There’s a high-school musical opening at a theater near you this weekend, and it has something not even that ubiquitous Disney megamovie franchise has to offer: Nerds. Bona fide dorks. Geeks. Misfits. The kind who try out for the high-school musical . . . and can’t even get in.
Stephen Karam’s “Speech and Debate,” bowing Saturday at Curious Theatre, is a comedy about three outcast teens who don’t fit into any peer group. But, through sheer coincidence, they wind up accidentally forming one of their own.
It’s penned by half of the team that wrote “columbinus,” a deadly serious and close-to-home examination of the Columbine High School massacre.
“Speech and Debate” is no “columbinus.” It has a rendition of George Michael’s “Freedom” — one so spirited, it makes Zac and Vanessa seem positively glum.
Adolescence may be angst-ridden, but this play resides far from Angstville. And yet, like “columbinus,” it manages to deal with some serious and timeless teen issues such as alienation, social ineptness and peer pressure in the face of hypocrisy from surrounding adults who harbor many secrets.
“This play deals with all the angst that kids go through, but in a really great way,” said director Dee Covington. “This is a straight-on comedy.”
Solomon (Glen Moore), Diwata (Laura Jo Trexler) and Howie (Steven J. Burge) are disparate dweebs brought together by an awkward sex scandal at their Oregon high school, who form a speech-and- debate squad to solve the unfolding mystery. But underneath this fiercely funny tale is a telling statement on how hard it is to be a kid.
“Adolescence is primarily a struggle with purpose and contribution,” Covington said. “It’s about exploring personal issues like identity, sexuality and deciding how you are going to make your mark on the world.”
Our nation regards teenagers primarily as consumers to be courted — perhaps the most valuable demographic of buyers there is — “but we haven’t given them a lot of ways in which they can be producers,” Covington said.
“This play gives them a way to contribute to their community that’s slightly artistic and rebellious.”
Artistic director Cup Walton calls “Speech and Debate” the real “High School Musical.”
“This is not about the 3 percent of people who actually fit in — and pretty much everyone in ‘High School Musical’ fits in,” he said. “Well, let’s say, they certainly don’t seem to spend a lot of time questioning their identity.”
And, Covington adds, “They certainly aren’t carrying around a lot of secrets.”
But everybody remembers that period of high school when they were trying to find a place to belong, Walton said. “The search for identity starts in high school, but it’s really a lifelong struggle. That’s why this play is more representative of the typical high-school experience.”
The actors playing Karam’s stage teens say that while the play is realistic in its own suspended-disbelief kind of way, it gets the essence of real teens right, starting with language that is both conversational and real.
“It’s respectful to today’s youth culture in terms of their intelligence, because they know what’s going on more than the adults want to recognize,” said Burge. “So not only do they have knowledge of the real world, but they are being lied to about it, and they are having politics shoved down their throats about what’s right and wrong.
“I think kids today are struggling at a younger age to decide who they are and what they want out of life than maybe in generations prior.”
Burge plays Howie, an openly gay teen who wants to start a gay-straight student alliance. More fully defined portraits of gay teens like Howie — the kind that go beyond sexuality as a sole, defining characteristic of a character — seem to be proliferating on network TV (“Ugly Betty,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Degrassi” and “As the World Turns” among them).
But Covington doesn’t believe the trend has traveled all the way from the small screen to real school hallways across America just yet.
“Just because mainstream media may be more open to embracing gay teens doesn’t mean that it’s still not terrifying for a gay teen to come out now,” Covington said. “The world might be more comfortable with seeing teens coming out than other teens are.”
But she said plays such as “Speech and Debate” are a positive step because they take a playful approach, rather than turn polarizing issues like these into a speech — or a debate.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“Speech and Debate” ticket information
Dark comedy. Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma St. Written by Stephen Karam. Directed by Dee Covington. Through Dec. 13. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. $35 (2-for-1 Thursdays). 303-623- 0524 or
This week’s video podcast: “Speech and Debate”
Running Lines with . . . Laura Jo Trexler, Steven J. Burge and Glen Moore, who don the personas of their Curious Theatre alter egos for a short conversation with John Moore. Run time: 4 minutes.
Laura Jo Trexler: In her own words
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“I’m the lucky character who gets to do ridiculous ‘Crucible’ interpretations, mock strip-teases and belt numbers accompanied by Casio keyboard. Could it get any better?” — Laura Jo Trexler (plays Diwata; most recently Rachel in Curious’ “End Days”).
The story: Three high-school misfits linked by a town sex scandal decide the only way to get to the truth is to form their school’s first speech and debate team.
The intrigue: This is one of the first stagings of this clever comedy anywhere since it premiered in New York last year. Written by Stephen Karam.
This weekend’s other theater openings
“Anything Goes” Coal Creek Community Theatre presents Cole Porter’s classic musical about Reno Sweeney and Billy Crocker. Through Nov. 16. At Northglenn High School, 601 W. 100th Place, 303-665-0955 or
“As You Like It” Shakespearean comedy featuring his greatest heroine, Rosalind, the girl who dresses like a boy to teach the boy how to get the girl. Through Nov. 29. OpenStage & Company, Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins, 970-221-6730 or
“I Am My Own Wife” Erik Sandvold comes to Colorado Springs’ TheatreWorks to reprise his acclaimed 2006 role as the real-life German transvestite who has survived both the Nazi and Communist regimes. Through Nov. 9. At Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Cragwood Drive, 719-262-3232 or
“Fat Pig” Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company presents Neil LaBute’s tale of a young, handsome exec who falls for a “plus-sized” woman. Will their relationship be able to endure the societal pressures that surround them? Don’t count on it. Through Nov. 23. Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7826 or
“Fuddy Meers” David Lindsay-Abaire’s freaky screwball comedy (and Pulitzer winner) about a woman who wakes each morning as a blank slate. Through Nov. 16. Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St., 303-772-5200 or
“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” Throwback musical based on the 1954 film, including “Blue Skies,” “How Deep is the Ocean” and, of course, the title song. Through Jan. 3. Carousel Dinner Theatre, 3509 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, 970-225-2555 or
“Mame” Jerry Herman’s classic musical about the eccentric Mame Dennis and her bohemian clique. Through Dec. 14 (reprising Dec. 31-Jan. 4). Jesters Dinner Theatre, 224 Main St., Longmont, 303-682-9980 or
This weekend’s theater closings
Today, Oct. 31: Gaslight’s “Blithe Spirit” Westminster
Saturday, Nov. 1: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Noises Off” (at the Stage Theatre)
Saturday, Nov. 1: Shadow’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”
Saturday, Nov. 1: Bug Theatre’s “Night of the Living Dead”
Saturday, Nov. 1: Backstage’s “The Mystery of Irma Vep” Breckenridge
Saturday, Nov. 1: Thin Air Theatre’s “Frankenstein of Cripple Creek” Cripple Creek
Saturday, Nov. 1: Adams Mystery Playouse’s “Welcome . . . to Murder Mortuary”
Saturday, Nov. 1: Bovine Metropolis’ “Bovanity Fair”
Sunday, Nov. 2: Vintage Theatre’s “Murderers”
Sunday, Nov. 2: Festival Playhouse’s “It was a Dark and Stormy Night” Arvada
Compiled by John Moore
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page.
