The Kenyon College Players’ Production of Horse Girls by Jenny Rachel Weiner was a riotous production of a great play. Before the show, the Harlene Marley Theater (Black Box) was filled with students marveling at the detailed set design of a tween bedroom circa 2013, singing along to “Firework” by Katy Perry and “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. The joy of the pre-show experience continued throughout the show: a quick dark comedy featuring Kenyon’s funniest performers.

Horse Girls follows an equestrian club of pre-teen girls that meets at the house of the vicious Ashleigh (Madeline Regnier ’27) and tells the story of what happens when they learn something horrible: that their horses will be sold for meat. At under an hour, Horse Girls flew by with a quippy, unpredictable script and plenty of laughs. Directed by Charlie Sacha ’26 and Poppy Meyer ’27, the show was a perfect fit for the seven actresses, who each had a moment to showcase their talents. The play follows Ashleigh, a tween portrayed by a snippy Regnier, as she tries to lead her weekly meeting of horse girls to order. Ashleigh tries to control the rest of the group: her vice president, Tiffany (Quinn Harnden ’26), who she perceives as attempting to undermine her control; Tiffany’s sister Robin (Poppy Magee ’28); the alleged lesbian Margaret (Luiza Elling ’28); the frenetic Camille (Pippa Lombana ’29); and Camille’s goth cousin Trish (Katie Taylor ’26). The club awaits the arrival of their friend Brandi (Kaitlyn Ingersoll ’27), becoming more and more agitated until she arrives with terrible news about the fate of their horses that will destroy their way of life. These girls take everything to the extreme, but their quirks are identifiable to anyone who was a middle school girl with very intense interests. I did not see college students on that stage, only embarrassingly relatable tweens. 

Perhaps the most compelling aspect was the dynamic between city girl Trish, trying to fit in, and the horse club, who surprises her with their devotion to horses and Republicanism. Taylor played this awkwardness very well, contrasting the larger group’s craziness with her own calmer yet equally strange behavior. Elling embodies an emotional mess throughout the play, contrasting Margaret’s youthful whining and tears with a growing confidence that lets her catalyze the play’s final moments. Just as the show was settling down in the first 20 minutes, Ingersoll burst into the room in an explosion of physical comedy. She was able to raise the already sky-high emotional stakes in the room. The girls’ friendship felt very believable, and their comfort and camaraderie with one another were wonderfully directed. 

The only issue with this production was an unfortunate fault of many Black Box shows: The volume was inconsistent and challenging for the audience, which was especially problematic in such a small theater, where clear diction and a medium volume are required. Unfortunately, I struggled to understand overlapping dialogue and had to cover my ears from the high-pitched shrieking multiple times throughout the show.

I was impressed by how well set and lighting designer Lucas Aho ’26 and costume designer Verity Berthelsen ’28 pulled off the show’s visual styling. The set was the most detailed I have ever seen in the Black Box; it had copious artifacts from a very specific kind of tweenage experience, such as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and One Direction posters. Each girl had a specific look, but all seven of them were unified in early 2010s 12-year-old fashion and the most hilarious matching socks.

Horse Girls ended in an explosion of violence when Ashleigh, having had enough of her friends trying to get out of her plan to run away together, beats two of them to death with her show-jumping trophy. When she is being intimidated for her turn towards serial violence, Margaret steps in and kills Tiffany in a display of love for Ashleigh, kissing her and asking to run away together. At this heartfelt confession, played movingly by Elling, Ashleigh lets Margaret escape from the crime scene and compliments her, something she has refused to do to any other girl in the group. Though Margaret’s love for Ashleigh was foreshadowed, this surprisingly touching ending tied a neat bow on the themes of cruelty and growing up in the play.

The show ended with a surprise solo dance number from Ashleigh that let Regnier show a wackier, weirder side of her performance, capping it off perfectly. Horse Girls was a wonderful display of tween awkwardness and escalating jokes at just the right pace, leaving the audience moved, laughing and smiling ear to ear.