DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY To Have West Coast Premiere At Ebony Repertory Theatre

Ebony Repertory Theatre (ERT), in association with the american vicarious (producing director Erica Laird), has announced the West Coast premiere of DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY, adapted and directed by Christopher McElroen (the american vicarious' Static Apnea, Harlem Stage's Piedmont Blues: A Search for Salvation).

This powerful play brings to life the historic 1965 Cambridge Union debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley, portrayed by Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway's The Tempest and A Raisin in the Sun) and Eric T. Miller (Off-Broadway LAByrinth's Sweet Storm, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Mope), respectively. The critically acclaimed production will run from May 2 to May 11, 2025, with the press opening on May 2, 2025. Performances will take place at Ebony Repertory Theatre's Studio Space in the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center (4718 West Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles). Tickets are available at EbonyRep.org.

"Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?" This was the topic on February 18, 1965 when an overflow crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to bear witness to a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America's most influential conservative intellectual. DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY recreates the epic confrontation that pitted Baldwin's call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley's unabashed elitism and implicit commitment to white supremacy. This historic clash reveals the deep roots and lasting legacy of racial conflict that continues to haunt America.

"Ebony Repertory Theatre is honored and excited to join with the american vicarious in bringing DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY to our home, the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center," shared Ebony Repertory Theatre founder and producing artistic director Wren T. Brown. "From my formative childhood, James Baldwin's name and books were a celebrated and salient part of my household. Around 1975, my grandfather and I began watching and discussing the talk show, 'Firing Line,' hosted by William F. Buckley. Although at this time in my life, I was acutely aware of the singular brilliance of Baldwin, and many other brilliant Black men and women who were fighting on behalf of Black people in America, watching 'Firing Line' every weekend, was my first consistent exposure to the public intellectual and one of the foremost leaders of the conservative movement in the United States. When I became aware of this production, DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY, and realized that this year was the 60th anniversary of the historic Cambridge Union debate between Baldwin and Buckley, that combined with the absolutely tumultuous times in which we currently find ourselves here in the United States, I knew that bringing this show to our audience was of utmost importance."

In addition to Bougere and Miller, DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY features Cole Wagner (Pepperdine University's The Music Man) as Heycock and Frankie Zabilka (Pasadena Playhouse's Grumpy Monkey) as Burford.

The creative team for DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY includes director and adapter Christopher McElroen and local casting by Michael Donovan, CSA / Richie Ferries, CSA, Michael Donovan Casting.

DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY was originally produced in 2020 by McElroen, founding artistic director of the american vicarious, and broadcast in partnership with BRIC, with its New York premiere at the South Oxford Space. The production has since toured various theatres in New York City, London, and Chicago.

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