By GUILHERME MELETTI YAZBEK
Guilherme is a theater actor, director, and educator specializing in actor training. He is pursuing a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
Speed: The Musical, is such a delightful theatrical experience that you wish time would slow down so you can savor every moment!
Last night, I went to see Speed: The Musical with a fellow Brazilian friend to support the work of a mutual friend, who designed the (great!) costumes for the production. I had no idea what to expect. It wasn’t until I took my seat at The Glitterbox Theater that I fully grasped what I was about to watch. My friend asked, “You remember this movie, right?” I replied, “What movie?” “Speed, of course!” That’s when I realized it was an adaptation (or an unauthorized parody, as the creators put it) of the ‘90s classic starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. I was thrilled! The confusion? Foreign film titles are often (mis)translated in Brazil, and I hadn’t connected a small musical production in Pittsburgh with the Hollywood blockbuster I had, in fact, watched at least half a dozen times.
The theater felt like home—an independent space, just like the ones I frequented in São Paulo, my hometown. I was already happy, and things only got better. Instead of a cold, pre-recorded emergency announcement, Fred Brown, an actor and also the director of the show, took the stage to share the usual pre-show messages. He did so using the fundamental tools of theater—an actor, a spotlight, and an attentive, curious audience. One announcement stood out: “Please silence your cell phones. But as for human noises—the ones we make with our hands and voices—those are welcome!” Intriguing, I thought…
I’ll try to avoid spoilers and not exhaustively list every reason why Speed was, by far, the best play I’ve seen since arriving in Pittsburgh one and a half years ago. The opening scene already set the tone: humor, actors having a blast, the audience even more so, and the magic of theater—embracing its own nature and making full use of its endless creative possibilities. I would say the plot was well-known to almost everyone in the audience, primarily Millennials and Gen Xers. This became evident in their reactions (and participation!)—clapping, cheering, and gasping in anticipation of the story’s tense moments. Now I understand that opening announcement! Knowing the plot made us not just accomplices in the story but also in how it was being told. After all, why do we watch classic plays? Not to hear a brand-new story but to witness the artistry of a troupe reinventing how the story is told. Theater is a visual, sonic, and kinesthetic language—it goes far beyond the lines!
Speed: The Musical plays with this classic in a carefree and wildly entertaining way. The staging leans into a playful, DIY aesthetic. The visuals—costumes, props, puppets, and everything in between—are fascinating, evoking childhood make-believe and a spirit of grassroots theater, like a traveling medieval minstrel troupe carrying its tricks from town to town. Puppet theater (shadows and animated figures) cleverly solves the plot’s most challenging scenes with brilliant results! The actors use movement to manipulate the audience’s perspective—sometimes inside the bus, sometimes outside, sometimes even beneath it—capturing the story’s frantic pace. Here, the theatrical language shines in full force. Rather than moving the bus itself, the sense of speed is conveyed by objects passing by the bus—cars, helicopters, road signs—whizzing through the stage (and even the audience space), creating a hilarious illusion of motion.
The script closely follows the Hollywood original—so much so that the audience eagerly anticipated each scene as the play unfolded in their memories. But some choices went beyond the film and created standout moments. The theatrical solution for the helicopter is pure genius—hats off to actress Tenley Schmida! Turning the bus into a character, giving it a body (again, the wonders of animated theater!) and even a voice through poetic yet comedic asides—what a brilliant touch (bravo, Nick Stocks!). And the way the production subverts gender roles, deliberately challenging the cis-heteronormativity so prevalent in cinema, is fantastic—both aesthetically and politically. The production revisits the ‘90s classic not just for nostalgia’s sake (though enjoyable too!) but with a critical eye on the macho-white-hero-meets-funny-“fragile”-heroine formula. You have to watch the play to see how cleverly Alexis Cromer and Aubrey Thompson deconstruct these tropes—and don’t get me started on the (homo)erotic undertones in the villain, masterfully portrayed by Eric Bernat!
I must emphasize: Speed embraces theatricality and revives the communal experience of theater—something not that commonly seen nowadays. Even the intermission is used as a theatrical device! The play pauses at a crucial moment, leaving the cast in a state of desperation on stage. When the show resumes, the resolution comes through puppetry—an object and its fun puppeteers knowingly seen by the audience. We don’t need to pretend they’re invisible because the performance embraces the artifice, reminding us that theater is a construct, a convention, an agreement between actors and spectators. Nothing is more real in theater than acknowledging that we are all engaged in playing pretend.
Before wrapping up (and I write this purely out of my love for theater and the joy of seeing this show), I must mention the musical numbers. As someone who isn’t particularly drawn to musicals, I was delighted by how Speed uses music—sparingly, purposefully, and without overindulgence. The actors aren’t there to outshine one another with technical virtuosity; they’re there to have fun and tell a story. And because of that, we have even more fun! Speed is a musical that defies—and I’d even say it rejects—the Broadway export model that sometimes prioritizes star power and vocal acrobatics over theatrical playfulness.
I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s hilarious, poetic, and even philosophical. Speed references the more naïve spirit of ‘90s cinema compared to today’s blockbusters, the final musical number is a hymn to life, almost a prayer, a ritual. In reaffirming theater’s communal essence, Speed closes with a joyful celebration of being alive—of surviving (both the absurdities of the plot and the dystopian-like present we live in)—reminding us that love is the way forward.
To Chris St. Pierre, creator and producer of Speed: The Musical, and to every artist involved in this production—THANK YOU! Speed is on a short debut run, but I hope it returns for more and more performances! And I’d highly recommend keeping an eye on The Glitterbox Theater’s lineup. Support, attend, and engage with your local independent theater!
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Speed the Musical has it’s remaining performances at the Glitterbox Theatre March 28, 29 and 30, 2025. Tickets at www.speed-the-musical.com
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Reviews
Leave a Reply Cancel reply