James Baldwin
Teagle F. Bougere
Broadway credits include The Tempest, A Raisin in the Sun and The Crucible. He created the title role in the world-premiere stage adaptation of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.
the american vicarious presents
Debate:Baldwin vs. Buckley
The historic 1965 Cambridge Union Debate, Reimagined.
“Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?”
About the production
The historic 1965 Cambridge Union Debate, Reimagined.
“Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?”
This was the question on February 18, 1965, when an overflow crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin — the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement — and William F. Buckley Jr., America’s most prominent conservative intellectual.
The stage was set for an extraordinary confrontation: Baldwin’s call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley’s defense of the American establishment. Their exchange laid bare the deep divisions at the heart of American democracy — divisions whose echoes continue to shape our present.
In restaging this debate, the american vicarious seeks to return Baldwin and Buckley’s words to public conversation through the voices of contemporary artists. Sixty years later, the arguments remain piercing, the stakes undiminished, the questions still demanding our attention.
“One of the most compelling examples of political theatre I’ve seen in years.”★★★★★ BroadwayWorld UK
Press
Selected press
Utterly captivating.The Guardian
Commanding.The Observer
An absolutely riveting performance.The Stage
Buckley is quietly chilling.The Stage
My best recommendation of the week. Unmissable.Vulture
Phenomenally acted, radically staged, electrically charged.StageBuddy
A palpable sense of the electricity, animosity, and history coursing through the room.TheaterMania
Fantastic.The Reviews Hub
Superbly performed.Everything Theatre UK
Intriguing. Defiant.The Times
Highbrow/Brilliant.New York Magazine
Video
Trailer, Excerpt, Full Performance
Touring
Touring at a glance
4actors
1stage manager
60 minno intermission
4 chairsthe only furniture required
No cuesuses the venue’s repertory lighting
2 hourssetup
Technical footprint: The production is intentionally lean and adaptable. The presenter provides a projector and screen, or a large monitor depending on the seating arrangement and space. The company travels with the computer necessary for video and sound playback. No specific theatrical lighting is required, and the production generally requires no running crew. The work can be presented in both traditional theatres and nontraditional spaces, including libraries, community centers, and churches.
Audience conversation
Both theatrical and civic.
Debate is an invitation to listen across divides, to reckon with the unfinished questions Baldwin and Buckley posed, and to ask what kind of public discourse we want to carry forward today.
When appropriate, the performance can be followed by a twenty-minute facilitated conversation with the audience about the motion, the debate, and its relevance today.
Selected engagements
Tour history
2026
Wilton’s Music Hall — London, UKUniversity of West Florida — Pensacola, FL
2025
TimeLine Theatre / DePaul University — Chicago, ILEbony Repertory Theatre — Los Angeles, CAUniversity of Florida — Gainesville, FL
2024
Charleston Literary Festival — Charleston, SCUTC Fine Arts Center — Chattanooga, TN
2023
Stone Nest — London, UKBristol Old Vic — Bristol, UKCambridge Union — Cambridge, UKHarlem Stage — Manhattan, NYNewhouse Center — Staten Island, NYQueens Theatre — Queens, NYBrooklyn Old Stone House — Brooklyn, NY
2022
South Oxford Space — Brooklyn, NY
2021
Women’s National Republican Club — Manhattan, NY
2020
BRIC — Brooklyn, NY (broadcast premiere)
Production photos
In performance
Artists
Creative team & cast
William F. Buckley Jr.
Eric T. Miller
Theatre credits include work at Ensemble Studio Theatre, HERE, Huntington Theatre, Rattlestick and Syracuse Stage. Television credits include Mare of Easttown, The Good Fight, Blue Bloods and Chicago P.D.
Adaptation & direction
Christopher McElroen
Founding Artistic Director of the american vicarious. His direction of the world-premiere stage adaptation of Invisible Man received a Helen Hayes Award; archives from his production of Waiting for Godot in New Orleans are held in the permanent collection of MoMA, NYC.
Produced by Erica Laird. Touring cast may vary by engagement.
the american vicarious
Creating in the gap between America’s ideals and realities.
the american vicarious creates work that explores the gap between America’s ideals and its lived realities, and the things that unite and divide us as citizens.
Booking / press / touring
Christopher McElroen
Artistic Director, the american vicarious
cmcelroen@theamericanvicarious.orgContact Christopher Project website ↗