'Trophy Boys' Off-Broadway review — new play scores as it skewers culture norms
Read our review of Trophy Boys off Broadway, a new play written by and starring Emmanuelle Mattana alongside Louisa Jacobson, Esco Jouléy, and Terry Hu.
Running a snappy 70 minutes from start to finish, Emmanuelle Mattana’s sly dark comedy Trophy Boys is a small play that thinks big — and, to its credit, out of the box.
The plot follows four elite private school boys readying for their senior debate. Brainy and ruthless Owen (Mattana), magnetic Jared (The Gilded Age's Louisa Jacobson), low-key David (Terry Hu), and swaggering Scott (Dying for Sex's Esco Jouléy), burst with cocky superiority as they rush into a classroom at the opposing girls' academy.
It’s a sealed environment; no Internet allowed. Do they cheat? One guess. They have an hour to prepare to argue, in the affirmative, that feminism has failed women. The topic is no joke, yet these boys are essentially unfazed. They got this.
It’s a juicy setup steeped in satire, and the playwright doubles down by flipping the script on gender. These boys are played by female and non‑binary actors in drag (classic prep-school jackets and ties). They put on an act to play guys, and that’s the point. Masculinity involves performance.
While spitballing and whiteboarding their arguments, the guys puff their chests, manspread, and mansplain while exposing shades of toxic masculinity, privilege, and phony sensitivity (“I love women,” Jared repeats). It’s apparent that the four don’t buy their debate arguments, but they do believe spouting them will lead them to victory. That’s what matters. It’s how tomorrow’s power players are built, Trophy Boys suggests.
Midway through the show, a disturbing accusation surfaces that tests the boys’ loyalty to each other and sends the story in a different direction. Same goes for a same-sex crush confession. True enough, the story does zig and zig in unruly fashion. But plays, like life, aren’t always tidy.
Director Danya Taymor's (The Outsiders, John Proctor Is the Villain) staging highlights the play’s dark humor with outsize dance moves, blaring music, and flashing lights. It also knows when to quiet down. Under Taymor’s guidance, the cast is terrific and so tightly in sync they recall a boy band. Boyz II Misogyny, perhaps. In light of that, nobody wins.
Trophy Boys summary
First seen in a 2022 world premiere in Mattana's native Australia, the compact one-act Trophy Boys makes its American debut with MCC Theater. The play, informed by the author’s teenage debate experience, uses that academic event to explore culture, gender, and how masculinity is wielded and weaponized to maintain dominance.
What to expect at Trophy Boys
Pictures of successful women — Margaret Thatcher, Oprah Winfrey, Ruth Bader Ginsberg — watch silently from the walls of Matt Saunders’s realistic classroom set where the quartet braces for battle — er, grand finals. If these walls could talk!
Actually, there’s a conversation to be had about the patriarchy being a buzzy theme that’s trending right now on New York stages. Trophy Boys, for one, uses drag and cheeky satire to illuminate how young men are groomed for entitlement.
What audiences are saying about Trophy Boys
Trophy Boys currently has 68% audience approval score on the review aggregator Show-Score, compiled from 13 reviews. Theatregoers have largely applauded the writing, acting, and design elements.
- “Go see this show! In this piece, Emmanuelle Mattana (playwright and actor) explores feminism and the binary culture we all contribute to through dark comedy. An exciting and disturbing 70-minute show that will stick with you.” - Show-Score user Grace L
- “Provocative and sharp. Great acting, gutsy writing.” - Show-Score user TF6562746
- “Fresh and original, superb ensemble acting and the innovative directing Danya is known for. The production loses its spark of unpredictability somewhat in the back half. Definitely makes an impact. Beautiful set.” Show-Score user Jane
Read more audience reviews of Trophy Boys on Show-Score.
Who should see Trophy Boys
- Trophy Boys is a sort of companion piece to two other plays on stage right now: John Proctor Is the Villain, which reframes the hero narrative of The Crucible, and Angry Alan, which dives into the seduction of men's rights rhetoric.
- Fans of Tony-winning director Danya Taymor’s work will want to see her latest show that tackles another teenage tale.
- Fans of Jacobson’s muted, proper work in the period TV drama The Gilded Age seeking another side of her will find that here.
Learn more about Trophy Boys off Broadway
Boys will be boys, so accountability be damned? Mattana skewers this proverbial, sexist notion that enables bad behavior.
Photo credit: Trophy Boys off Broadway. (Photos by Valerie Terranova)
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