On January 27, 2024, I had the opportunity to attend the winter play 12 Angry Jurors. It was unlike any other play I had previously seen at Orange Lutheran, as it was more serious in tone compared to other plays. “Jurors,” a gender-neutral take on the 1954 play “Twelve Angry Men,” is a gripping story that revolves around 12 people on a jury who need to decide whether a young man accused of murder is innocent or guilty of his crime. There were many talented actors involved in the play, and I enjoyed seeing the white cast, in part since many of my friends were in that cast.
I recently talked to Lindsay O’Leary, who portrayed Juror #4 in the white cast shows, and she gave me insight into her experience with the show. I wanted to know what the experience with tech week was like, and according to Lindsay, she says it’s great to “watch [the] characters come to life with the set” and she enjoys spending time with her fellow castmates. I also managed to learn several key differences from Lindsay that distinguish plays from musicals. Aside from the main difference of musicals having songs and dances while plays lack singing and dancing, I learned that while not always being different in tone or genre, the plays are typically more “serious or intense” than an upbeat musical.
One thing that certainly made this play different from the other OLu shows was the usage of double casting, in which two different casts performed “Jurors,” with each role being performed by the white cast on some nights, while the people in the red cast performed each role other nights. When I spoke to Lindsay about the double casting process, she said it was a very “unique experience” for her, and how she was amazed by the “different choices” that “each individual” had made on stage. One last thing I spoke to Lindsay about was the overall seriousness of this play, and how it felt to discuss mature topics on stage. Lindsay says that the topics discussed in the play are definite “topics of conversation” that manage to convey a meaningful message that resonates with “today’s society” despite the setting of the play dating back to the 1950s. Overall, the unique seriousness and the stunning performances in “Jurors” were a pleasure to watch, and I am truly grateful for hearing Lindsay’s thoughts on the play.
Photo Credit: Orange Lutheran
