Cast of “Twelve” lets anger fly and knives fall

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Arielle Cohen

The CHS Drama Club production of “Twelve” premiered on Nov. 20 to rave reviews.

Sophomore Ebbie Shim of Spring Lake Heights said she enjoyed the play.

“When I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness; it’s amazing,’ and I just think they did so well,” Shim said.

An adaptation of the 1957 movie, “12 Angry Men,” “Twelve” told the story of 12 jurors stuck in a jury room, trying to decide whether an 18-year-old boy, the defendent, is guilty or innocent of murdering his father.

If guilty, the boy would face the death penalty, but if not guilty, the jurors faced the possibility of releasing a criminal back onto the streets.

Starting with 11 jurors believing the boy is guilty, Juror 8, played by sophomore Jonathan Slovak of Spring Lake Heights, attempted to convince the others of the defendant’s innocence.

CHS Drama Club performed “Twelve” three times; the first show premiered on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., followed by two shows on Sat- urday, Nov. 21, one at 2 p.m. and an- other at 7 p.m. The 2 p.m. show was the first time in CHS Drama Club history that the club performed a matinee.

Assistant director and junior Annie Ruoff of Monmouth Beach said that the most problematic part of the play was the fact that there was not a lot of time to put it together.

“We had a lot less time to work on this show than we have had on other shows, and it was even more challenging because this was a very difficult show to do, so it put a lot of stress on both the cast and the production crew,” Ruoff said.

To resolve it, Drama Club had many rehearsals, including over the long four-day weekend. But, over- all, Ruoff said the play went better than anyone could have expected or hoped for.

“I am so proud of how every- body worked on the show. I think that their hard work really paid off,” she said.