By SHARON EBERSON

An unspeakable trauma has spread a dark cloud over teenage Melinda’s life, stealing her power to express her pain in words. Oblivious parents and teachers have no patience with the mopey girl she has become. Her grades suffer, her high school peers morph into Mean Girls, her longtime best friend abandons her, and she is faced with constant reminders of the party where her world was turned upside down. 

Melinda’s PTSD might be all-consuming, were it not for her plucky inner voice, which always has her back, and a teacher who helps her find a release through art.

Those are the launching points of Speak, a new play about the intentional damage — physical and emotional — we are capable of inflicting on one another, and the healing powers of kindness and art.

The work, an adaptation by Tammy Ryan of Laurie Halse Anderson’s popular 1999 YA novel, was commissioned by Prime Stage Theatre, and made its debut on April 30 at the New Hazlett Theater. 

The play cleverly solves the problem of a protagonist whose words fail her by presenting two Melindas: Aylee Gardner, a sophomore at Point Park University, is the Melinda who everyone can see, unless she’s escaping school pressures in a janitor’s room, and Jacqueline Germer, a Carnegie Mellon junior, is “Melinda 2,” always at her side, encouraging, supportive and free to be funny and fierce. 

As the Melindas, Gardner and Germer have a synchronicity. They wear similar colors, although Gardner’s outfits are boxier and muted, and their connection is never confusing, and always most welcome. That relationship, between the girl Melinda is, the one she was in the before times, and who she can become to move forward, is the heart of Speak.

Into her darkness, playwright Ryan and director Dana Hardy Bingham have tuned in to Anderson’s sense of humor that hits a contemporary note. For example, the cheerleaders of Merryweather High are constantly changing the moniker of their sports teams, including a “horny Hornets” cheer that is funny on the one hand, and a bit creepy in context. 

Although there are laughs, the tale told here deals openly with rape and a journey toward healing.  

Anderson, in Pittsburgh for a talkback on opening night Saturday, has been open about writing the novel to “deal with the depression and anxiety that had shadowed me since I was raped when I was 13 years old.” Shout, Anderson’s poetic memoir in verse, is both autobiographical and a call to action against sexual assault. For the production of Speak, Prime Stage has partnered with PAAR (Pittsburgh Action Against Rape), which is represented in the lobby at each performance.

The production marks Anderson’s second time in Pittsburgh; previously, she had been here for an event around the publication of Speak as a graphic novel, which was my personal previous experience with the story. The original book has sold more than 3.5 million copies, was adapted into a 2003 film starring Kristen Stewart, and has been banned on bookshelves for its explicit truths about rape.

I saw a preview on Friday, and before the lights went down, Anderson said, “I am excited to see the new energy that everyone brings to [her story].”

Melinda’s rape is dealt with once in shadow, and once by actors Gardner and Pittsburgh CAPA senior Eamonn McElfresh breaking the Fourth Wall. More would be a spoiler, but explicit or not, it can be painful to watch. 

Melinda refers to her attacker as “It” — McElfresh, bathed in red light when he approaches, is menacingly smarmy. He is the monster of Melinda’s nightmares and her school days. When her former bestie (Milena Casciani as the haughty Rachel, now going by Rachelle) is in harm’s way, the voice inside Melinda’s head tells her it is finally time to take action, if not speak.

The adults in her life have little to say that is helpful in breaking Melinda’s silence. Anne Marie Sweeney is uncompromisingly tough as her mother, who “doesn’t have time for this” when she sees Melinda struggling, Sweeney then dons a shaggy wig to become a disinterested teacher, played for laughs.

A talkative new girl in town — Grace Gouwens as Heather — befriends Melinda, but, in Mean Girl fashion, she backs away when she realizes that Melinda is not accepted by the popular girls. Those would be the Marthas, who are as shallow and narcissistic as they are cruel.

As Melinda’s father, Justin Mohr tries to be understanding, but he has problems of his own. Mohr plays multiple roles, including as a confrontational hall monitor, and as a teacher trying to pass on his love of algebra.

A smart, kind lab partner — Evan Vay as David — asks Melinda out, and is met with distrust, then some interest, thanks to the prodding of her perky inner voice. The character of David is a breath of fresh air in what seems like a cruel world.

The Speak design team led by set designer Alex Keplar (check out the Playbill online, at https://online.flippingbook.com/view/464269301/, for the many artists who made this production possible) has created a collage of screens that take us to different venues, and into the mind of Melinda as she grapples with her inner pain, through an assignment about drawing trees.

The Speak ensemble of young and veteran actors have a lot to do, as they fashion classrooms or locker areas or stadiums out of chairs, benches and desks. There are a lot of moving parts in Speak, a challenge on a thrust stage that is always in view, but already tight choreography is likely to grow tighter still, with each show. 

Admittedly, seeing the musical Dear Evan Hansen at Pittsburgh Musical Theater, and Prime Stage’s Speak, back to back, makes for a lot of teen drama in two days. Both deal with young people under tremendous strain, searching for a way out of their cocoons of trauma and bullying, out of the darkness and into the light.

Speak is specifically about a girl’s journey to find her voice, and not allowing the actions of others to define her. I connect most with enthusiastic art teacher, played by Jeff Johnston, who hews very closely to the one I met in the graphic novel, where he says, “Welcome to the class that will teach you how to survive. Welcome to art.” It is through art, “You can find your true self,” your soul, he tells sleepy students who can’t be bothered, and a few who take his words to heart.

One of those students (Zora Rose, a 10th-grader at Pittsburgh CAPA, and recent winner of the August Wilson Monologue Competition) is forced to confront her fear of clowns while working on an art project. Outside of art class, she may have been one of the Marthas, snubbing Melinda. As she works out her phobia, you can see her growing more empathetic, through art. 

Speak is not tied up in a pretty bow, although there is a reckoning. However, like the book, it speaks volumes about survival through art, healing through empathy and kindness, and finding the inner strength to say what’s on your mind, and, against all odds, move forward into the light.

CARLA BIANCO CONCERT TO INCLUDE ORIGINAL SONG FOR ‘SPEAK’

Contemporary Christian music artist, singer-songwriter and Broadway performer Carla Bianco (as Maureen in Rent) has written an original song for Speak, and will perform a concert highlighting the Prime Stage Theatre premiere at the New Hazlett Theater on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. The Give Voice Concert will showcase the Pittsburgher’s latest solo album, “You Love Me As I Am.” Tickets: https://newhazletttheater.org/events/give-voice-concert/.

TICKETS AND DETAILS FOR ‘SPEAK’

Prime Stage Theatre presents the premiere of Speak at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side, May 1-3, 8-9, 2026. Tickets: https://newhazletttheater.org/events/speak/.

Categories: Arts and Ideas, Feature Stories, Our Posts, Reviews

Tags: Adaptation, Carla Bianco, Laurie Halse Anderson, New Hazlett Theater, Prime Stage, Speak, Tammy Ryan, world premiere