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Thomas Delivers Positive Verdict On 'Angry Men'

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 7, 2007

TAMPA - A lot has happened in the culture and the courts since "Twelve Angry Men" debuted on television in 1954.

All-white, all-male juries, dressed in suits and deliberating in smoke-filled rooms, are things of the past.

But the emotions, prejudices, egos and personality traits that people bring into a jury room remain a constant. And the life-and-death debate still makes for riveting drama.

"It's a relevant today as ever," says actor Richard Thomas, who is starring in the Reginald Rose play that opens Tuesday at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

"It just crackles with energy as it pulls you in emotionally and intellectually," he said in a telephone interview last week.

In "Twelve Angry Men," an uneducated Latino teenager faces the electric chair on charges of killing his father with a switchblade knife.

As the jury of middle-class white men gathers in a stark, unairconditioned jury room on a sweltering day, it appears there will be a quick verdict.

But one man, identified only as Juror No.8, begins raising questions. This leads to revelations about the jurors' personal prejudices, perceptual biases, anger, cultural differences, ignorance and fears.

"He is not on a mission, and he didn't think that he would be the only holdout," Thomas says. "And he's not sure about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. He just wants to talk. He has some doubts."

Also in the cast is Kevin Dobson, formerly of "Kojak" and "Knots Landing," as one of the jurors.

"Twelve Angry Men" was written as a teleplay during television's so-called golden era, when there were numerous live dramas produced in New York.

Rose, who died in 2002, wrote several teleplays for CBS' "Studio One." He also wrote for "The Defenders" TV series in the 1960s.

He expanded the script of "12 Angry Men" into a 1957 movie starring Henry Fonda. Fonda, a fan of the original teleplay, also co-produced it. It was director Sidney Lumet's first feature film. Also in the cast were Martin Balsam, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley and Jack Klugman.

Rose's play shows how bias can cloud decision-making abilities and questions whether every person really gets a "fair trial."

In 1997, following the O.J. Simpson trial, Showtime revived "Twelve Angry Men" with a racially diverse jury. The cast included Jack Lemmon, Courtney Vance, George C. Scott, Mykelti Williamson and James Gandolfini.

Thomas, perhaps best known for his made-for-TV roles and his memorable character John Boy on "The Waltons," says he only has seen the 1957 film.

"I don't want to take anything away from Henry Fonda because he is so good and that version is outstanding, but the stage play has a whole different energy," he says. "For one thing, you don't have the camera close-ups that tell you who the hero is. And Henry Fonda, well, how wrong could he be?"

"Onstage, all 12 men are there, and you are locked in the room with them," he says. "Juror No. 8 wants to do the right thing, but he worries that they could be letting a guilty man go free."

Thomas adds that the play explores the legal concept of "reasonable doubt" and the principle that it's better to let one guilty person go free than to convict an innocent person.

"It also shows how one person can make a difference," he says.

ON STAGE

12 Angry Men

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Carol Morsani Hall, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa; (813) 229-7827 or 1-800-955-1045

TICKETS: $26.50 to $62.50

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813 259-7654 or wbelcher@tampatrib.com.

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