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Louisa Jacobson, Emmanuelle Mattana, Esco Jouléy, and Terry Hu in Trophy Boys. Credit: Valerie Terranova |
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Louisa Jacobson and Terry Hu in Trophy Boys. Credit: Valerie Terranova |
The plot takes a dangerous twist when an anonymous rumor surfaces that one of the boys committed sexual assault. Mattana goes in for the metaphorical kill as the lads abandon all semblance of civility when their dominance is threatened. They turn on each other when it’s revealed each could be guilty of the anonymous accusation. This is a edgy political cartoon, a detonating comic sketch, staged by Taymor like a series of time bombs, going off several times during the 75-minute running time.
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Louisa Jacobson, Emmanuelle Mattana, Terry Hu and Esco Jouléy in Trophy Boys. Credit: Valerie Terranova |
Matt Saunders’ classroom set captures the staid academic atmosphere and Cha See’s lighting aprropriately shifts the mood from raucous rock-infused anarchy (augmented by Fan Zhang’s high-decibel sound design) to ominous and frightening. This is a tight, short show with a powerful message on the still-pervasive problem of gender inequality.
June 24—July 27. MCC Theater Space/Susan and Ronald Frankel Theater, 511 W. 52nd St., NYC. Running time: 75 mins. with no intermission. mcctheater.org.