History has a way of repeating itself. Four hundred years after Shakespeare's boy players portrayed Juliet, Cleopatra, and Lady Macbeth on the English stage, Zoe Senese-Grossberg's “Boy My Greatness” reminds us that theatre has always been a place where gender, identity, and performance intersect. Beautifully directed by Lee Engelman, Loud Fridge Theatre Group's production is tender, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately a moving celebration of the artists who dare to tell stories that challenge the world around them.

Set backstage with a troupe of teenage actors preparing Shakespeare's plays in the early 1600s, “Boy My Greatness” follows young performers whose careers and identities are tied to portraying women before adulthood inevitably changes their bodies and voices. While rooted in history, Senese-Grossberg's script asks timeless questions about love, ambition, gender, belonging, and what it means to spend your formative years performing someone else's identity. Rather than offering easy answers, the play invites audiences to sit with those questions, making its emotional impact all the more profound.

The production arrives with added significance. Last year, a university production in Oklahoma was shut down amid political controversy surrounding LGBTQ+ themes and diversity initiatives. Loud Fridge deserves recognition not only for bringing this play to San Diego, but for embracing it with such care and conviction.

Engelman leads a wonderfully cohesive ensemble that never lets the play's larger themes overshadow its deeply personal relationships. The balance between humor and heartbreak feels effortless, allowing quiet moments of vulnerability to land with tremendous emotional weight

Jacob Lopez, left, as Tom and Maybelle Shimizu, right, as Samuel
Loud Fridge Theatre Group’s “Boy My Greatness.” (Ben Handley)

Jacob Lopez delivers a beautifully tender and vulnerable performance as Tom Reade, the company's oldest boy player, as he faces the end of the only life he has ever known. It's a striking contrast to his bombastic D Vicious in “Airness” from earlier this year. Opposite him, Maybelle Shimizu delivers a nuanced performance as Samuel, whose complicated history with Tom serves as one of the production's emotional anchors. Their scenes together are filled with longing, regret, and unspoken affection that linger long after they end. Their complicated relationship becomes the center around which the play's other friendships, romances, and rivalries revolve.

The supporting cast is equally impressive. Michael Rodriguez as John Sharpe, a former boy player now mentoring the next generation, brings both paternal warmth and the quiet grief of someone who understands how fleeting this extraordinary life can be. August Nickoli is full of youthful confidence as the ambitious Robin, ready to do whatever it takes to secure the spotlight. Jaysten Merced Ares and Phoenix Velona share an easy chemistry that brings humor, tenderness, and genuine joy to Harry and Hal's relationship, as well as heartbreak as they struggle to age out of these roles, both on and offstage. It's also refreshing to see so many younger performers making their Loud Fridge debuts.

The design elements complement the storytelling with an intimate scenic design by Christy Reid, which keeps the focus on the actors and their relationships, while Mashun Tucker's lighting shifts between theatrical fantasy and emotional reality. Heather K. Nunn's costumes evoke Shakespearean England while reinforcing the central idea that gender itself can be both costume and performance.

At its heart, “Boy My Greatness” is a love letter to theatre and the artists who have kept it alive. It acknowledges the violence and prejudice that have always existed while celebrating resilience, creativity, and the transformative power of performance. Loud Fridge Theatre Group has delivered a thoughtful production and a moving reminder that queer stories have always existed, both onstage and behind the curtain, whether history chose to acknowledge them or not.

How To Get Tickets

“Boy My Greatness” by Loud Fridge Theatre Group is playing through July 19th at Moxie Theatre (this is not a Moxie production. Loud Fridge tickets ar free, but ticket reservations and donations are encouraged. For more information on showtimes, go to loudfridge.com