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Preview of a review: "Speech & Debate" by American Theatre Company.
Published: 3/10/2011 2:49 PM
Last Modified: 3/10/2011 2:49 PM

American Theatre Company's "Speech & Debate" was something of a victim of the February blizzards, which cut drastically into the production's rehearsal time to the extent that the original opening weekend was cancelled to give the cast and crew more time to fine-tune the show.

The work paid off:

"The dozen scenes of “Speech & Debate” are prefaced with titles of the types of presentations that take place in speech and debate competitions, but there is nothing dry or over-reheased about the way these three young actors flesh out these characters and their stories.

Those stories are — in the cold light of analysis — not terribly unusual; the feelings and events that bedevil Howie, Diwata and Solomon are unfortunately typical problems that too many young people face in this world.

But the single-mindedness of Diwata, in pursuit of a forum to express her creativity, and Solomon, for what he thinks is the “truth,” create moments of sharp-edged comedy and a real sense of suspense as to how the machinations of these youngsters will work themselves out.

In this, Clark is the true star of the show. It’s her first time to perform on stage in a play (she is a member of Booker T. Washington High School’s speech and debate team), but the way she handles Diwata’s slippery sense of morality — to the very end of the play, you’re never quite sure if what she says can be taken at face value — is compelling and as polished as one might want."

"Speech & Debate" only runs through March 12, and it is worth checking out.

A couple of warnings: Language and topics make it suitable for mature audiences, and the just-under-two-hour-long show runs without an intermission.





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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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