Teenage Dick

by Mike Lew

In this brilliant retelling of Shakespeare’s Richard III, one of the most famous disabled characters in history is reimagined as a 16-year-old outsider taking on the political turmoil of high school. Bullied for his cerebral palsy (and his sometimes disturbing tendency to speak with a Shakespearean affect), Richard plots his revenge…as well as his glorious path to the senior class presidency. But as he falls deeper into a pattern of manipulation and greed, Richard is faced with an unexpected choice: Is it better to be feared or loved? TEENAGE DICK is a hilarious and sharp-witted adaptation about perception, disability, and the treacherous road to ascendancy.

Genres: Plays, Fiction, Drama, Shakespeare, School, Read For School, Theatre

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up.

Despite the somewhat salacious title, this is actually quite a charming adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, set during a high school election for class president. Kudos for including (and insisting on casting) two actors with disabilities in leading roles - Richard has CP and the 'Buckingham' character is a wheelchair user. Unfortunately, a couple of uses of the F-word, as well as select other off-limit words, as well as an abortion sub plot, will limit its production in many high schools, which would seem to be its natural habitat.

[Josh Caporale · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Teenage Dick is a retelling of William Shakespeare's "Richard III" in a high school setting. Richard Gloucester, a junior with cerebral palsy, is convinced by his English teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth York, to run for class president, going up against the popular football player who is currently president named Eddie Ivy, and the bible-thumping, holy rolling, self-serving vice-president named Clarissa Duke. Other major characters in this piece include Barbara "Buck" Buckingham, Richard's best friend who is in a wheelchair that has a bit of a thing for Eddie after he carried her as part of a celebration and Anne Margaret, a dancer that has lost a good impression after a failed relationship with Eddie. When running for class president, Richard uses this failed relationship in his favor.

This entire play plays like an erratic cartoon, much like the post-2005 episodes of Spongebob Squarepants where everything is out of control and the characters are just very hard to believe.

AND YET...

There is something about this play that is hysterical. It is very stereotypical of the impression high school cliques have and what happens when they come to a boil. On one hand, there is a great reason to feel furious about everything that takes place. On the other hand, this play depicts the unfair environment of many high schools and of this high school in particular toward people with disabilities. In addition, there is that sense of commentary on conformity within high schools with the desire to be popular or viewed in a positive light by those who are popular. There is also that idea about trends and needing to follow them.

This play is not for everyone. It is very over the top, but the underlying messages give you a lot to think about when it comes to examining the public high school experience.

[max theodore · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is much more a reimagining of richard iii than a retelling, by which i mean it's got the basic concept and some of the basic characters and a very different plot with very different dynamics. that said, the changes made are absolutely effective for the exploration of disabled identity in particular (and of the machiavellian love/power debate outlined in the very first scene lol). i spent the first... 90% of this? in the same giddy state of this-thing-is-perfectly-tailored-to-my-hyperfixation-and-also-really-fucking-funny euphoria i've only previously experienced when i read ryan north's to be or not to be for the first time, and then i spent the last 10% going "wait a minute what the FUCK" which i think. means at the very least this is going to live rent free in my brain forever now

[i should say there is a suicide tw on this one that i wasn't expecting, so go into this warned]

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!!! Will b writing about this in my thesis absolutely !!!

[maya🪷 · Rating 3 out of 5]

the interpretation of internet culture was painful to read, as is virtually any mention of social media in literature, however i enjoyed this story and would love to see this on the stage.

[Jasper Krecak · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

“Hey, did you hear the good news? Eddie’s running for reelection!”

EDDIE(enters): “I’m running for reelection.” (He exits)

[Georgia Hollis · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And when someone’s the worst we run em over.”

[Colin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy fuck.







Not sure where to begin. This is far and away the best straight Shakespeare adaptation I’ve ever encountered. But more than that it feels like the first time I’ve maybe ever really experienced a Shakespeare plot in the kind of visceral way his contemporary audiences might’ve. And maybe not even them.

That’s not a good way of putting it. This play starts as a smart and snappy cute Shakespeare farce but slowly evolves into an ugly, heart-wrenching monster of a story. Lew has done nothing short of a brilliant, monumental job of taking Richard III and capturing its most perplexing, controversial, and unbelievable moments and turning those moments into incredibly vivid high school events any one of us has either lived or can imagine.

Lew’s elevation of Anne—really his shifting of the plot to hinge entirely on Anne and Richards’s relationship (which is confounding in Shakespeare’s play)—is a master stroke and drives this play to a truly heart wrenching, actually tragic, and really very complex end.

I had beef with one or two lines and I don’t know that I could ever stage a certain scene as written—or watch it, for that matter—but all in all this is an absolutely brilliant script. It needs to be a Netflix series yesterday.

[Roxanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this for a class without having previously read richard iii. had i read richard iii, i could probably appreciate this a lot more. the only thing that really destroyed it for me was how pop culture references were integrated into the dialogue. i'm always pretty iffy about them in general as it usually feels like the author trying to be #relatable, but i do think it can be done well. i suppose with some characters, like elizabeth, it works because she is older than the rest of the cast and the whole point of mentioning mockingjays (despite the book coming out in 2010 and the movie coming out in 2014 and the play taking place in 2017/8) was an attempt to be #relatable. but "instagram" is not a verb.

[MB Shakespeare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard the III, and not only deals with the conflicting feelings and nature of the main character (Dick) but also the realities of living with a disability. It brings to light the struggles and experiences of those with disabilities in a new light and gives voice to lives that have been ignored. With the protagonist clearly paraphrasing the words of King Richard, as well as characters that emulate those in Shakespeare's play, we again understand why Will's plays endure and are adapted - as they are the human experience.

[Kathleen Rehagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone modernized Shakespeare's most hated play, and made it totally accessible (even wrote the man character for only a physically disabled person to play). The one-liners are a stitch, you feel the pain and heart break of Richard's life, as well as root for him (even while he's being shady- which he is ... a lot.) And there is a strong lead female monologue that I think most women need to read.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even more charming than I remember it at the Public (with the excellent Gregg Mozgala), I still have issues with the treatment of Anne Margaret, but the monologues are just so smart, so funny, with that surprising and satisfying ending.

[Ethan Rosario · Rating 3 out of 5]

13: The Musical if it was in high school and evil.
Some witty writing, corny teenage dialogue was done in an endearing way, the ending was interesting. It wasn't my favorite thing ever but I respect it!

[Paul Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally loved this. Richard the 3rd set in a high school exploring disability, image and the need to fit in. Absolutely brilliant.

[Juliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good for a retelling especially one meant for stage. at some points it felt a little tone deaf and some of the dialogue, though meant to be gen z, felt unrealistic. overall it was decent

[Andie Authers · Rating 2 out of 5]

genuinely wtf

[ssbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

had to read for class, loved it

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart and shitty kids

[Will Farris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An important play that focuses on people with disabilities. Wish this was produced more often.

[Nori Fitchett · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A wonderful adaptation 🩵

[mickey m · Rating 4 out of 5]

turn up get lit🕺🏼

[Kash · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was quite witty and funny and then it got REALLY intense

[Hannah F · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2

This would’ve been a 4 if they hadn’t used the words “poopin’ crap”

[emma :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

no

[larrabee :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like it has a sort of weird Shakespearean Bottoms vibe going on, which I don’t really mind. Some parts made me chuckle, and I think it could be really fun if performed by a cast having as good of a time as possible. Some of the language feels a little outdated/cheesy, but performers could lean into that. The ending is quite a bit crazy, and I’m not quite sure if it handles the balance of tragedy and sincerity/comedy perfectly, but I did think of was effective