BLACKFOOT — It’s a good thing double jeopardy doesn’t apply to courtroom dramas because the Blackfoot Community Players are having a lot of fun trying the same woman over and over again as they perform Ayn Rand’s most famous play “Night of January 16th.”

So far the suspect, Karen Andre, who is accused of murdering her wealthy employer and lover, Bjorn Faulkner, has been tried five times for the crime. But her guilt or innocence is determined by a jury comprised of audience members, and director Rob Cox said they’ve convicted her about as many times as they’ve acquitted her so far. 

“The jury gets to pick the ending,” he said, adding that jury members have to analyze witness testimony during the show, and they shouldn’t be too quick to make any judgements. “There are several plot twists.”

“Night of January 16th” is playing at the Nuart Theatre, located at 195 N. Broadway in Blackfoot, on Saturday and Monday at 7:30 p.m.; tickets cost $7.

Cox said the show is a lot of fun, but the actors have to work hard to portray the right emotions and convince the jury that they’re telling the truth. 

“Even in a normal play you have to think (about) and be the character, but in this one it’s more important to do so,” Cox said. “That’s what pushes the jury one way or another.”

The 17-person cast includes two local attorneys, Lauren Murdoch and Randy Smith. Murdoch said she enjoys portraying the prosecuting attorney, Ms. Flint, but it’s a bit hard for her to transition from the real courtroom, where everything should be based on fact, to the courtroom drama, which is based mostly on emotion. 

“This play is all about passion,” she said, adding that it may not unfold exactly like a real court trial, but it’s likely more entertaining. “Real courtroom trials are pretty dry. They’re about facts and the evidence that supports those facts. You can’t speculate.”

Murdoch, who serves on the Blackfoot Community Players board and has been involved in the theater most of her life, said she enjoys the active role that audience members take in this show, and the fact that they’re able to determine the ending. 

But she didn’t want to go into too much detail because she didn’t want to “prejudice future juries.”

Cox said Ayn Rand’s writing is known for getting people to think, and her play isn’t any different. 

“She’s a very intellectual writer who appeals to deeper thought,” he said, adding that the courtroom drama is best appreciated by a more mature, intellectual audience. 

Still, the show is also entertaining and he hopes people will attend. 

Murdoch agrees. 

“Local live theater is a very important part of the community,” she said, adding that it’s also fun because no two shows — which depend on actors who often have to improvise on stage as various situations arise — are ever alike, particularly in a show like this where even the ending can alter. “It’s not like film. It’s a very different kind of art form.”