Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men (Douze hommes en colere) will get revived in Paris at the Theatre Marigny, opening September, 19. Twelve Angry Men was first a TV drama in 1954, then a movie directed by Sidney Lumet in 1957 before hitting the stage in 1958. It will mark the first Paris revival for Twelve Angry Men since its debut here in 1958.
Leading the all-male cast will be Michel Leeb, as Juror #8, which can be seen as a weird choice considering the fact that Leeb is often compared to a French Jerry Lewis. Leeb is mainly known for his comic roles on stage and on screen. Performing such a dramatic role will definitely be ground-breaking for his career.
Maurice Barrier, as Juror #10, might be known as the world's first Jean Valjean in Boublil and Schonberg's musical hit, Les Miserables. Barrier performed the role in the Robert Hossein's version back in 1980 and appears on the concept album recording.
Hungarian-born Stephan Meldegg will be directing. Meldegg theatre credits include plays by James Joyce, Vaclav Havel, Tom Stoppard and Alan Ayckbourn. But Meldegg has achieved great theatrical success by directing two of the biggest hits of the last years which are Jaoui and Bacri's Cuisines et Dependances and "Un air de famille".
For tickets and information on Twelve Angry Men at the Theatre Marigny, call 331 42 56 04 41.-- By Stephane Ly-Cuong
France Correspondent