Rob Frydlewicz: "Boys in the Band" Brings a Bit of Lavender to The Great White Way, April 14, 1968

Just three months after opening off-Broadway Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band came to Broadway, opening on April 14, 1968. It offered an unvarnished glimpse of eight homosexuals attending a birthday party and was the first play to openly portray the lives of gay men. It ran for three years and was made into a movie in 1970.

I saw the movie in January 1981 when it was showing at the Eighth St. Playhouse in the Village. I found it somewhat depressing and dripping in cloying stereotypes. The part I enjoyed the most was the opening where Cole Porter's Anything Goes plays over the opening credits.

The recent documentary Making the Boys tells the story behind the creation of the play. It may also be of interest to fans of Natalie Wood, who is mentioned throughout since she was a dear friend of Crowley's (who is now 75). It was directed by Crayton Robey, who also directed the documentary When Ocean Meets Sky, which tells the story of Fire Island Pines.

Unfortunately, like most documentaries that delve into gay history, Making the Boys played in just a few theaters nationwide. In New York it was at the Quad Cinema for only two weeks in March 2011 - I saw it the last night it was there. However, it did play at the Tribeca Film Festival and at a number of gay film festivals. Perhaps, like with When Ocean Meets Sky, it will get picked up by the Logo cable network.

For more posts like this, Rob also hasd a blog called ZeitGAYst.