TWELVE ANGRY MEN

Reginald Rose’s famous script about the real-time jury-room deliberations of 12 men on a murder case receives an audio presentation of mixed success. The more confidential exchanges are nicely presented close to the mike, and Hector Elizondo’s performance as the bigoted juror is quite memorable. A few drawbacks weaken the overall effect, however. In an audio format, a cast this large requires some differentiation among the characters. However, dialogue is rattled off at such a rapid clip and with such a consistent tone of stridency that it almost ceases to sound natural and conversational. Sorting out the characters and the plot points amid all the hurried talk at times becomes a chore. G.H. 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]