THEATRE REVIEW

MARCH 2026 | Volume 261

 

Tomboy is one of the first plays in a long time that I can remember being sold out for its entire run before opening. As a new play, its word-of-mouth must have been about reputation and possibility. The frank theatre production is also unique in that the playwright (Anais Mateusz West), dramaturge (Joanna Garfinkel) and choreographer (Oh Augustine) co-direct. And wow, it is special.

The play concerns the trans experience, gender and power, vampirism, dance, video games, and Polish Catholic culture. Teenage girlfriends Aleksandra (Rae Takei) and Hania (Emily Jane King) go to school, church and dance competitions together, and vow to be besties forever. But when Aleksandra is assigned to be the dance partner of Konrad (Calder White), “the hottest boy” in the school, things change.

Aleksandra, who narrates most of the play, is powerfully attracted to Konrad, not just because he’s great-looking, athletic and a charismatic dancer. Aleksandra wants the sexual and cultural power that accrue to boys: “I wanted to feel the way I imagined boys did.” Eventually, Aleksandra will morph into Aleks.

But it’s a fraught, violent, roundabout journey as Aleks is torn between desire and horror. The horror derives from the fact that Konrad is a shapeshifting vampire, a figure from Polish folklore. The vampirism is a complicated metaphor for masculinity, sex, liberation and Aleks’ own transformation. But it is also semi-literal in the play. Blood will be exchanged and someone will have to die.

West has written a fascinating, sophisticated script that keeps circling back on itself, taking some time to reflect on the connections between the “cult” of Polish Catholicism, domineering conservative fathers, Grand Theft Auto and the complexities of gender transition. Halfway through the second act the script lapses for a few moments into conventionality, but recovers for the spectacular finale.

The acting is superb, especially Takei in the central role. But much of the show is wordless—high-quality dance and movement sequences that alternate with the dialogue and bring dynamic lighting (by Alexandra Caprara) and scorching sound (by Roxanne Nesbitt) into play. White’s dancing is especially strong and the other two keep up when they have to. I saw the show opening night and it was as tight in every respect as you’d expect a difficult production like this to be by the end of its run.

Despite the small cast, Tomboy is fully an ensemble production. Kudos to the playwright, the directing triumvirate, the performers, Augustine’s choreography and the designers, including Jaewoo Kang, whose subtle costume changes for Aleks are beautifully effective (and very different from what the original publicity photos made the character look like).

This show is bound to have legs and, I hope, a long life beyond this brief run.

 

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