DOWNTOWN — The (usual) Suspects acting troupe announced the beginning of their 2018 season with the Reginald Rose classic, Twelve Angry Men, set to open Thursday, Feb. 1.

Adapted for the stage by Sherman L. Sergel, Twelve Angry Men tells the story of a murder trial set to be an open-and-shut case, until one juror begins questioning the “facts” of the situation.

“This is a remarkable thing about democracy,” says the foreign-born juror, “that we are notified by mail to come down to this place—and decide on the guilt or innocence of a person; of a man or woman we have not known before. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing.”

Directed by Andrew Harth, the (usual) Suspects will present Twelve Angry Men Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 24 at downtown’s Nordlof Center, 118 N. Main St. General admission tickets are $18 and can be purchased through usualsuspectspresents.com.

The (usual) Suspects will continue their 2018 season with a production of the iconic 1960s rock musical Hair, opening June 7. Following in late-summer will be a three-week run of Will Eno’s The Realistic Joneses, and the season closes out with Lee Blessing’s political drama Chesapeake, opening Oct. 18.

The (usual) Suspects have become a staple of Rockford’s theatre scene since launching in 2015 with an acclaimed performance of The Rocky Horror Show. 2018 marks the group’s third season of shows at the Nordlof’s J.R. Sullivan Theater, which is maintained by the Rockford Public Library.

For tickets or more information visit usualsuspectspresents.com. R.