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Speech and Debate
By Stephen Karam
Directed by PJ Paparelli
At American Theater Company (ATC)
1909 W. Byron St.
Chicago, IL
Call 773-409-4125, tickets $30 - $35
Thursdays & Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 4 & 8 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Running time is 100 minutes without intermission
Through May 25, 2008
Quick-witted teen comedy deftly depicts modern teens
American Theater Company (ATC) expands their interests with Stephen Karam’s, Speech and Debate, a comic exploration of the adolescent world featuring laptops, video projections and chat rooms from the Internet. Filled with eccentric teen humor that escaped many of us gray-hairs, Speech and Debate does project the unique voice of today’s teens. The humor runs from sophomoric and silly to smart and witty. The show deals with the fringe kids in high school struggling to make their mark in the world.
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We meet Solomon (Jared McGuire), the crusading young journalist bent on writing controversial articles in the high school newspaper. His teacher (Cheryl Graeff) denies him space but Solomon is determined to be a published journalist. He targets the male drama teacher at his high school rumored to solicit boys on Internet chat rooms. He gets a tip from Diwata’s (Sadieh Rifai) blog about the drama teacher meeting a male student in the local park. There is a phone number to the student. Solomon calls him, Howie (Patrick Andrews), and subtle sparks fly between the two guys. Diwata plots to get a speech and debate group formed at the high school as a forum for her to perform. She envisions herself as an actress despite her never getting cast by the drama teacher. She wrote a musical version of Miller’s The Crucible. She needs a platform on which to perform. We see Diwata hilariously act out her stage talents.
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Solomon strongly desires the recognition from being published and Howie wants the school to allow him to form a gay-straight alliance group. Each of the teens has secrets and each plot to use these secrets toward their personal goals. Sprinkled with Diwata’s strange antics, Speech and Debate unfolds as a funny take on teen life. The struggle to find one’s place and the desire for personal recognition is fine fare for a wacky teen comedy. The use of pop music, chat rooms and video, together with playwright Stephen Karam’s understanding of today’s teens, renders Speech and Debate into a vivid and quirky coming of age comedy.
This play’s humor is more for younger audiences but it also serves as window into the minds of today’s teens for all of us. The production is slick, fast-paced and well acted. Sadieh Rifai’s zany humor is a treat while Jared McGuire and Patrick Andrews offer excellent, emotionally truthful performances.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2008
Jeff Recommended
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