The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA), in partnership with Theatre Workshop of Nantucket (TWN), is pleased to announce their fourth collaboration of 2014 with the staged reading of Twelve Angry Men on Friday, September 12, 2014, at the NHA’s Quaker Meeting House, 7 Fair Street.
Originally written by Reginald Rose in 1954 as a teleplay for CBS, Twelve Angry Men is a courtroom drama about the deliberation of a jury over a homicide trial. At the beginning, all jurors are in agreement of a guilty verdict until one lone member, Juror #8, murmurs the question of reasonable doubt, creating one of the most compelling stories ever to take the American stage. Re-written for the theater in 1955 and adapted as a film in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, Twelve Angry Men remains as relevant today as ever, exploring the repercussions of our decisions in life and death.
“We are thrilled to be sharing this historic property with the Nantucket community and our friends at Theatre Workshop of Nantucket,” says Marjan Shirzad, NHA Director of Visitor Experience. “The NHA’s Quaker Meeting House will provide an intimate, evocative backdrop to a seminal piece of American theater, and we can’t wait to see it come to life through the talented actors of the Theatre Workshop.”
Constructed by the Society of Friends as a school in 1838, the Quaker Meeting House is the island’s last surviving meeting house. Purchased from the Friends by the NHA in 1894, it was used as the association’s first museum until the fireproof building was erected on Fair Street, now the NHA Research Library. In the 1940s, Quakers on Nantucket formed a worship group, and with the permission of the NHA began to meet informally once again in the meeting house.
“TWN is thrilled to be back at the NHA’s Quaker Meeting House with this stunning courtroom drama, which is so well-suited to the historic location,” says Gabrielle Gould, TWN Executive Director and director of Twelve Angry Men. “Following on the success of our collaboration in 2011 of The Crucible at the Quaker Meeting House, we look forward to exploring this dramatic play and continuing to bring theater and history together.”
Space is limited. Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at www.nha.org/tickets or by calling (508) 228-1894.
