'History Boys' gets top marks

Bennett puts all the elements of a classic schoolroom drama in play: the warring philosophies, the fight for young minds and hearts, the carefully diverse yet unified bunch of boys in the class. But "The History Boys," which won the 2006 Tony for best play and also became a successful film, cannily sidesteps the dangers of cliche by - well, just by being so damn smart.

Yes, we may have seen such characters before, and it's not hard to guess where their stories will take them. But Bennett gives them so much wit and insight that we can't help wanting to go along. These sixth-formers - seniors, to us - love rugby and pop, but they also recite Auden and Hardy and Stevie Smith by heart. And the miracle is that Bennett makes us believe that they could.

That miracle would quickly fall flat, of course, if the cast couldn't rise to the occasion. But SpeakEasy's ensemble on the Roberts Studio stage unanimously does. A standout amid this universal excellence is Karl Baker Olson, who's as heartbreaking in his recitation of Hardy's "Drummer Hodge" as he is enchanting in his rendition of Rodgers and Hart's "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."

Bennett calls for that song in the script, along with the works of a few other artists from Edith Piaf to the Pet Shop Boys. But Edmiston and sound designer Dewey Dellay deserve special praise for their willingness to take such cues and build them into an integral part of the staging. Edmiston's use of music is always surprising and fresh; here, it's particularly rich in the way it underscores the emotions of a scene, clarifies the sometimes abrupt transitions, and generally gives the production a crisp, coherent structure against which its looser, wilder moments can naturally unfurl.