Before He Was King Richard, He Was TEENAGE DICK
SEATTLE, WA (January 31, 2022) -- Seattle Rep today announced complete casting for its upcoming production of Teenage Dick, the critically acclaimed new play from Mike Lew (Tiger Style!), directed by University of Washington School of Drama alum Malika Oyetimein (Sound Theatre Company’s Hoodoo Love). Teenage Dick will perform in the Leo K. Theater from March 4 - April 3, 2022; single tickets and digital access are on sale now and may be purchased online at SeattleRep.org, or by calling the Patron Services Office at 206.443.2224.
In this satirical retelling of Shakespeare’s Richard III, one of the most famous disabled characters in literary history is reimagined as a 16-year-old outsider with all the teenage angst of high school. Bullied for his
cerebral palsy, Richard plots his revenge as well as a glorious and ambitious plan to win senior class president. As he falls deeper into political turmoil, Richard is faced with an unexpected choice. Is it better to be loved or feared?
“There’s this idea that you’re a saint because you’re disabled, but these stories never really look at the person. So the impetus behind the play was to look at disabled tropes then and now and try to carve out a more human portrayal,” Teenage Dick playwright Mike Lew in an interview with The Boston Globe.
Teenage Dick will feature performances from MacGregor Arney (Richard Gloucester), Meredith Aleigha Wells (Barbara Buckingham), Erika Vetta (Elizabeth York), Michael Monicatti (Eddie Ivy), Meme Garcia (Clarissa Duke), and Rheanna Atendido (Anne Margaret). Please find complete cast bios here >>
Teenage Dick features set design by Christopher Mumaw; costume design by Sara Ryung Clement; lighting design by Matthew Webb; and sound design by Erin Bednarz.
ABOUT MALIKA OYETIMEIN (Director)
Malika Oyetimein received her MFA from The University of Washington's School of Drama. Nominated by Liesl Tommy, she is in the cohort of the inaugural New Hope Colony Artist Residency, in addition to being Merrimack Repertory Theatre's Artist-in- Residence. As of the fall of 2021 she joined the MFA directing faculty at Boston University. She was featured in Seattle’s City Art Magazine 2016 Future List and her productions of Bootycandy (2016) and Hoodoo Love (2017) were nominated for Gregory Awards: Best Production. She is the co-adapter and director of Dr. Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (Book-It Repertory Theatre) which garnered a Gregory Award nomination for Best Director. Select directing credits: Passage (Boston University), Fannie Lou Hamer: Speak on it (Merrimack Repertory Theatre), One in Two (Playbill.com), How I Learned What I Learned (Arden Theatre Co.). The workshop production of The First Deep Breath (National Black Theatre), The Bitter Game (Wallis Annenberg), Eclipsed (Southern Repertory Theatre), the world premiere of WHITE (Theatre Horizon), Barbecue, Bootycandy (Intiman Theatre Festival), And In This Corner: Cassius Clay (Seattle Children’s Theatre).