The Strawberry Hill Players recently performed 12 Angry Jurors, written by Reginald Rose. The fall play was held on November 6, 7, 13, and 14 at Stamford High School. Alongside Tom DeSalvo as the director and Claudia Nerreau as costume and set designer, the actors had been working hard at rehearsal since the last week of September to put together this production, characterized by lengthy monologues and a simple set layout. The play is about a court case where 12 jurors are deciding the verdict of a murder trial. Since the decision has to be unanimous, things become controversial when Juror 8, played by freshman Cara Grasso, decides to vote not guilty, while the other 11 jurors vote guilty. After long debates, frequent testing of evidence and progressive convincing of the various personalities, the jurors unanimously voted not guilty.

At the performance I attended on November 14, the actors overall did very well. Aside from a few stumbled lines and very minimal mistakes in the blocking, all of the actors portrayed their characters with admirable emotion and great dynamic. I was invested in what would happen and was left hanging at the edge of my seat at many dramatic parts throughout the show. The actors did an amazing job using their acting abilities to bring the characters to the next level.

The two seniors, Katelyn Cody and Erin Maher, played Jurors 2 and 3, with completely contradicting character traits. Cody’s character was an introvert who was very unsure of her opinion, while Maher’s character wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and stuck with her opinion almost the whole way through. Both actresses displayed these qualities perfectly onstage. Grasso also expressed her character’s opposition and persuasive techniques with great skill. This was her first performance as a Stamford High student, and she introduced to our community her great skill at dramatic acting, along with Sophomore Brooke Pensiero, Freshman Sydney Rubin and Freshman John Bolognino, who also made their SHS debuts. Other outstanding performances were given by returning Stamford High actors Junior Jana Hulaj, Junior Andie Hunt , Junior Grace Ferrante, Sophomore Brianna Jean and Sophomore Talia Shapiro. Because AITE does not have drama program, we also got to watch Junior Ali Nassef and Louis Senior Solomon Ray give excellent performances along with the rest of the lovely cast.

This production was put together very well by the team of technicians and came to life by the group of actors who brought everything they had to their characters. I wish all the members of the Strawberry Hill Players luck on their other performances coming up this year.

Stay tuned for more performances from the Strawberry Hill Players!

Senior Scenes – January 8 and 9

The Real Inspector Hound (CDA Show) – March 12

Seussical the Musical – April 29 and 30 and May 6 and 7