←Recommendations of Horse Boy

  • Premiere Stages at Kean University: Horse Boy by Maddie Dennis-Yates
    “

    Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize Horse Boy as a Semi-Finalist for the 2026 Premiere Play Festival. The play rose through a competitive selection process to become one of 65 Semi-Finalists out of 894 submissions. The play is an engaging coming-of-age piece, exploring questions of identity and privilege. The relationships between the three teenagers are deeply vivid and complex. Our congratulations & thanks to Maddie.

    Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize Horse Boy as a Semi-Finalist for the 2026 Premiere Play Festival. The play rose through a competitive selection process to become one of 65 Semi-Finalists out of 894 submissions. The play is an engaging coming-of-age piece, exploring questions of identity and privilege. The relationships between the three teenagers are deeply vivid and complex. Our congratulations & thanks to Maddie.

    ”
  • Nick Malakhow: Horse Boy by Maddie Dennis-Yates
    “

    This play centers around three distinct, wonderfully rendered characters who each bring their own points of view, identities, and baggage to their relationships with one another in subtle ways. I loved the exploration of fanaticism, power dynamics, competition, and coming of age in a pressure cooker of an environment with three vividly drawn teens. The examination of the cultural elements around and concerns of riding and horse culture is also thorough and unique! I'd love to see this onstage.

    This play centers around three distinct, wonderfully rendered characters who each bring their own points of view, identities, and baggage to their relationships with one another in subtle ways. I loved the exploration of fanaticism, power dynamics, competition, and coming of age in a pressure cooker of an environment with three vividly drawn teens. The examination of the cultural elements around and concerns of riding and horse culture is also thorough and unique! I'd love to see this onstage.

    ”
  • Abe Johnson: Horse Boy by Maddie Dennis-Yates
    “

    SWOON! SWOON! SWOON! Gorgeously paced, delicious character dynamics to track, with monologues that come swinging off the page like a fist, Maddie has once again crafted an instantly loveable play with a precise balance of nuance and heart and humor. Such a clear eyed, FUNNY, tenderly written love letter to horses, competition, and the very real responsibility of caretaking (two-legged and four-legged friends). The final scene and monologue? Hit me with a car! Smart producers should jump on this!

    SWOON! SWOON! SWOON! Gorgeously paced, delicious character dynamics to track, with monologues that come swinging off the page like a fist, Maddie has once again crafted an instantly loveable play with a precise balance of nuance and heart and humor. Such a clear eyed, FUNNY, tenderly written love letter to horses, competition, and the very real responsibility of caretaking (two-legged and four-legged friends). The final scene and monologue? Hit me with a car! Smart producers should jump on this!

    ”
  • Shaun Leisher: Horse Boy by Maddie Dennis-Yates
    “

    Maddie is brilliant when it comes to capturing the way young people talk. The dialogue felt so authentic. Even when the characters are at a loss for words, the lines feel perfectly crafted. This is a play about things like race, gender and class in the world of competitive horse riding. At its heart, this is a play about three people that are so passionate about one particular thing. This play could have been about anything and the passion these young people would still be moving. The fact that it's about horses makes it all the more compelling.

    Maddie is brilliant when it comes to capturing the way young people talk. The dialogue felt so authentic. Even when the characters are at a loss for words, the lines feel perfectly crafted. This is a play about things like race, gender and class in the world of competitive horse riding. At its heart, this is a play about three people that are so passionate about one particular thing. This play could have been about anything and the passion these young people would still be moving. The fact that it's about horses makes it all the more compelling.

    ”