The Bucks Department of the Arts was proud to present the Sherman Sergel adaptation of 12 Angry Jurors in the Gateway auditorium from April 26 to 28.
Directed by Shelli Pentimall Bookler, associate professor of the arts at Bucks, and consisting of a group of young and talented Bucks students, the play proved that innocent until proven guilty is not always the case in our court system. Originally taken from the Reginald Rose Emmy award-winning drama 12 Angry Men, the plays main theme focuses on the inadequacies of our justice system and the prejudices that affect those accused of crimes.
In it, a panel of 12 men and women passionately debated the fate of a 16 year old boy who has been accused of stabbing his father to death. Initially challenged by the 11 other jurors to convict the young and under privileged boy, one juror stands alone in an attempt to prove reasonable doubt.
As the play evolves it becomes distinctively evident to the audience that each characters bias in one way or another has masked their sense to decipher the actually facts of the case.
“The play is about prejudice and justice,” said Richard Lipsack, who played Juror 11, a Russian immigrant conflicted with the choice of sending a boy to his death bed. “We thought that the play could still be relatable to today’s society,” said Lipsack when asked why this particular play was chosen by the group.
The colorful cast included Bucks students Ally O’Rourke-Barrett, Kayleigh Liggitt, Kevin Christian, Teri Maxwell, Brendan Tuthill, Karl Schoeler, Dustin Chun, Tim Schumann, Kerri Donaghy, David Piccinetti, Richard Lipsack, Jenniveve Sadowski, Mark Revotskie, and Steve Dillon.
The play was highlighted by stirring performances by Kevin Christian, who played the self-righteous third juror determined to convict the alleged murderer. Christian was able to bring the unrelenting character to life with his physically and emotional presence. 
Countering Christian’s character was Juror 8 played by Tim Schumann, who becomes the first dissenter who vehemently opposes convicting the alleged killer. Schumann’s effortless portrayal of the soft spoken juror was vital to the plays integrity, as it acts as the counter balance to the boorish and stubborn third juror. 
Other exceptional performances included outspoken Juror 7 played flawlessly by Dustin Chun, who seemed as if the character came as second nature to him. Also Lipsack, a late edition to the cast who was performing in his first play since high school, nailed the Russian accent of Juror 11.
The cast and crew involved in the production had been at it since late February trying to hone their skills and produce the best play possible. In all, the entire cast was successful in their attempt to recreate the timeless masterpiece.
“We had such a good project, with everyone all flowing together,” stated Christian after the show, describing how the cast and crew pulled together to pull off the classic drama. The head of the stellar cast, Christian emphasized that “We had 12 good people working together.”
The challenges of performing a play of such serious nature were obvious to the cast, as the effort required to convey the characters true emotions on a nightly basis could be physically exhausting but fulfilling in the end.
“You have to get used to it, although it definitely drains you,” said Christian. “It’s our job to bring it every night,” replied Christian, who like some of the other cast members was somewhat unhappy with their Friday night performance. It has been stated that the opening and closing shows are almost always the best ones to attend.
“The third ones a redemption show,” said Chun jokingly, highlighting the shows third and final showing of the spring.
 If Friday nights showing was any indication of what the other performances were like, then the audience members were sure to have gotten their money’s worth.