Updated Dec. 28, 2021
Actor Gregg Mozgala said he can count on one hand the number of times a disabled actor has played Richard III, who he calls “arguably the most famous disabled character in Western literature.”
Mozgala is adding his name to that small but growing list. He’s the star of “ Teenage Dick,” a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” at the Huntington Theatre Company. The company on Dec. 27 announced it was canceling the final week of performances due to COVID-19 cases, but a recorded performance is available to view through the company until Jan. 16.
Mozgala, who has cerebral palsy, commissioned the piece from playwright Mike Lew for his own New York theater company, The Apothetae, which produces works that explore the disabled experience. They both agreed it was important for someone from the disability community to play Richard Gloucester, who in this adaptation is a teenage boy.
“So if that's part of our history and lineage, shouldn’t we have some agency and opportunity to embody that?” Mozgala, a Boston University graduate, said.
In place of the medieval world of warring families, this dark satire’s setting is another place with life and death stakes: high school. More specifically, the fictional Roseland High. Richard, having been bullied for his cerebral palsy, plots to enact revenge on his classmates through the race for class president.
As many of Shakespeare’s leading men do, Richard speaks directly to the audience throughout the show and lets us in on his increasingly diabolical plans. Insults are hurled left and right. The teenage angst is palpable.
Having not one, but two, disabled actors on stage allows the play to deepen its portrayal of disability. Comedian Shannon DeVido plays Buck, his best friend turned frenemy who uses a power wheelchair.
“Richard and Buck are very different — not only genders, and their disabilities manifest differently — but their world views are really different,” Mozgala said. “They do get to bounce off each other and we see them be foils of each other.”
That allows Buck and Richard to disagree on topics ranging from crushes and dating to more philosophical questions, like whether one can rise above their station in life and whether it’s politically advantageous to be loved or feared.
DeVido said these conversations are a refreshing change for how disability often appears on stage or screen. “Oftentimes in any kind of media, when you see a disabled character, there's one. And you get one point of view and it’s usually like a trope of stereotype,” she said.
Some of the moments that get the most laughter and applause belong to DeVido and her sarcastic wit. She says Lew and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, also a BU graduate, wanted both actors to feel that the characters were authentic to someone with their lived experiences.
“He [Lew] inserted a lot of how I talk, which is very helpful to me. I have to do a lot less work,” DeVido said, mirroring Buck’s sarcasm. And it wasn’t just dialogue, but the characters’ movement on stage. “Moritz let me insert how I use my chair in a way that also punctuates jokes and just kind of also informs my character.”
Mozgala’s previous dance experience was useful, because, like any good high school story, the play culminates at prom — awkward teacher chaperones, glitter streamers and all. By this point in the play, Richard has wooed his Lady Anne and they show off their choreographed dance routine to Missy Elliott, the climax of his plan to ascend to new heights of popularity.
Throughout the play, as Anne and Richard rehearse for the dance, their feelings grow and their intimacy deepens. Anne finally feels comfortable asking him: What does it really feel like when you dance?
“You know how sometimes in winter, when you hit an ice patch that you didn’t know was there, you brace yourself before you’re about to slip on the ice?” Richard tells Anne. “That’s what it’s like for me all the time.”
That “groundbreaking” moment, Mozgala says, is a reflection of his own desire for people to not feel awkward when talking about disabilities. “Shannon and I are all over this play — our DNA, our personalities and our histories are interwoven,” he said. “It’s a special kind of alchemy that has led to the authenticity.”
"This play might be the first experience, or one of the very first experiences, people have with seeing the disabled characters embodied by real disabled people on stage."-Gregg Mozgala
Both Mozgala and DeVido cite recent examples in pop culture of positive disability representation on screen. One is the Marvel miniseries “Hawkeye,” which features a deaf character played by a deaf actress. Another is “Special,” the Netflix sitcom created by Ryan O'Connell, who has cerebral palsy.
Still, disabled people are severely underrepresented both in front of the camera and behind it. Only 0.7% of Writer's Guild of America members identify as disabled. And though the amount of entertainment content featuring disabilities rose 175% over the past decade, according to a study by by Nielsen and the nonprofit RespectAbility, nearly all those roles — 95% of them — are played by actors without a disability.
Mozgala hopes that plays, television shows and films like “Teenage Dick” can be an entry point to start having more authentic conversations.
“This play might be the first experience, or one of the very first experiences, people have with seeing the disabled characters embodied by real disabled people on stage,” he said.
As for their dream roles, DeVideo would like to emulate O’Connell and create her own sitcom.
“I think there's so much comedy that's there with a disabled character and what you can mine for a whole series,” she said.
Mozgala says right now, he is glad to have fulfilling work with this play. “There have been so many barriers and obstacles to just being able to participate in the field,” he said. “It is a really monumental act that we have been at Woolly Mammoth, we’re here at the Huntington, we’re going to the Pasadena Playhouse.”
But, he does have at least one dream role in mind. “One of the highest things on my actor bucket list is just to walk in slow motion in front of a big explosion,” he said. “That could be comedic. That could be dramatic. That could be action-packed. That could happen in so many ways.”
Digital tickets for “ Teenage Dick” are available for streaming through Jan. 16, 2022. Find information on accessible programs here.
This story was updated Dec. 28 after the Huntingdon Theatre Company announced plans to cancel the final week of in-person performances.
