PASADENA PLAYHOUSE BOLD NOT AFRAID

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE’S 12 ANGRY MEN, BOLD, NOT AFRAID The play and players will leave the Pasadena Playhouse stage Sunday, 1 December of this year. I have some parting thoughts a few of which are in this post. The impetus of these thoughts is the human habit of avoiding difficult subjects – we are inclined to talk about the sun but not the rain, the day but not the night, happiness, but we tend to avoid speaking about, or even thinking about sorrow. Race is the central theme that drives our Playhouse production. Our director, Sheldon Epps, didn’t falter when he laid out his vision of the play in our first rehearsal. Each actor, to a man, committed to employing the skills of his craft to meet that vision. I recently viewed the film 12 Angry men, Directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. I ejected the disk from my computer with the fussy notion that the story was about a lower class of people and how such individuals were treated in a court of law – the film is dated, so it’s difficult to know how the film might change if revised for today. It was clear to me the film was more about character than story. Sheldon and his mighty band of brothers did not slink away or avoid the ugly side of race, but marched, fearlessly, into the thick of battle for equitable race relations. A closing note: if we humans continue to avoid difficult subjects, solutions will never be attained. If we continue to avoid taking on difficult challenges today, our tomorrow will be the same as it is today – undoubtedly worse.

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE BOLD NOT AFRAID

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE’S 12 ANGRY MEN, BOLD, NOT AFRAID The play and players will leave the Pasadena Playhouse stage Sunday, 1 December of this year. I have some parting thoughts a few of which are in this post. The impetus of these thoughts is the human habit of avoiding difficult subjects – we are inclined to talk about the sun but not the rain, the day but not the night, happiness, but we tend to avoid speaking about, or even thinking about sorrow. Race is the central theme that drives our Playhouse production. Our director, Sheldon Epps, didn’t falter when he laid out his vision of the play in our first rehearsal. Each actor, to a man, committed to employing the skills of his craft to meet that vision. I recently viewed the film 12 Angry men, Directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. I ejected the disk from my computer with the fussy notion that the story was about a lower class of people and how such individuals were treated in a court of law – the film is dated, so it’s difficult to know how the film might change if revised for today. It was clear to me the film was more about character than story. Sheldon and his mighty band of brothers did not slink away or avoid the ugly side of race, but marched, fearlessly, into the thick of battle for equitable race relations. A closing note: if we humans continue to avoid difficult subjects, solutions will never be attained. If we continue to avoid taking on difficult challenges today, our tomorrow will be the same as it is today – undoubtedly worse.

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE BOLD NOT AFRAID

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE’S 12 ANGRY MEN, BOLD, NOT AFRAID The play and players will leave the Pasadena Playhouse stage Sunday, 1 December of this year. I have some parting thoughts a few of which are in this post. The impetus of these thoughts is the human habit of avoiding difficult subjects – we are inclined to talk about the sun but not the rain, the day but not the night, happiness, but we tend to avoid speaking about, or even thinking about sorrow. Race is the central theme that drives our Playhouse production. Our director, Sheldon Epps, didn’t falter when he laid out his vision of the play in our first rehearsal. Each actor, to a man, committed to employing the skills of his craft to meet that vision. I recently viewed the film 12 Angry men, Directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. I ejected the disk from my computer with the fussy notion that the story was about a lower class of people and how such individuals were treated in a court of law – the film is dated, so it’s difficult to know how the film might change if revised for today. It was clear to me the film was more about character than story. Sheldon and his mighty band of brothers did not slink away or avoid the ugly side of race, but marched, fearlessly, into the thick of battle for equitable race relations. A closing note: if we humans continue to avoid difficult subjects, solutions will never be attained. If we continue to avoid taking on difficult challenges today, our tomorrow will be the same as it is today – undoubtedly worse.

12 ANGRY MEN AND OTHERS

12 ANGRY MEN AND MORE Reginald Rose’s iconic play opened at the Pasadena Playhouse Sunday past. I am fortunate to be one of the twelve jurors charged with deciding the guilt or innocence of a 16 year old boy charged with killing his father –the boy is, presumably, a person of color. Sheldon Epps, the artistic director at the theatre, directed six white men and six black men, and supportive staff, in their deliberations. Our play is about race and how it manifested itself in the social, political, and psychological mind-sets of these 12 men. It is truth stripped naked – nothing is understated for very long. The men tare at each other until what is deep in their minds is exposed for everyone to see. The play closes 1 December 2013. You owe it to yourself to witness 12 Angry Men at the Pasadena Playhouse.