Are you feeling mad and ready to yell? Well, the ninth grade Honors English class, instructed by Ms. Berry, were feeling just that way on April 27, 2018, when they got to experience their most recently read play, 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose.

12 Angry Men is a play written by Reginald Rose in 1954. It originally was broadcasted as a television play. In 1955, a play version was made for 12 Angry Men, and in 1957 it was adapted into a highly successful film. 12 Angry Men follows a jury of 12 men who have to discuss whether they think a boy is guilty of the 1st-degree murder of his father, or if there is a reasonable doubt. As they deliberate, tensions among the men continue to intensify. By the end of the three acts, it is decided whether the boy is guilty and deserves the death sentence, whether he is innocent by a reasonable doubt and let free, or if they are a hung jury.

The class left for their field trip after second period in the high school on Friday the 27th of April. They traveled by bus to Theatre 3 in Port Jefferson. The play began at 10:30 a.m. and ended at 12:30 p.m. There was a Q&A after the play where students could ask the actors questions, but due to being on a time crunch, the group had to leave early. After the play, the students traveled back to Lindenhurst and grabbed lunch at the Applebees on 600-A N Wellwood Ave. After lunch, they returned to the Lindenhurst Senior High School to conclude their trip. Overall, according to Ms. Berry, the goal of the trip was to allow the students to see the play performed live. She states, “A play takes on a new form when you see it performed in comparison to when you read it.” 

In an interview with a student of Ms. Berry’s 9th grade Honors English class, Phillip Bullock stated, “It was great. The actors played the parts of all the 12 angry men exactly how I imagined it when we read the play in class. Overall, it was an excellent experience that I would recommend to others.” Another member of Ms. Berry’s 9th grade Honors English class, Giules Fiore stated, “This was the best non-Broadway plays that I have ever seen. The actors did an extremely good job at acting out the full extent of anger each if the 12 angry men had.”  Ms. Berry, shared, “I think 12 Angry Men is just as relevant today as it when it was written because juries will always be fraught with indecision. I’m glad my students got to see this play come to life.”