Trivia / Speech And Debate

• Actor Allusion:
  • Skylar Astin, who plays Mr. Healy, originated the role of Georg in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening. Meanwhile Austin P. McKenzie, who plays Howie, is best known for playing Melchior in the Deaf West Theatre revival of the same musical.
  • Hamilton exists in-Universe, as Diwata sings a few bars from My Shot for her audition. Hamilton's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, appears as the genie in the Speech & Debate introductory video.
• All-Star Cast: The teen characters are played by relative unknowns, but you've got Roger Bart, Janeane Garofalo, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kal Penn, Skylar Astin, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley in supporting roles. Perhaps not A-listers, but nothing to sneeze at for a movie that didn't get a wide theatrical release.
• The Cast Showoff: Diwata sings a lot, understandably, and Howie joins in on the final number. All three of the main characters are also pretty good dancers.
• Dawson Casting: The actors who play high school students Diwata, Solomon and Howie are 28, 20 and 23, respectively. Howie specifically is stated to be 18.
• Demoted to Extra: Mr. Healy is a big character and important plot point in the stage play. In the film, he has a much smaller role, and majority of his storyline is cut.
• Production Posse: Gideon Glick played Howie in the original stage play. In the film, he has a minor role in the Speech & Debate introductory video.