"12 Angry Jurors" Premieres at LMHS Feb. 10

Lower Merion High School’s new auditorium will finally be christened on Thursday, Feb. 10, as the high school’s drama group takes the stage for their first performance in the new theater. The LMHS Players will perform “12 Angry Jurors” on Feb. 10, 11 and 12 at 7 p.m.

“All the people who've done anything on the show have done such a great amount of work,” production manager Jess Ulan said. “Everyone is proud of what they’ve done.”

“12 Angry Jurors” is LMHS Players’ winter drama, the production of which has been in progress since the closing of the fall musical “Urinetown” in November. Since Players opted to perform “Urinetown” in the school’s black box theater while adjusting to the way things worked in the larger theater, “12 Angry Jurors” will be the first play performed in the new auditorium.

January’s snow caused a few setbacks for an already tight production schedule, set designer Rachel Gordon said. Three or four times, long rehearsals were canceled due to the weather.

“We lost a lot of time, so we just had to find other days to make it up,” she said. “Things are going pretty well.”

Ulan is similarly optimistic.

“We’re on track and things are looking really good,” Ulan said. “Scenery is doing touch ups, lighting is changing the colors of some of the lights, the acting is all good—really, besides little touchups, everything’s ready.”

The work students have put into the play is fantastic, Ulan said. Even down to the details, her fellow students are working hard to make the show the best it can be.

“Even though the costume director is dressing people to go sit on a jury, you notice subtleties, like the way a juror who is very poor will be dressed,” Ulan said. “There are all these great little things in the costumes, set and lighting that work so well.”

 Aside from all the work the cast and crew has put in, the story itself is very compelling, Ulan said. “It’s just a really universal story and I think anyone can relate to it. … It’s one that’s good for us to tell.”

“12 Angry Jurors” will be performed Feb. 10, 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. in Lower Merion High School’s auditorium.

Tickets—$10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors—can be reserved online on the Players’ website, but all ticket purchases are made at the door. Because this show is in the main auditorium instead of the black box theater, anyone who wants a ticket to the show should be able to get one, Ulan said.