SPEECH & DEBATE Begins Previews At Unicorn Theatre 6/10
By: Charlie Piane May. 22, 2009
Have you ever found out a secret about a teacher online? One of the characters in SPEECH & DEBATE has and now three high school misfits are coming together, by way of a newly formed speech and debate team, to expose their teacher, political hypocrisy and bad casting in the school musical. This summer, Missy Koonce will direct Lauretta Pope, Doogin Brown, Tosin Morohunfola and Kathleen Warfel in a wild ride of a comedy that will make you think twice about logging on. Diwata (played by Pope) is a self-proclaimed video-blog star, Solomon (played by Brown) is an aspiring reporter and Howie (played by Morohunfola) is new to town but not to surfing the chat rooms for "hook-ups." They have all stumbled on to pieces of their teacher's secret, and though they are reluctant to trust each other, they soon realize their three voices are stronger that one; this could be their chance to finally be heard by the school and even the world. Their exposé culminates in a time-traveling George Michael-inspired musical version of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
Stephen Karam is the author of Speech & Debate which was produced Off-Broadway by Roundabout Theatre Company as the inaugural production of Roundabout Underground in October 2007. He is the co-author of Columbinus (2006 Helen Hayes nomination), which ran at New York Theatre Workshop following a co-production by Round House/Perseverance Theatres. His last two plays, Speech & Debate and Girl on Girl, debuted as workshop productions at the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theatre. He is currently working on a new play commission for Roundabout Theatre Company and a screenplay adaptation of Speech & Debate for Overture Films. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University.
Stephen Karam's SPEECH & DEBATE is directed by Missy Koonce who previously co-directed Bat Boy: The Musical for the Unicorn in addition to appearing on stage in such shows as bare, Loving Lucy, The Laramie Project and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The cast features Lauretta Pope as Diwata (Unicorn Theatre Debut), Doogin Brown as Solomon (Previously at Unicorn: Orson's Shadow), Tosin Morohunfola as Howie (Unicorn Theatre Debut) and Kathleen Warfel as Teacher/Reporter (Previously at Unicorn: Rabbit Hole, Omnium Gatherum, The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Desert Holiday). The design team includes scenic design by Gary Mosby (Recently at Unicorn: bare, The Women of Brewster Place, Rising Water, 9 Parts of Desire and rightnextto me), lighting design by Jessica Bertine (Unicorn Theatre Debut), sound design by David Kiehl (Recently at Unicorn: 9 Parts of Desire and A House With No Walls), projection design by Jeffrey Cady (Previously at Unicorn: The Clean House, Mauritius, rightnextto me and The Pillowman) and costume design by Jon Fulton Adams (Previously at Unicorn: The Clean House, The Velvet Rut, Sister Mary Ignatius..., A House With No Walls and La Cage aux Folles) with Tanya Brown as Production Stage Manager (Previously at Unicorn: The Clean House, Mauritius, The Little Dog Laughed and A House With No Walls).
TALK BACK PERFORMANCESProducing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin leads a discussion about the play with the actors after the show. Talk backs are scheduled for June 16th, 21st and 23rd.
Unicorn Box Office
Box Office Information
Phone: 816-531-PLAY
Website: www.UnicornTheatre.org
Address: 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111
Box Office Hours
Performance WeeksMon. 12pm-5pm
Tues-Sat. 12pm-8pm
Sun. 1:30pm-3pm
Non-Performance Weeks
Tues.-Fri. 12pm-5pm
Show Time and Ticket Prices for Speech & Debate
Previews 7:30pm: Start at $20
Tuesday-Thursday 7:30pm: Start at $25
Friday and Saturday 8:00pm: Start at $30
Sunday Matinee 3:30pm: Start at $25
Saturday Matinee February 28th, 3:00pm: Start at $25
*A $2.50 per ticket box office fee is added for all phone and walk up sales.
Tickets may be purchased 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.UnicornTheatre.org. An online service fee applies to every order.
Students can buy $15 advance tickets for performances Tuesday-Fridays. Limit 1 ticket per i.d. and cannot be combined with other discounts. Students can receive a $5 discount off of tickets on Saturday nights and Sunday Matinees. Student Rush tickets are available for $10 five minutes before curtain for each performance. Rush tickets are subject to availability.
Patron 30 year of age and under can purchase $20 tickets to any Thursday performance. Cannot be combined with other offers and is subject to availability.
A 10% discount is offered to patrons over 60 years of age. Offer cannot be combined with other offer and is subject to availability.
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