[NEohioPAL] Review of "Speech & Debate" at Dobama Theatre

[Bob Abelman]

'Speech & Debate' no buzz-kill

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 3/26/10

 

By conjuring up images of the most ostracized of all high school extracurriculars, the title of Stephen Karam's play, Speech & Debate, is most certainly a buzz-kill.   Fortunately, the play itself, currently on stage at the Dobama Theatre, is anything but.     

 

This intelligent, fast-paced and cleverly constructed dark comedy features three marginalized, misfit high school students who independently learn the sexual secret of their school's drama teacher, Mr. Healy.  

 

The three teens discover each other and share what they know about Mr. Healy through the anonymity of a blog site.  When they finally meet in person, they inadvertently disclose their own sexual secrets, which sets into motion this quirky and absolutely charming coming-of-age tale.  

 

Most likely, the title of this play comes from the teenagers' decision to form a Speech & Debate club for the purpose of outing their teacher while performing a public exhibition of dramatic interpretation. 

 

In the playbill notes, director Scott Plate suggests that the title is less reflective and more symbolic.  The play drives home the point that one person in social isolation and in pain is capable of speech and merely articulating the pain, which too often falls on deaf ears.  Two people together, however, have the potential for debate and exploration and, as our protagonists learn, the power of three provides perspective and newfound understanding. Through understanding comes healing.

 

Of course, if the title was Speech, Debate and the Power of Perspective and Newfound Understanding and Healing, it would be even more of a buzz-kill.

 

Plate does a masterful job of presenting the playwright's key themes with clarity and coherence, while allowing for all the play's interesting and idiosyncratic subthemes and its inherent playfulness-of which there is plenty-to bubble to the surface. 

 

His vision is nicely complemented by technical director Michael Roesch's wizardry, which includes the use of large screen projection to simulate cyberspace and offer up titles for each of the play's numerous scenes.

 

This production is blessed with a superb core of young actors, who see Karam's characters as more than just teenage angst and acne.  Although these characters are broadly drawn and easy to classify as outsider archetypes-the frumpy and flamboyant girl, the nerdy overachiever, and the new-guy-these performers see beyond the stereotypes and capture their characters' unique brands of loneliness and defining back stories. 

 

Nicholas Varricchio is brilliant as Solomon, the overachieving ace reporter who is in nine kinds of personal pain but refuses to acknowledge a single one.  Varricchio's portrait of a loner is immediately recognizable yet absolutely distinctive, which makes it interesting and sustainable throughout this two-hour, one-act production.  

 

Nick Pankuch plays Howie, an openly gay newcomer who does not fit into the relatively conservative confines of his new school.   Pankuch's portrayal of his character's sexual preference is nicely informed by his ill-at-ease in Salem, Oregon, resulting is a relative lack of affected mannerisms.  This makes for a richer and more honest portrayal.

 

Shelby Bartelstein is a delightfully dark Diwata, a young girl whose idol is Mary Warren, the accused witch from Arthur Miller's The Crucible who refused to sacrifice herself for the greater good.  Diwata is the main source of dynamic tension in this production, and Bartelstein handles all the play's conflict and all its humor with equal aplomb.  

 

The only adults in Speech & Debate are a generic teacher and local reporter, both woefully misplayed by Elizabeth Ann Townsend, and an assortment of parents as faceless voices who shout directives at their kids from off-stage. 

 

Dobama's creative team has successfully transformed images of a much maligned extramural activity into an enriching evening's entertainment.   This is an intriguing play and a very fine production of it.

 

Speech & Debate continues through April 4 at the Dobama Theatre, 2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.  For tickets, which range from $17 to $22, call 216-932-3396 or visit www.dobama.org.
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