Arts & Culture

Playwright Mike Lew’s “Teenage Dick,” a provocative reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” that was originally scheduled to open on the Pasadena Playhouse stage, will instead be streaming digitally, a move prompted by the latest COVID-19 surge.

Mike Lew’s ‘Richard III’ will stream digitally

By Bliss Bowen Pasadena Weekly Contributing Writer

Transposing Shakespeare’s plotlines and themes into contemporary settings is not a new trick; think of “West Side Story” (a musical twist on “Romeo and Juliet”), the BBC’s “ShakespeaRe-Told” series, or “10 Things I Hate About You” (a high school version of “The Taming of the Shrew”). “Teenage Dick” by playwright Mike Lew (mikelew.com) is set in Roseland High School — with Shakespeare’s “Richard III” reimagined as a bullied whiz kid hellbent on getting elected president of the student body in his senior year despite being physically disabled by cerebral palsy.

Richard Gloucester is portrayed by actor Gregg Mozgala, who also has cerebral palsy and who Lew credits with suggesting both the concept and the cheeky title of “Teenage Dick.” Speaking while on a break from rehearsals at La Jolla Playhouse for the world premiere of “Bhangin’ It,” a musical he co-wrote with his wife, Rehana Lew Merza, Lew described “Teenage Dick” as “the fruition of multiple long-term collaborations” between him, Mozgala and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel.

“There’s something about this production specifically that the three of us having a long-term conversation has yielded,” the San Diego native said. “Gregg’s politics around disabled representation and access in the theater dovetailed with my advocacy on behalf of Asian American artists and some of the stumbling blocks that we’ve shared.”

Corruption and perception are core themes of Shakespeare’s play and in “Teenage Dick.” But rather than grafting a contemporary morality tale about politics onto Shakespeare’s original text (as has often been done), Lew said the play shines light on “prejudgments” we apply to people by examining “the dual tropes of ‘you’re disabled, therefore you’re a devil’ versus ‘you’re disabled, therefore you’re an angel’ … this idea that you’re a saint because you’re disabled and overcoming your circumstance and you’re some kind of avatar of persistence. Those two extremes leave very little room for being human.”

That psychological analysis extends to Shakespeare’s female characters. Rather than honoring his depiction of widowed Anne Margaret (Zurin Villanuena) as a mere foil showcasing Richard’s dazzling manipulations, Lew chose to “complexify” the role. More notably, he transformed Shakespeare’s Duke of Buckingham into Richard’s sarcastic, wheelchair-riding sidekick Buck — Barbara Buckingham, portrayed by actress Shannon DeVido, who, like Mozgala, has been with the play since its world premiere in 2018 at New York’s Public Theater. Lew said he “really embraced” Mozgala’s idea of casting another disabled actor, because it injects “multiple perspectives” into the play and prevents “just one person being the avatar” for disability.

“As somebody able-bodied, I’ve had the real benefit of having Gregg and Shannon’s lived experience, but I also have to be held accountable,” he explained. “They’ve been really generous and they didn’t really have to be, and I don’t take that lightly, both because of the power dynamics but also because of the business side of things. Actors aren’t always going to speak up if they see something in the script that rubs against their experience, so you have to really care about the play to say anything, on their part. I really value that the two of them have stuck with this play since its inception.”

At the top of the play, Richard derides Eddie (Louis Reyes McWilliams), the bullying football quarterback and class president (“He makes sport of governance, whereas I am one who is not shaped for sports”), and advises the audience: “I will vault past my current inglorious station not by campaigning, not by a pity vote, but by systematically destroying the competition. … I will hold dominion over all of this school.” In classroom scenes and a Sadie Hawkins dance, Lew “smashes together contemporary high school speak and higher Shakespearean language” to show Richard deploying language as a weapon — a way to distinguish himself from and, when possible, verbally demolish his peers. In contrast with Shakespeare’s “deterministic” presentation (“He’s evil because he’s disabled”), Lew explores the “environmental context” that darkened Richard’s psyche. (“Do people treat me this way because I’m disabled or just because I’m a dick, or do I act like a dick because they treat me this way?”) Lew likens Richard’s Machiavellian philosophy and its corrosive effects to “a coat that is too big for him that he’s trying on, and by the end of the play, he fits the coat.”

The production, which was originally scheduled to open on the Pasadena Playhouse stage, will instead stream digitally beginning Feb. 3, a move prompted by the latest COVID-19 surge.

Co-produced by the Pasadena Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Huntington Theatre Company, the performance was recorded several weeks ago in Boston. Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman noted in a press statement that streaming will allow the theatre to still honor its “commitments to pay the artists and crew who have worked so hard to make this show happen during these challenging times.” Lew expressed disappointment that the cast will not have the opportunity to feed off of live audience response but said that “the capture of it is really good and the spirit of the play is in there,” so he is excited that streaming will introduce the play to a broader audience.

“Within the disabled community, access to the theater is a huge issue. What I love about the streaming is it takes down a lot of barriers to being able to see the work. So, I hope it becomes a more permanent feature if it lets more people experience theater.”

“Teenage Dick” WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 3, to Sunday, Feb. 27 WHERE: Virtual through Pasadena Playhouse COST: Digital tickets on sale soon INFO: 626-356-7529, pasadenaplayhouse.org

Sandra Tsing Loh is a longtime NPR and KPCC commentator, known for her show “Loh Down on Science.”

Live radio show captures local quirkiness

By Bridgette M. Redman Pasadena Weekly Contributing Writer

Who needs a prairie when you have the twin cities of Pasadena and Altadena?

Radio show lovers who hold a special place in their heart for the Garrison Keillor program of old will want to tune in to Sandra Tsing Loh’s plans to celebrate the quirkiness of living in the ’Denas in her live radio show at the iconic Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena.

Running monthly for the next year — barring pandemic hiccups — the live show is lining up local guest stars who spotlight everything that makes the cities unique.

The first show is 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30.

Loh knows what it takes to make radio sparkle, even when it isn’t being delivered over the airwaves. She’s a longtime NPR and KPCC commentator, known for her show “Loh Down on Science.” She’s lining up such guests as a Nobel prize-winning banjo player David Politzer — no, he didn’t win for playing the banjo, that’s just a bonus — and an MTV star who also does mystery theater.

“For decades, I’ve been thinking about the ‘Prairie Home Companion’ — Garrison Keillor’s original show,” Loh said. “Thirty years ago, I did a song, ‘A Freeway Home Companion,’ that was a Los Angeles version. It still had a homey story, except with helicopters overhead. I’ve always loved that idea.”

The brewing idea came to a boil at the end of last year, inspired by Bob Stane’s Coffee Gallery Backstage. During the pandemic, she met a friend for coffee there occasionally just to get out of the house. The two of them peeked into the back room, where Stane hosts live performances.

“You open a door and there is this adorable performance space,” Loh said. “It’s really old-fashioned, really homey. They’ve been doing music for years and years, and I thought it would be really fun to do something local with everything small scale.”

While lots of people think of Beverly Hills or Sunset Boulevard when they think of Los Angeles, Loh is happy to make her show about Pasadena, Altadena and Eagle Rock, which she dubs “Eagle Rock-a-dena.”

“They are these hilarious suburbs,” Loh said. “They’re sort of gentle. Some have drought-resistant gardening. There’s a little cheese shop of soy-based cheese. Instead of a slow week in Lake Wobegon, we’ll have, ‘It was a slow week in the ’Denas.’ It will be a similar, small-town feeling with hyperlocal stories and charming acoustic music.”

It’s the type of show, she said, that feels like a tonic for the time, a treatment for all the people who are feeling stressed out and alienated.

Like the show on which it is based, it will have fake sponsors, such as Altadena Goddess Wear, Peachables and Let’s Go to Fresno.

The goddess pants are a continuation of her persona in an autobiographical humor book she wrote, “The Madwoman and the Roomba.”

“You have these gentle pants where we’re not fat, we’re goddesses,” Loh said. “There is a boutique of goddess wear. It has a dusty store cat and has nice smelling lotions and candles for when you can’t cope with the rest of the world.”

Peachables are … something. It might be a cheese. It might be a fruit. It might be a snack food. In one of the sketches, it’s offered up for the hostess faced with one guest who is gluten free and another who has a wheat allergy.

“It’s for those of us who cannot face cheese without fruit,” Loh said.

The “Let’s Go to Fresno” is for those who can’t afford a luxury vacation.

Then there are homespun stories that capture the personality of the ’Denas. Loh talks about how drought gardening is a local thing.

“It is almost a violent thing that we debate with our neighbors over who has the better bee, the most pollinator-friendly gardens,” Loh said. “It’s competitive gardening that is on a passive-aggressive level.”

Other stories will include arguments in Trader Joe’s over soy milk and questions about parking or the eccentric billionaire in the hills who never comes out of his house. The stories will be told on their fictional new public radio station, KNDA.

“The news is always very pleasant, and then there’s the weather,” Loh said. “There are no politics or COVID. It may be raging around us, but the news will have the weather or how someone’s cat wandered into someone else’s yard. It’s a satiric, but gentle, fiction.”

Then there’s the music. She’s asking her guests to perform songs with a classic American twist — tunes that might have been heard on “The Ed Sullivan Show” or that people may find at hootenannies.

The guests for the first January show are John Michael Higgins (“Pitch Perfect,” “Best in Show”), Maxayn Lewis (original Ikette, did Ma Rainey’s vocals in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Jim Turner (MTV’s “Randee of the Redwoods,” Duck’s Breath Mystery Theater), and Politzer.

Higgins, who was also in “A Mighty Wind,” loves doing vocal arrangements. He’ll prepare them for the show and bring in vocalists.

“He’s really obsessed with four-part harmonies,” Loh said. “He would like to do eight-part or 10-part. He has a complete vibe of being a great comedic actor and is completely fascinated by multipart harmonies. I’m so delighted he’s agreed (to be a part of the show).”

Lewis is an actor, singer and original cast member of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Loh said she is not just an amazing singer but a great spirit. She expects Lewis will sing “Proud Mary” among other songs.

Turner has prepared a comedy sketch about a new age guru who leads a workshop for women only and does it in a ridiculous way. His character, Loh said, is a bit of a charlatan but one who is sure to earn laughs.

The shows are scheduled for the last Sunday of each month for the entire year. Each show will have a different theme, something that could be taken from an almanac. Loh says after two years of the pandemic, there is something wonderful about making music together, even if we can’t go to an arena with 10,000 people.

“The program is a little over an hour, which is perfect for COVID times,” Loh said.

“We’ll have a hootenanny at the end where the audience can sing along. If they bring an instrument, they can play it. We’ll do a couple songs all together, and people can sing or tap spoons.”

“A ’Dena Home Companion” WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, continuing the last Sunday of each month WHERE: Bob Stane’s Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 Lake Avenue, Altadena COST: $20 INFO: 626-798-6236, coffeegallery.com