ST. JOE'S PRESENTS TWELVE ANGRY MENSt. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute Department of Visual and Performing Arts proudly presents “Twelve Angry Men,” a theatrical student production that will take place on Thursday, November 13, Friday, November 14 & Saturday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m. (for all performances) in The Cullen Center for the Performing Arts at St. Joe’s. All performances will include the opportunity for an audience talk-back to discuss the play and the issues brought forward from the show. Tickets are only $12 general admission and $8 student admission, and can be purchased in advance or at the door.
Directed by Paschal Frisina III ’96,
“Twelve Angry Men” is about a jury member who persuades the other 11 members to change the verdict (guilty) they have given, on the basis of reasonable doubt. The story begins after closing arguments have been presented in a homicide case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. As in any American criminal case, the twelve men must unanimously decide on a verdict of 'guilty' or 'not guilty'. The case at bar pertains to whether the young man murdered his own father. The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence. These twelve then move to the jury room, where they begin to become acquainted with the personalities of their peers. Throughout their deliberation, not a single juror calls another by his name because the names are unknown by the jurors. [wikipedia.org] The jurors are played by David Croglio ’11, Aaron Faso ’09, Tyler Sperrazza ’09, Jacob Paszkiewicz ’09, Alex Kosmowski ’11, Gregory Arnold ’10, Geoffrey Blosat ’10, Joseph Killeen ’09, Steven Coffed ’11, Michael Lillis ’11, Michael Dempsey ’11 and Edward Pokoj ’11. Stage management is provided by Francis Lagona Jr. ’10 and Spencer Thomas ’11, while Matthew Dow serves as producer, Paul Mueller and Steve Harter as technical directors, Dave King as set designer and Nancy Watts as costume designer.
Paschal Frisina III ’96 returns to his alma mater to not only direct this production, but also as a teacher of the Advanced Drama Class at St. Joe’s. Frisina received his B.F.A. in Theatre Studies from Niagara University in 2000. He moved back to WNY after a seven-year stay in New York City where he was part of numerous productions, including the European Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR as Peter, the US National Tour of COPACABANA as Rico Castilli, Off-Broadway production of BECOMING SOMETHING: CANADA LEE, and multiple Broadway workshops of a new musical, CAIRO. Other regional credits include: GREASE (Danny Zuko), CHESS (Anatoly), FOREVER PLAID (Jinx/Sparky), STEEL PIER (Mick Hamilton), and BROOKLYN BOY (Tyler Shaw). Frisina has also been seen on stages throughout Buffalo to include Studio Arena Theatre, MusicalFare and Artpark.
Performances of “Twelve Angry Men” will take place at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute – located at 845 Kenmore Avenue. Tickets are priced at $12 general admission and $8 student admission, and may be purchased by visiting the school on 845 Kenmore Avenue or at the door the night of the show. For further information please call 716-874-4955.
