SYNOPSIS:

The mean streets. Turn of the Century. It's nearly impossible for a body to feed himself and if you are a herself, forget it. A woman can't make a living and keep her virtue (if you know what we mean). So the heroine becomes a hero (dresses like a man) to put bread in her belly. As chance would have it, she happens upon a big man beating a little man senseless. She intervenes and knocks the big man loopy. Big mistake! The little man is the titular Boxer and the big man was his trainer. Who will train The Boxer and his glass jaw for the "Big Fight" against the Bavarian Beast now that the big man has the brain damage? Hm? Smitten, Velma insists that she's just the wom-er-man for the job. Will The Boxer win the "Big Fight"? Will love bloom in the ring?

AWARDS:

Best of the "Aughts"- TheaterJones.com
Best New Play - DFW Theatre Critics Forum, 2007
Best Play (Non Equity) - The Column Awards, 2007
Best New Work by a Local Playwright - The Column Awards, 2007

PRESS:

FRINGE NYC REVIEWS
"Peter Allen was right when he reported that "Everything Old is New Again" as proved by The Boxer, now at the Connelly Theatre. This live presentation of a silent film unfolds on stage before a screen on which dialogue is projected, and the result is refreshing enough to keep viewers amused for just under an hour."
-TheatreMania.com

It's a silly, light-hearted slapstick love story, with live music, and no spoken dialogue. Meticulously written and directed by Matt Lyle, The Boxer is an hour of pure old-timey fun... Regardless, young and old will doubtlessly find a little something to delight them in The Boxer. At the show I was at, in front of me sat a silver-haired gentleman guffawing, and way in the back a little kid squealed with glee. The Boxer is a solid hour, packed to the brim with shtick and charm..."
-nytheatre.com

"Words, words, words. Who needs 'em? Certainly not the darling Bootstraps company, whose The Boxer quite ably pretends to be a silent film. Led by the playwright-director Matt Lyle, the company dials our clocks back to the flickering age of Buster and Charlie, when gorilla suits meant comic gold."
-TimeOut New York

DALLAS REVIEWS
“...it’s a small classic not to be missed... Hilarious as it is, The Boxer…gets better the more you think about it.”
-Glen Arbery, People Newspapers

“The Boxer is brilliant. What a gem... Lyle’s darling comedy about a young woman masquerading as a man to train a bantam-weight prizefighter speaks volumes about life, love and the wonders of live theater. And it says everything without uttering a word. ...There’s a wholesome-yet-wistful sentimentality about this show that’s missing from so many new plays. It has real family appeal.”
-Elaine Liner, The Dallas Observer

“...one of the freshest, most original plays I’ve seen ...it is comic nirvana”
-Mark-Brian Sonna, Pegasus News

“...ingeniously crafted... Let's hope Bootstraps puts this knockout back in the ring sometime soon.”
-Mark Lowry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Hilarious... it’s a good old boy-girl romance, after all, and puts us in the mood for hearts and flowers...”
Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News