(Theater companies as a rule have bafflingly counterproductive PR photos, and Speech and Debate is no exception. Instead of a press photo from the show, I present an illustrated interpretation of the Lincoln Douglass debate, which is, believe it or not, cooler than any press image I could find.)
Artists Rep has extended their production of Speech and Debate through December 7th–and moreover, they’ve finally started selling $10 student tickets for all shows (given that it’s a show about high schoolers that should play well with the kids, $30 is a bit steep).
The show, in brief: A gothy drama queen (Jennifer Rowe) organizes a speech and debate club at her high school because she was snubbed in the casting for the school play, and wants an outlet for her theatrical energy. She convinces the nerdy, closeted Solomon (Adrian de Forest) to join the team by telling him that he can use the club as a way to present writing the school newspaper won’t let him publish, material concerning a chat-room conversation between the openly gay Howie (Derek Herman), also in the debate club, and a teacher.
I really liked certain aspects of the production: the three lead actors are fantastic, playwright Stephen Karam’s dialogue is spot-on, and the decision to stage the show in a classroom-sized office space lends a rare intimacy to the production. The plot, however, is tediously convoluted and crammed with movie-of-the-week cliches, as well as a gimmicky debate club framework in which scenes are labeled like different categories of debate event (“Lincoln-Douglass debate,” that kinda thing).
So, it’s a mixed bag, but overall an entertaining offering, and an interesting choice for ART. Nice to see ’em reaching out to the kids. Buy tickets here, if you like.