey Donovan

Jeffrey Donovan

Jeffrey Donovan is an American television, film and stage actor. He plays the lead Michael Westen on the American cable television series, Burn Notice. Notable starring roles in film include: Hitch, Believe in Me, Changeling, and Come Early Morning. He portrayed Robert F. Kennedy in Clint...

, Hector Elizondo

Hector Elizondo

Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...

, Robert Foxworth

Robert Foxworth

Robert Heath Foxworth is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life and career:Foxworth was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Erna Beth , a writer, and John Howard Foxworth, a roofing contractor...

, James Gleason, Kevin Kilner

Kevin Kilner

Kevin Kilner is an American television and film actor.Kilner was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dorothea, a kindergarten teacher, and Edward Kilner, who worked in advertising sales and insurance. He made his first television appearance on an episode of The Cosby Show in 1989...

, Richard Kind

Richard Kind

Richard John Kind is an American actor known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City .- Early life :...

, Alan Mandell, Rob Nagle, Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...

, Joe Spano

Joe Spano

Joseph Peter "Joe" Spano is an American actor who came to prominence through his role as Lt. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues and is now well known for his work in NCIS as FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell....

, and Steve Vinovich

Steve Vinovich

-Biography:Vinovich was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Jennie J. , a secretary, and Stephen J. Vinovich, an insurance salesman.-Filmography:*Cold Case *8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter...

.

Adaptations

In 1957, Sidney Lumet

Sidney Lumet

Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...

 directed Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...

 and an all-star cast in a film adaptation which was nominated for Academy Awards

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 in the categories of Best Director

Academy Award for Directing

The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...

, Best Picture

Academy Award for Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...

, and Best Writing of Adapted Screenplay

Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay

The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...

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Awards and nominations

Awards

• 2005 Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Play

Nominations

• 2005 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play