By Claire Chow ’26

Mercersburg Academy’s Stony Batter Players will present four performances of Twelve Angry Jurors in the Burgin Center for the Arts’ Hale Studio Theatre, Thursday to Sunday, May 1-4, at 7:30 p.m. The show will run about 90 minutes, with no intermission, and is free and open to the public.

Twelve Angry Jurors by Sherman L. Sergel is a co-ed play adaptation of the classic movie Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose. The jury room drama is about 12 jurors who are deliberating the guilt or innocence of a teenager accused of patricide, with a guilty verdict meaning the death penalty. Initially, the jurors are largely in favor of a guilty verdict; however, when one juror expresses doubt, the others are challenged to re-examine the evidence. 

Six of the 12 jurors will be played by the same students at all four performances, while six of the juror roles are double-cast, meaning two different students will play a role for two of the four performances. The “Stony” cast will perform Thursday and Saturday night, and the “Batter” cast will perform Friday and Sunday night. The show is staged “in-the-round,” with the audience seated on all four sides of the playing space. View the cast list.  

Graduating seniors participating in their last show include:

• Paul Swetland, Foreman of the Jury
• William Tutt, Juror No. 3
• Crystal Chiu, Juror No. 4
• Margaux D’Arabian, Juror No. 7
• Océane D’Arabian, Juror No. 9

Director and English and theatre faculty Matt Maurer P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’28 mentioned that he previously taught this play as part of his 10th-grade English course at his first teaching job in Ohio. He believes that it fits well into the Academy’s theme for the year—civic education. He hopes the community will pick up on all the great themes, such as justice, prejudice, and standing up against a majority when necessary.

Chiu, an 11-term Stony Batter Player who will be playing the role of Juror No. 4, mentions that it was difficult preparing for the role as she is so different from her character. “I am a fairly emotional person myself, and listen to my heart more than anything when it comes to big decisions, so I really had to get into a character who operates in a completely opposite way to me,” she said. “I really had to figure out her internal monologue and intentions. Juror No. 4 is not convinced by emotional arguments and tries to make sure the other jurors set their emotions aside as well.” 

Chiu mentions that through the show, audiences will really see the different sides of people when they participate in democracy and how humanity shines through when a life is at stake.

The Burgin will open 90 minutes prior to curtain, and theatre seating will begin 30 minutes before each show. The Hale Studio Theatre seats 110; plan accordingly as seats are limited.

Contact reservations@mercersburg.edu for more information or accommodation requests. Mercersburg strives to be accessible to all audience members.

For additional information, check out @mburgburgin on Instagram and the Burgin Center for the Arts at Mercersburg Academy page on Facebook.