Speech and Debate – Twilight’s Latest Gem

Picture by Alicia Turvin shows Dominique Francis and Max Powell

 

 

By Tina Arth

 

Twilight Theater Company’s second offering of the year, playwright Stephen Karam’s Speech and Debate, is a beautifully dark, quirky little show that perfectly encapsulates the concept of dramedy. The subject matter could not be more serious, as one rarely sees the lighter side of adolescent sexual abuse and molestation. However, Karam pulls it off – and I simply love this show! Director Jeremy Abe and his cast, in particular the three leads, find the humor, angst, and power in Karam’s script about coming of age as sexual and intellectual outsiders in the complex 21^st century milieu of a suburban American high school.

 

The story revolves around the intersection of three crusaders at a school in Salem (our Salem, not the one of witch-burning renown). There’s Diwata, the budding Broadway star who can’t get the drama teacher to cast her in a lead, and who is determined to start a Speech and Debate Club in order to expose said drama teacher’s pervy propensities. There’s Howie, gay, proud, and loud, newly arrived from the more cosmopolitan culture of Portland, seeking Instagram hookups and a Gay-Straight Alliance Club. There’s Solomon, the introverted young journalist obsessed with getting the school paper to address controversial issues, in particular sexual misconduct by the local mayor and other closeted authority figures. With Diwata as the prime mover, the trio forges an oddly touching alliance that takes a simple Speech and Debate Club to unimagined heights of absurdity (perhaps you’ve forgotten about the nude dance number in the musical version of The Crucible?) while remaining faithful to the play’s serious core themes.

 

Each of the leads escapes cheap parody and easy laughs by committing 100% to their role. Gayle Hammersley (Diwata) as an irresistible force of nature – the frumpy, bright, persistent, creative outcast who refuses to be sidelined by a school culture designed for lesser mortals. A few repeating chords on her electric keyboard  (and a startling good voice) provide the soundtrack for her enthusiastic, impromptu vocalization as she shamelessly manipulates her cast mates into joining her club and her campaign. Max Powell (Solomon) captures every nuance of his character’s awkward intensity; his mannerisms and delivery are flawlessly accurate, and made me cringe at the casual cruelty that is a hallmark of the adolescent experience. However, my personal Tony for Best Actor goes to Dominique Francis (Howie) for the layered texture of her performance – superficially urbane, cynical, and blasé but with undertones of pain and vulnerability that would have been really hard to watch if she weren’t so damned funny. Their three characters caught on the edge of adulthood and casually dismissed by the adults in their lives, Gayle, Max and Dominique draw us inexorably into playwright Karam’s little world.

 

Paul Roder’s set is minimalist and functional – simple enough to facilitate frequent scene changes; with the addition and subtraction of a few key set pieces we can be in a classroom, a restaurant, or a bedroom (or three), or a surreal school board meeting.

 

Both playwright Karam and director Abe must have clear memories of their teen years; the heartbreaking yet hilarious authenticity of the script attests to careful and respectful examination of each character’s struggle. Courtesy of Covid-19 and the Delta strain, Twilight’s production of Speech and Debate may not draw the audiences it deserves, but those who choose to go will be well-rewarded, and the theater is enforcing the highest safety standards to protect their patrons, actors, and staff.

 

Twilight Theater Company’s Speech and Debate is playing at the Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland through October 31^st, with performances at 8 P.M. on Friday–Saturday, and 3:00 PM on Sunday.