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Summary
Summary
A landmark American drama that inspired a classic film and a Broadway revival--featuring an introduction by David Mamet
A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a clear-eyed way not affected by their personal prejudices or biases. Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men and allows a fuller picture to form of them--and of America, at its best and worst.
After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, and award-winning, run on Broadway.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Author Notes
Reginald Rose (1920-2002) won three Emmy awards for television writing as well as an Oscar for the movie adaptation of Twelve Angry Men .
David Mamet 's Glengarry Glen Ross won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1984. Mamet is also the author of Writing in Restaurants and On Directing Film , both available from Penguin.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
L.A. Theatre Works proves it knows how to package audio dramas with this new recording of Rose's classic play (which began as a 1954 episode of TV's Studio One and then was adapted to the screen in 1957 starring Henry Fonda). Sequestered in a closed room, twelve jurors must decide the fate of a young man who has been accused of first-degree murder and faces the death penalty. One juror must tactically argue to convince the other jurors that this case has significant "reasonable doubt." The talented cast, including Richard Kind, Hector Elizondo, Robert Foxworth, Joe Spano and Dan Castellanetta, provide 85 minutes of riveting entertainment, recorded in front of a live audience. The most trying aspect of this audiobook is matching jurors with actors since the jurors are simply given numbers and not names. The back cover of the audiobook is very helpful; it offers a photo of each actor along with his name and juror number. But it can still be a bit frustrating since characters are never referred to by name or juror number. This slight confusion certainly will not prevent people from enjoying this illuminating play about American justice. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Publisher's Weekly Review
L.A. Theatre Works proves it knows how to package audio dramas with this new recording of Rose's classic play (which began as a 1954 episode of TV's Studio One and then was adapted to the screen in 1957 starring Henry Fonda). Sequestered in a closed room, twelve jurors must decide the fate of a young man who has been accused of first-degree murder and faces the death penalty. One juror must tactically argue to convince the other jurors that this case has significant "reasonable doubt." The talented cast, including Richard Kind, Hector Elizondo, Robert Foxworth, Joe Spano and Dan Castellanetta, provide 85 minutes of riveting entertainment, recorded in front of a live audience. The most trying aspect of this audiobook is matching jurors with actors since the jurors are simply given numbers and not names. The back cover of the audiobook is very helpful; it offers a photo of each actor along with his name and juror number. But it can still be a bit frustrating since characters are never referred to by name or juror number. This slight confusion certainly will not prevent people from enjoying this illuminating play about American justice. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved