Else Went (she/her) is the author of Initiative, Degenerates, An Oxford Man, and other works for the stage. She has received development and support from The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Atlantic Theater Company, WP, Playwrights Realm, MTC, South Coast Rep, The Tank, Breaking the Binary, Trans Theater Lab, Mercury Store, MacDowell, Queer Art Mentorship, and other institutions. Her work has been recognized by the Tow Foundation, Susan Smith Blackburn Awards, Sloane Foundation, Princess Grace, O'Neill Conference, and Jerome Foundation. Else is the co-founder of The Renovationists, an artistic collective dedicated to queering the canon through new work and adaptation, as well as an amateur sound-designer.
EMMA ROSA WENT (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based theatre director who makes new and classic-text plays. Recent work includes the world-premiere of Initiative, by Else Went (Public Theater; Drama Desk Special Award; Lortel Nom Outstanding Ensemble; Vulture's Best Plays of 2025;) As You Like It (Public Theater, Mobile Unit;) Much Ado About Nothing (Opera House Arts;) Romeo and Juliet (Hudson Valley Shakespeare, tour.) She has also developed and presented work at the Public, Playwrights Horizons, Mercury Store, NYTW, MTC, Ars Nova, The Tank, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, South Coast Rep, and many other venues. From 2024-2026, Emma was on staff at the Public Theater, as the inaugural Directing Fellow. Drama League alum. SDC Member. WME. www.emmawent.com
Now a New York Times Critic's Pick!
Extended again through November 1.
The boys are fucked. And they know it. In their own obscure corner of the internet, they offer each other proof that the game is rigged against men: it was over before it began, they will never be loved, better just to lay down and rot. When an unexpected relationship begins to form, the consequences of the boys’ fatalism are made painfully clear. Degenerates offers a telescopic, darkly funny view of one insular community, formed on the bedrock of shared and infinite miseries.
Run Time: Act I-II 100 min. + Intermission 15 min. + Act III 45 min.
Age Recommendation: Due to adult language and subject matter, this play is best suited for ages 16+. For more details, please reference our Content Transparency section below. *May contain plot spoilers.
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Content Transparency Statement
This production contains bright and strobing lights, smoking, partial nudity, and the presence of a firearm (not fired).
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: For free, confidential mental health and crisis support, call or text 988 or chat online through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org. Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: For suicide prevention information, resources, and support, visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) at afsp.org.
For a description of topics and sensory experiences that audiences may find distressing or inaccessible in advance of attending Degenerates, please click here to read our full Content Transparency Statement. If you have any additional questions about content, age-appropriateness, or stage effects (such as strobe lights) that might have a bearing on patron comfort, please utilize our Access Needs Form or email accessibility@phnyc.org.
Cast
Juan Arturo
Serge/Chad
Olivia Rose Barresi
Stacy / All Women
Zachary Desmond
Miller
Tyler Nowell Felix
Kemp
Christopher Dylan White
Target
Juan Arturo (he/him) Playwrights Horizons Debut. Off-Broadway: The Taming of the Shrew (Small Boat), The Night of the Iguana (La Femme), I Wanna F**k Like Romeo & Juliet (59E59), Between the Bars (HERE Arts), The Rafa Play (The Flea), The Oregon Trail (Fault Line Theatre). Regional: Oedipus el Rey (Huntington Theatre), Romeo & Juliet (Hartford Stage), Clyde’s (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Shane (Guthrie Theater). TV/Film: “Blue Bloods,” “The Good Wife,” Shadows, Among the Beasts.
Olivia Rose Barresi (she/her) Playwrights Horizons debut. Off-Broadway: Initiative (The Public Theater; Drama Desk Special Commendation, Lucille Lortel nominee), Unresolved Rage Game (Soho Rep), The Cause (WP Theater). Multidisciplinary: Lennox Mutual (Candle House Collective), Else and Emma Went’s Three Sisters (Decatur Audio Lab), and projects for Playing on Air, OR Books, and BRIC Media Arts. Resident company member at the Mercury Store. MA: LAMDA, BFA: Boston University. To everyone, for the sunrises, the beginnings, and hope. oliviarosebarresi.com @obarresi55
Zachary Desmond (he/him) Off-Broadway debut. NY Theater: Ivanov and The Brothers Karamazov (New American Ensemble); Hooded, or, Being Black for Dummies (59E59 Theaters); There Are No Diving Pools in Hell (Center for Theatre Research). Since 2022, Zachary has developed work with dozens of directors, choreographers, and theater makers as a member of the acting pool at Mercury Store in Gowanus. He is a co-founder (with Olivia Facini) of the Short Story Project and the Playwriting Fellow ('23-'25) at Playhouse Creatures Theater Company, which commissioned his play TENT CITY (O’Neill NPC semi-finalist; Rattlestick Incubator Lab semi-finalist). MFA Juilliard. www.zacharywdesmond.com @zacharywdesmond
Tyler Nowell Felix (he/him) Playwrights Horizons Debut. Off-Broadway: Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern (Stage 42). Film/Television: Champs, Treme, Mott & Spy. Graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (’22) and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (’18).
Christopher Dylan White (he/they) Playwrights Horizons Debut. Off Broadway: Initiative (The Public Theater, Drama Desk Special Award, Lucille Lortel Ensemble nominee), Paris (Atlantic Theater Company), The Bridge Play (59E59). Film/Television: The Miseducation Of Cameron Post, Freak Show, Boarding School, Superior, First Reformed, Vox Lux, As You Are, “Law & Order: SVU,” “Gotham,” “The Blacklist.” Dedicated to the little boy who loved putting on his mom’s heels, and for the ones, who now, have found their own heels to fit into. Love & Gratitude to the Wents. Undying love to N, C & B. And for the incredible team/support in bringing these lonely boys to life. @christopherdylanwhite
Creative
Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams
Scenic DesignKindall Houston Almond
Costume DesignJiyoun Chang
Lighting DesignAngela Baughman
Sound DesignS. Katy Tucker
Video + Projection DesignerWillow Funkhouser
Intimacy DirectorSarah Lunnie
DramaturgErin Gioia Albrecht
Production Stage ManagerLucy Houlihan
Assistant Stage ManagerMikiko Suzuki MacAdams Playwrights Horizons Debut. Previously, collaborated with Emma and Elsa for Initiative at the Public Theatre. Other recent her designs have been seen on Broadway: Call Me Izzy; West End: Clueless the Musical; Off-Broadway: The Shed, Second Stage, Primary Stages, Working Theater, Epic Theater Ensemble, INTAR, EST, and the NAATCO. Other: Guthrie, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep., The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Rep., Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Universal Studio Japan and more. Currently, she is a design faculty at Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Website: mikikosmacadams.com
Kindall Houston Almond is a multidisciplinary designer for film and stage living in New York. Recent works include; Off Broadway: Music City; St. Lukes Theatre, Initiative; The Public Theater (Drama Desk Nomination), Zack; Mint Theater Company, figaro/faggots; Baryshnikov Arts Center, I'm Repeating Myself; The Brick, Garside's Career; Mint Theater Company, black odyssey; Classic Stage Company (Henry Hewes and Audelco Design Nominations), The Vicky Archives; The Tank, Partnership; Mint Theater Company (Henry Hewes Nomination). Regional; Life Is a Dream; Baltimore Center Stage, Our Town; Baltimore Center Stage. Kindall recently designed the Le Tigre World tour, and has collaborated with Yin Yue Dance Company and Trisha Brown Dance Company. She holds an M.F.A. in Costume Design from NYU Tisch, and a B.F.A. in Fashion Design from Pratt Institute.
Jiyoun Chang (she/her) designed the original production of Stereophonic at Playwrights Horizons. She is a lighting designer whose work spans theatre and opera. Her Broadway credits include Stereophonic, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, The Cottage, KPOP, for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, and Slave Play. Her work has been recognized with Suzi Bass and Obie Awards, along with numerous Tony, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel nominations. Opera credits include productions at Tiroler Festspiele Erl, The Met Cloisters, Houston Grand Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Angela Baughman (she/her) Playwrights Horizons Debut. Off-Broadway: Initiative (Drama Desk nominated, The Public), It’s a Miracle (Vineyard), Angel Island (BAM), Jesse Malin’s Silver Manhattan (Bowery Palace), The Mulberry Tree (LaMaMa), Vile Isle (The Tank) The Inheritance of a Long Term Fault (Theatre Row). Broadway assistant: Water for Elephants. Film: The Clearing (award winner at London Independent Film Fest and LA Femme).
S. Katy Tucker (she/her) Playwright Horizons Debut. Broadway: Smash. Off-Broadway: Initiative (Public), Letters from Max (Signature), Lunar Eclipse (Second Stage); Opera: Medea, Eurydice, Florencia en el Amazonas, Peter Grims, Requiem, Mephistophele, Prince Igor (Metropolitan Opera), Florencia en al Amazonas, Medea (Chicago Lyric Opera), Heart of a Soldier, The Flying Dutchman, The Ring Cycle, La Ciociara (San Francisco Opera) MacBetto, Fidelio, Elektra, The Ring Cycle, more (Washington National); International: Klangwolke (Brucknerhaus), Rebecca Das Musical (VBW), more; TV: Emmy’s, Rhythm + Flow 2.
Willow Funkhouser (she/her) Playwrights Horizons debut. NYC: Road Kills (Good Apples Collective), Anyyywayyy Whatever (Amant), Cunnicularii (Good Apples Collective), 4044 4040 4099 (The Brick), A Poem and a Mistake (HERE Arts), Annie Brown’s 5th… (SoHo Playhouse), Gutbelly (Vino Theater). Other credits: Saloon Girls (Edinburgh Fringe), Macbitches (LIU Post). Film: Souvenir, Tox, Of a Sexual Nature, Occupied, Beijing Rodeo. Member of Good Apples Collective; Directors Lab North alum. www.willowfunkhouser.com
Sarah Lunnie Playwrights Horizons: Rheology, Prince F, The Antiquities, The Thin Place, The Christians, Miles for Mary. Broadway: What The Constitution Means To Me; A Doll’s House, Part 2; Hillary and Clinton; Grand Horizons. Select Off-Broadway: My Joy is Heavy, Initiative, The Seat of Our Pants, Public Obscenities, The Ally, Where The Mountain Meets the Sea, Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie, among many others.
A BRAVE, AMBITIOUS, SAD AND SEXY beast of a play... The HOTTEST THING since Heated Rivalry.
A MUST-SEE! An early contender for this season’s best.
★★★★★
“This is engrossing, essential theater that SHOULD NOT BE MISSED.
