“Feminism has failed women.” That is the prompt given to the debate team of an elite all-boys prep school one hour before the final match of their high school careers. As they develop compelling arguments to demolish their sister school, a "rumor" leaks about their team that threatens to blow up everything they have worked for. What begins as a riotously funny satire turns into a sharp exploration of power and privilege, from high school to the highest circles of political influence. Following multiple sold-out runs in Australia, playwright Emmanuelle Mattana’s Trophy Boys makes its American premiere in a thrilling new production featuring Mattana as part of the cast. Directed by 2024 Tony Award-winner Danya Taymor (The Outsiders), Trophy Boys is a provocative comedy about the singular pursuit of victory, and the cost of reaching it.
Such is the situation for Trophy Boys, which begins as a bright satire of privileged smarties as they strategize sincere or specious gambits for their debate. Matters get darker some 20 minutes into the session when an anonymous Instagrammer asserts how she was sexually assaulted by one of the debaters. So who’s the guilty one? Speculation, accusations, bullying and confessions follow. Mattana packs plenty of story into her tightly-wound play.
Trophy Boys, Emmanuelle Mattana’s slash-and-burn send-up and takedown of toxic masculinity at MCC Theater, meets a quartet of seniors from a boys’ private high school—perhaps the peak of privilege. The twist: All the guys are played by female-identifying, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary performers… That should tell you something about the tone that she, Tony-winning director Danya Taymor, and the four actors...are aiming for: lightness and laughter as they cut into the core of a serious issue.
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
MCC Theater Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
Videos