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• Twelve Angry Men

Richard Thomas (upper left) plays a man who insists fellow jurors in a murder trial face their prejudices in "Twelve Angry Men." (Photo provided by Broadway Across America)

Richard Thomas was still a teenager in 1969 when he appeared in one of his first movies, "Winning," which starred Paul Newman and was shot at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

And now, the actor probably still best known for playing John-Boy on the 1970s television series "The Waltons" says he is "returning to the scene of the crime, with another crime."

Thomas, 56, is touring in "Twelve Angry Men," a provocative courtroom drama that will open Tuesday at the Murat Centre. He stars as troublemaking Juror No. 8, the same role Henry Fonda played in the famous 1957 film "12 Angry Men."

Thomas doesn't mean to suggest that the play itself is a crime. It's just about a jury charged with deciding whether an 18-year-old killed his father.

In the interest of a quick verdict, nearly everyone decides the defendant is guilty. Everyone, that is, but Juror No. 8.

"It's a very emotional part, No. 8," Thomas said. "What he really is passionate about is to be fair, and to do justice. He is not governed by his prejudices, the way the other jurors are. That passion makes him a good juror. He looks at his case on its own merits, and doesn't argue one side or the other."

Thomas, the son of two New York City Ballet dancers, recently moved back to his hometown after years in Los Angeles. He is too young to remember the original "Twelve Angry Men." Reginald Rose wrote that version as a teleplay for "Studio One," a CBS television series.

The television drama was popular enough to inspire the movie, which also starred Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Martin Balsam and Jack Klugman.

"Sidney Lumet directed," Thomas said, "and it was brilliant in expanding the script not to take (the action) outside the jury room."

Rose wrote a play version of "Twelve Angry Men" in 1964, but Thomas said the author ultimately adapted his screenplay six years ago for this production, not long before he died in 2002.

Thomas said both the movie and play versions offer "a very insightful picture of the joys, responsibilities and privileges in a participatory system. It shows the flaws and vulnerabilities.......

"One of the beauties of the play is that every man in the room comes in with baggage, and at some point, he has to let it go or have it be challenged."

Thomas said he has never served on a real jury, and doubts he will do so anytime soon.

"Having played Juror No. 8," he said, "I'm not sure I will be allowed to serve. Every prosecutor who has come backstage has called me his worst nightmare."