Critic's Pick: Brutally funny, hauntingly serious ‘Speech & Debate'
'You're of age?' types the online chatter to his unknown but flirty correspondent. 'Are you sure?' 'Speech & Debate,' onstage in Oviedo from the En...
'You're of age?' types the online chatter to his unknown but flirty correspondent. 'Are you sure?' 'Speech & Debate,' onstage in Oviedo from the Ensemble Company , walks its tightrope of tone with focused precision under the direction of Matthew MacDermid. This is true dark comedy — it's very funny. And it's very serious. Hauntingly serious — especially as the three primary characters reveal more and more about themselves and in their vulnerability endear themselves to the audience. Playwright Stephen Karam , who won a Tony Award for writing 'The Humans,' has perfectly captured that freefall feeling of the late high-school years — almost adults but lacking adult reasoning skills, not quite children but still erupting with childlike emotions.