In 1968, in a small, off-Broadway theater, history was made. Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band premiered: a drama exploring the lives of queer men who have gathered to celebrate their friend, Harold’s birthday. Before that, gay characters only appeared on the stage for purposes of derision and cheap laughs. Mart Crowley had penned a watershed. Whatever the ups and downs of the show itself, the American Theatre Canon would be forever changed.
Michael is hosting the festivities from his duplex in the Upper East Side. When The Boys in the Band opens he and Donald (Caddo Lindsey) are catching up. A strange phone call comes from Alan, Michael’s erstwhile college roommate. The poor guy is in tears, and more or less insists on crashing the party. The guests arrive: Emory (Ethan Rodriquez Mullins) Nellie and extravagant. Hank and Larry: a couple with an open “marriage.” Hank (Ian Mead Moore) wears a business suit and Larry (Nick Marchetti) a colorful shirt (barely buttoned) and long, curly mane. Bernard (Quintin Jones, Jr) is the only guest of color. Alan, the surprise guest is the only straight guy, and wears a tuxedo. Cowboy (Noah Randall) is a gift for Harold. He is, of course dressed like a cowboy. Gorgeous, sweet, but maybe not so terribly bright.
Harold (Ryan Maffei) is an entity unto himself. He wears a hat dipped stylishly low, and tinted glasses that were in fashion at the time. His rage is barely concealed, but it is restrained. His rapacious wit, his vitriol, often evinces in truly inspired jabs and jibes. Like the others he’s wounded, but has no discretion, when expressing the result. He has a regal bearing, often pawing at the others, like a distracted cat. He has become The Truth Teller, in a tribe that mostly mentions their abuse in ironic, offhanded ways.
When Alan (Seth Paden) catches a moment to speak to Michael (Clayton Younkin) in private, he still hasn’t quite caught on to the other guests. When he describes Emory as “… a butterfly in heat,” the play takes a powerful turn. Alan doesn’t get it, yet, but in this moment, becomes every straight, white, privileged, Protestant who’s bullied, abused, mocked and degraded these men. Their sublime refuge has been poisoned by an interloper. When he slugs Emory, he doesn’t see how egregious this is. He’s acting out the hateful behavior these friends have been subjected to, probably since childhood.
As events regress, Michael concocts a “party game” where each guest must phone another man he loved deeply, but could never tell. More fearless, more points. As each guest takes his turn (under duress) Michael goads, confronting them with their backstory. He doesn’t necessarily know, but he’s a queer man, gathering with his Queer Tribe. All their stories are different, but there’s a common truth, shared and grieved. We’re appalled how he pushes and pushes, the pain he’s evoking is unmistakable. Perhaps if he can get them to articulate their excruciation, it will lose power?
Crowley’s The Boys in the Band has ignited controversy in the recent past. Critics point out that we’ve moved past this time, where self-loathing and terror of discovery plagued the queer community, and hate crimes were a given. It would be preposterous to ignore the progress we’ve made, sometimes by quantum leaps. That being said: 1. It would be criminal to deny recognition to our forefathers, who persisted in a climate of persecution and a nasty taste for the unconscionable. 2. It verges on the disingenuous and naive to ignore that here, in Amerika, and around the globe, there are still those among us, who are attacked and brutalized. 3. One need only turn on the news to see how rabidly the hoards still howl to drag us back to the Dark Ages.
I was utterly overwhelmed by the performance of this brilliant, ensemble cast. For the unbelievably difficult task they must embrace nightly, bravely. The focus and vulnerability that theatre demands. Never before have I witnessed an audience so shocked, and terribly, terribly quiet. Actors must summon their most raw and genuine core and share it with the strangers on the other side of the footlights. And how exquisite the marvels these Boys in the Band bring. It is phenomenal.
Uptown Players presents The Boys in the Band, playing through August 25th, 2024. Kalita Humphreys Theater. 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd, Dallas, Texas 75219. 214-219-2718. uptownplayers.org