Stupid Kids

Stupid Kids is a play by John C. Russell (1963–1994),[1] first published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. of New York,[2] and first performed in 1991. Very similar in tone, plot, and characters to the film Rebel Without a Cause, the play follows four students at Joe McCarthy High.[3]

Stupid Kids
Written byJohn C. Russell
CharactersJudy Noonan
Jim Stark
John "Neechee" Crawford
Jane "Kimberly" Willis
Date premieredAugust 25, 1998 (1998-08-25)
Place premieredCentury Center for the Performing Arts
New York City
Original languageEnglish

Subsequent to its New York run, it played in Seattle and Boston.

Plot

Jim has a crush on Judy and Judy's boyfriend Buzz is a popular jock. After a police raid on a rave, Jim makes friends with Neechee (a fey kid who has nicknamed himself after Nietzsche) while Judy befriends punkish riot grrrl Kimberly. As Jim and Judy pursue each other through the unpleasant social procedures of high school, abandoning their rebellious nature in favor of comfortable conformity, Neechee and Kimberly fall unhappily in love with them—Neechee with Jim, Kimberly with Judy. Ultimately, their experience alienates them even further from the mainstream, and from the objects of their affection.

Characters
  • Jim Stark - a masculine, disaffected and apparently rebellious teenager who is new in town and intrigued by Judy
  • Judy Noonan - a feminine, provocative, and apparently rebellious teenager who is intrigued by Jim
  • John "Neechee" Crawford - a young gay outcast who is desperately in love with Jim
  • Jane "Kimberly" Willis - a young gay outcast who is desperately in love with Judy

References
  1. "Lives Well Lived: John C. Russell; He Who Dances". The New York Times. January 1, 1995. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  2. "Obituary: John C. Russell; Playwright, 31". The New York Times. April 27, 1994. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  3. Marks, Peter (June 15, 1998). "THEATER REVIEW; The Churning World of High School Fantasies". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2012.


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