Teenage Dick (Ma-Yi Theater Company in association with The Public Theater, at The Public) by Mike Lew

This sublime production takes Shakespeare’s Richard III, with one of the juiciest villains in all of stagecraft and sets it in that quagmire of deception, jealousy, backbiting and beastliness; high school.

Greg Mozgala is revelatory as Richard.  Instead of Shakespeare’s hunchback, Mr. Mozgala’s Richard (as well as Mr. Mozgala) has CP and his choppy gait is completely at odds with his blithe, charismatic delivery of Mike Lew’s gorgeous lines.   Anyone who knows Shakespeare’s Richard will thrill at the clever juxtaposition of modern teenage slang with the beauty of the bard.  Mr. Mozgala’s Richard is both wonderfully sympathetic and deeply manipulative; it’s hard not to cheer for him to win Anne and become senior class president, while reviling his methodology and his blatant disregard, not only for his teacher and peers, but for his only real friend, Buck. Shannon DeVido’s Buck has some of the best lines in the play and wields her motorized wheelchair as both waltz and weapon.  Ms. DeVido’s Buck has snarky down to an art form and her annoyance at Richard’s pretentions pop up every time he pontificates and spouts Bardisms when she side-eyes him and asks, in exasperation, who talks like that.

This entire cast (of well known characters) is terrific.  Tiffany Villarin’s Anne is the dancing queen-bee who is just marking time until she can go somewhere bigger, better and away from here.  Anne has just dumped Alex Breaux’s thickheaded Eddie. Eddie is, of course, the starting quarterback and presumptive senior class president; a bully and a bit of a dolt.  Sasha Diamond’s Clarissa is the over-achieving, type A who’s run at senior class president is solely a box to be ticked on an Ivy League application. Marinda Anderson’s Elizabeth is the teacher trying to control the hurricane of hormones, ambition and hubris.

The set is wonderfully evocative of every high school everywhere and its sparseness lets you concentrate on the language and rapid-fire action.  As a gaudily decorated gym it gives a sparkling backdrop to an absolutely terrific dance scene between Richard and Anne.

Of course, this Richard’s use of dirty tricks and treachery will side-line Clarissa, destroy Anne and Eddie and alienate Buck after manipulating her into helping him wreak havoc.  Richard III is, after all, a tragedy.

 This production also begs the question, as does the original, “Does the body’s infirmity and the subsequent shunning give rise to the monstrous or is the monster, by happenstance, in a less-than-perfect body?”

What can’t be questioned is the bright future of Mr. Mozgala’s career trajectory.  It is sure to go from star of “Teenage Dick” to the stratosphere.