In the Town Players of Newtown production of 12 Angry Men, as the 12 jurors sit in their places and first exchange disagreements, the audience may feel a touch of familiarity. The men sitting in one line can lead to a reflection on Leonardo Divinci’s “Last Supper” masterwork, with its 12 disciples arranged in argumentative disarray.

The set itself looks like the painting, too. In the show, which opened last weekend at The Little Theatre, there are no shifting scenes, adding to the believability of the set. It is still and constant, simple, plain and intentional. This allows the Town Players to truly take command of the stage, becoming collectively larger than life, which they take advantage of to their fullest capacities.

The story of the show, directed by Alexis M. Vournazos, is of 12 jurors in deliberation. They must decide whether or not the defendant in the case is guilty for first degree murder — a sentence that would condemn him to death. At first, only one juror has a reasonable doubt that the boy may be innocent.

When the actors file onstage, the door from which they enter evokes a clown-car effect. The stage at Town Players is small, and so much personality pours in all at once. Even before the nameless introduction of the jurors by their first lines of dialogue, individual character distinctions embodied by the actors could be read immediately.

All the actors seemed immensely comfortable — at home — with each other, so much so that during heated moments they had no qualms about entering each other’s space as their characters demanded. During moments of high intensity, the chemistry is magnetic and compelling, making situations feel uncannily real.

In such an intense show, moments of silence are notable. Changes in dynamic hit hard.

Mark Ferguson has many notable moments of this. As Juror 9, Ferguson plays one of the softer spoken characters, and evokes shivers at his most important lines with thoughtful and powerful delivery.

Rich Molinario, whose bio indicates he hasn’t been onstage in 30 years, is an unwavering actor, and perfectly fear-inducing in his role. At times, his portrayal of Juror 10 is reminiscent of Jack Nicholson taking the stand as Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men.

Bob Lussier takes on his challenging role of Juror 3 with clear focus and attention to detail — locating for the audience a full range of character depth on the Town Players stage. The important distinctions between Lussier’s and Molinario’s roles are highlighted masterfully by the actors.

The discourse between Lussier and Michael Wright, Juror 8, is the most earthshaking of the show, which speaks to the actors’ comfort with each other as scene partners.

The lighting of the set is filtered in such a way that it is believably 30 degrees warmer in the world portrayed onstage, and the actors pay relentless attention to the setting. Even while inactive, the actors are able to uphold the belief of setting and story.

In the audience, there were few moments that released the suspension of disbelief because of the care taken by those who upheld the setting during their moments in the background. The few times one could be removed from the scene were the few sound issues present, but after opening weekend, there is little doubt these blips will be ironed out.

The show is ultimately very moving, with a lesson about how toxic masculinity includes expectations of consensus, and characters pushed to face these norms head-on.

As Ferguson dictates in his role, “It isn’t easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others.”

All 12 men were angry, yes, but not flatly or at a base level. The individual care taken by the men onstage to fully transform into each role emphasized that each expression and source of anger was unique. Not only are the men provoked at different times, but they also emote in different ways. The decisions in the actors’ executions fully speak toward the thematic intentions of the show: to explore the pursuit of justice as it intersects with masculinity, in shortcomings and triumphs.

The work as performed is a non-stop, engaging, masterful, slow-burning reveal of individual vulnerability and reason. The story rages from exhilarating to uncomfortable. It is a testament to clear, diligent execution of the roles.

12 Angry Men is a conversation about gender, race, responsibility and well, the nature of anger and where it comes from. Through its production, Town Players speaks to all of this with the detail of litterateurs and the limitless energy and attention of the truest actors.

Performances continue weekends to April 29. Curtain is 8 pm Friday and Saturday night (and Thursday, April 27), and 2 pm Sunday, April 23. Tickets are $25 for the evening shows, $20 for the matinee, and available through newtownplayers.org.

Reporter Noelle Veillette can be reached at noelle@thebee.com.