INTERVIEW: Debate between James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr. inspires new play
Photo: Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley stars, from left, Teagle F. Bougere and Eric T. Miller. Photo courtesy of Christopher McElroen / Provided by Everyman Agency with permission.
The arts company known as the american vicarious are currently presenting a new documentary play based on the historical debate that took place between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. The exchange between these two figures has been adapted by Christopher McElroen, who also directs the production, which runs through April 3 at the Great Room at the A.R.T./New York South Oxford Space in Brooklyn.
Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley features Teagle F. Bougere as Baldwin and Eric T. Miller as Buckley. The historical event took place in Cambridge, England, in 1965 and was recorded for television. Of course, Baldwin was a strong voice in the civil rights movement and important literary writer, while Buckley was a conservative intellectual who often appeared on PBS, according to press notes. By remembering this back-and-forth McElroen and company are hoping that audiences will see connections to race relations and debates in today’s society.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with McElroen about the new show. His previous credits include STATIC APNEA, Waiting for Godot in New Orleans, (A)loft Modulation and Piedmont Blues: A Search for Salvation. He is a Helen Hayes Award winner for his world premiere staging of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. He also serves as founding artistic director of the american vicarious. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Are the words in the play pulled directly from the debate?
Yes, the words are pulled directly from the original debate. Further, we restored the full text of the debate; the 1965 televised version, which is available on YouTube, was edited for broadcast. They had trimmed roughly five minutes from William F. Buckley’s presentation. To be accurate to the original in-person experience, we restored that text.
What interested you about this debate to present it theatrically in 2022?
The divergent positions held by both men, Baldwin and Buckley, continue to illuminate America’s racial divide today. So our interest in revisiting a debate from 1965, sadly, is we are still debating the same subject in 2022.
I imagine you knew these two men’s works. Did you conduct further research on them?
I was familiar with the work of both Baldwin and Buckley, Baldwin from his novels and plays, Buckley from his PBS show, Firing Line, and his historic clashes with Gore Vidal.
I was also aware of the 1965 debate. I became interested in working on the debate theatrically after reading Nicholas Buccola’s The Fire Is Upon Us. The book chronicles the very different paths walked by Baldwin and Buckley and how those paths led them to the debate at the Cambridge Union.
As for further research, I did revisit Baldwin’s writings and watched several dozen episodes of Firing Line. But the best research we did as a company was to be present in the summer of 2020.
How have performances gone so far? What’s it like working with this cast?
The evening is an intimate exchange of art and ideas fueled by the polar opposite views held by Baldwin and Buckley, who are beautifully portrayed by Teagle F. Bougere and Eric T. Miller and supported by Spencer Hamp and Charlie O’Roukre, as Cambridge undergraduates David Heycock and Jeremy Burford. Our objective was never to inhabit or impersonate these historical figures, rather to simply put their words in the mouths of contemporary artists. I think we have succeeded in that objective.
How would you define the american vicarious?
the american vicarious is an arts organization working across disciplinary boundaries — theatre, installation, documentary film — that aspires to reflect on America’s ideals and realities, and that which unites and divides its people. Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley is very much in support of that mission.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley, presented by the american vicarious and directed by Christopher McElroen, runs through April 3 at the Great Room at the A.R.T./New York South Oxford Space in Brooklyn. Click here for more information and tickets.
