Now Playing

adapted and directed by Christopher McElroen

Chicago Premiere

January 29 - March 2, 2025

at Cortelyou Commons at DePaul University,
2324 N. Fremont St.
Chicago, IL 60614

Following critically acclaimed runs in New York City and London, TimeLine will create a site-specific, immersive Chicago premiere of the american vicarious’ imagining of the historic debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr., on the occasion of the event’s 60th anniversary.

“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. This historic clash reveals the deep roots and lasting legacy of racial conflict that continues to haunt America.

Presented in partnership with

Runs approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission

Buy Tickets
Use Your FlexPass

Cast

Production Team

Understudies

* Member of Actors Equity Association

# Member of United Scenic Artists

~ Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

+ TimeLine Company Member

^ TimeLine Associate Artist

§ TimeLine Playwrights Collective

Reviews

  • Chicago Tribune

    February 2, 2025

    ★★★1/2…startlingly current…timeless.

    —Chris Jones

  • The Fourth Walsh

    February 1, 2025

    Very timely…under [Christopher] McElroen’s masterful direction, Teagle F. Bougere and Eric T. Miller are superb.

    —KT Walsh

  • Chicago Stage and Screen

    February 3, 2025

    A not-to-be-missed communal experience to listen, learn and empathize with fellow audience members of various backgrounds…an example of what theater does best.

    —Stephanie Kulke

  • Third Coast Review

    February 4, 2025

    There’s been much buzz about finding community to debrief and grieve as our present democracy circles the drain and revisiting this important debate is a welcome panacea… …this piece arrives just in time.

    —Karin McKie

  • Mara Tapp Raves

    February 4, 2025

    Highly recommended…Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley gets my vote as a must-see for 2025 – or for any year.

    —Mara Tapp

  • Chicago Theatre Review

    February 3, 2025

    [Teagle F. Bougere and Eric T. Miller] are remarkable…the well-elucidated arguments presented by the renowned Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Buckley still ring true today.

    —Colin Douglas

  • Buzz Center Stage

    February 3, 2025

    As with the original, Baldwin here is poetic and theatrical, and Bougere’s rendering of him is quite excellent…illuminat[ing] the tremendous courage, and intellectual self-possession of Baldwin.

    —Bill Esler

  • Chicago Reader

    February 4, 2025

    [A] razor-sharp dissection of the ugly truths of race in America.

    —Kerry Reid

  • Windy City Times

    February 5, 2025

    Hearing the power of Baldwin’s words in a live setting cannot be understated, and the discussions this piece is trying to manifest are as important now as they were on that blustery wintery evening all those many years ago.

    —Brian Kirst

  • Newcity Stage

    February 7, 2025

    Succeeds spectacularly in pulling us into that epic confrontation…very much worth seeing, raising essential questions about our past, present and future.

    —Hugh Iglarsh

Features

  • Chicago Sun-Times

    February 18, 2025

    Everything that is talked about in the debate is still relevant,” said [the american vicarious’] artistic director, Christopher McElroen, who also directs the play. “I don’t know if it’s possible to achieve the American Dream without it being at the expense of somebody in this current moment. And that is part of the rhetoric that led to [Trump’s] return to office, is this idea that somebody is taking something from you, thus hindering your pursuit of the American Dream.

    —Erica Thompson

    Read the full article

  • WBEZ Chicago

    February 17, 2025

    Actors Teagle F. Bougere and Eric T. Miller sat down with WBEZ to discuss their experience bringing Baldwin and Buckley’s arguments to life onstage.

    —Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

    Listen to the full interview

Discussions & Events

  • DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY Sunday Scholars
    Sunday, February 16 at 3pm

    This one-hour post-show panel discussion features experts on the themes of the play.

    Read More
  • Baldwin vs. Buckley Debate 60th Anniversary
    Tuesday, February 18

    On this date, see DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY 60 years after the original event.

    Read More
  • Open Captioned Performances of DEBATE
    February 21 at 7:30pm & February 22 at 4pm

    Featuring a text display of words and sounds heard during the performance.

    Read More
  • James Baldwin at 100: A Symposium
    Thursday, February 27 from 5–7pm

    A symposium celebrating the impact of James Baldwin.

    Read More
  • Audio Described Performances of DEBATE
    Saturday, March 1 at 4pm

    Featuring audio description of visuals during the performance via individual headset.

    Read More