12 Incompetent Jurors - review

[Jane Zussman]

12 Incompetent Jurors is Ian McWethy’s farcical spoof parody of 12 Angry Men now whipping up laughs galore on Riverwalk Theatre’s Black Box stage. It features chaos, comedy and confusion as the twelve assorted oddballs try to come to agreement about the guilt of an alleged cat abductor.

Thinking the show sounded familiar, I did some brief “research” revealing it was performed six years ago by Generations Theatre and reviewed by my favorite guest reviewer, the late, great, Tom Klunzinger. If you want to read a more elegant, detailed review, check out  https://www.greaterlansingtheatre.net/reviews/12-incompetent-jurors and substitute the names of the talented new cast at Riverwalk.

I did notice the “overlap” that current director, Steve Lee, played the one sane juror, #3, six years ago, giving him the background and perspective to mastermind this crazy quest for a unanimous verdict. And he did conduct a frantic pace with no joke left unturned in this crowd pleasing romp.

Samual Barrix was the beleaguered #3 in this production. We feel for his mounting frustration as wannabe lawyer Amber Swisher stubbornly casts doubt after doubt onto the almost-unanimous guilty verdict.

Holly Kay-Cannon is the colorful, in all ways, foreperson, flanked by the hyperventilatingly nervous Aaron Wittbrodt. Brendan Sutherland and Kallie Marrision bring marital bickering to new heights. Bethlehem Hall swoons over the prosecuting attorney. Ian Whipp piles crazy on top of crazy as the french-fry guy, Michael Stokes is hilariously language-challenged and smoking-deprived. Rose Porter is cutely rude as the phone-addicted youth-juror. Valerie Aidan Kakela gets the prize for attitude, defensive hair flips and sass. 

James Houska brings the “angry” back from 12 Angry Men, and makes it funny. He also bridges a historic gap, since I think this jury room set uses the same perspective-altered table from a show he directed, Conspiracy in 2011 — previously supporting one of Riverwalk’s heaviest shows, and now one of its lightest. 

Is there a message? Maybe an echo of its predecessor script to always question motivations and herd mentality? A more apt message: people can be ridiculous and unreasonable and it’s fun to laugh at them.

Note, this is on Riverwalk’s smaller Black Box stage and has sold out for this weekend. Reserve your tickets now for next weekend and arrive early for best seats (general seating) 12 Incompetent Jurors runs Thursday-Sunday through January 25. http://www.riverwalktheatre.com or call 517-482-5700.

Jane Zussman

G.L.U.T. List

(Greater Lansing Ubiquitous Theatre)

cell 517-930-0932

JSZu...@gmail.com

http://www.greaterlansingtheatre.net 

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