Production Photos by Valerie Terranova Valnovaphotography.com

TROPHY BOYS by EMMANUELLE MATTANA

directed by DANYA TAYMOR

CAST: TERRY HU, LOUISA JACOBSON, ESCO JOULÉY, EMMANUELLE MATTANA, IMANI RUSSEL

scenic design MATT SAUNDERS
costume design MÁRION TALÁN DE LA ROSA

assistant costume designer Amelia Dent
lighting design CHA SEE
sound design FAN ZHANG
movement TILLY EVANS-KRUEGER
voice, text, and dialect coach GIGI BUFFINGTON
prop supervisor SAMANTHA SHOFFNER
sensitivity specialist ANN JAMES
DEI consultant NICOLE JOHNSON/HARRIET TUBMAN EFFECT
production stage manager HOLLY ADAM
assistant stage manager ANDIE BURNS
casting by CHARLIE HANO, CSA / THE TELSEY OFFICE

Trophy Boys is produced in association with Kevin Connor & Telegraph Productions Collective (Yes aka Amy Marie Haven, Leon Jones, Tori Lynn, Rachel Menendez, Siani Woods).

In a culture set on punishing and criticizing men for just existing, the Trophy Boys prepare for the final debate of their undefeated high school careers. Going up against their sister school, they get a debate topic so weighted there’s no way they could possibly win—or could they? 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 (JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN, THE OUTSIDERS), TROPHY BOYS is a provocative comedy about the singular pursuit of victory and the cost of reaching it.

 FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT

As a competitive high school debater I spent a lot of time with the ‘good boys’; the clever, morally-upstanding boys from elite private schools who were destined for the highest offices of power… But the very nature of the endeavour – turning argument into sport while believing yourself the smartest in any room – required you fervently argue things you didn’t know enough about or even necessarily believe. Logic was a game, something to be won or lost, and words and arguments were things you could twist at your own whim. If you were articulate and commanding enough you could speak over anyone, or for anyone. It was no wonder this ethos seeped so dangerously into other parts of these boys’ lives. Even as a teenager I recognised a deep and frightening wound here – both in the harm these boys perpetrated as well as in the fabric of the very power that they would soon inherit – that I couldn’t quite articulate… So I quit debating and ran away to become an artist and hang out with other queer weirdos who helped me imagine a braver, more radical future. TROPHY BOYS is for my teenage self.

Read the DIGITAL PROGRAM for a full list of credits, bios, and more information about MCC