Good Boys and True 2008

Set designer Derek McLane exercises no subtlety in immediately establishing the mood for Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's drama Good Boys and True.  On entering Second Stage's theatre the audience is greeted by three walls full of dozens and dozens of sports trophies neatly displayed in wooden shelves that stretch from the floor to upper reaches of the playing space.  Though the characters never recognize these trophies as a realistic part of their environment, they serve as a continual backdrop reinforcing a culture that believes those who achieve victory – in athletics, in career or in solving conflicts – are the only ones who matter.