Terrence McNally’s award-winning Broadway play "Love! Valor! Compassion!" which traces its roots back to Crowley’s groundbreaking comedy.

Despite its initial popularity and groundbreaking honesty, "The Boys in the Band" became viewed as somewhat outdated in later decades. Its portrayal of characters like Emory and the pre-AIDS era acceptance of sexual promiscuity began to clash with evolving social norms and understandings. Nevertheless, the play remains a critical cultural milestone, reflecting the complexities and challenges of its time while paving the way for future explorations of homosexual life in the arts.

The Boys in the Band offers a glimpse into a pivotal era for the gay community in New York City during the late 1960s. The play captures the tension between newfound freedoms and lingering societal oppression, set against the backdrop of a single apartment where the characters navigate personal and collective self-awareness. Mart Crowley masterfully weaves a narrative that explores identity, connection, and exclusion, utilizing the unique language and humor of gay culture.

Setting

The setting of The Boys in the Band is critical to its narrative, situated in the bustling metropolis of New York City amidst the transformative late 1960s. The city, famed for its blend of cultural influences, provides a backdrop where private gatherings of gay men can unfold, albeit with the shadow of societal repression looming large. As New York Times critic Clive Barnes describes, the play's dialogue is rich with "camp or homosexual humor," intertwining Jewish and homosexual humor into a distinctive New York wit. This urbane conversation style reflects the characters’ awareness of fashion and culture, traits tied intrinsically to the city's vibrancy.

Despite the world outside, the play’s action is confined to Michael’s apartment, creating an insulated environment that mirrors the characters' cloistered societal experiences. The telephone serves as a tenuous connection to the broader world, often highlighting the rejection faced by the characters, reinforcing a sense of isolation even within the bustling city. The apartment thus becomes a microcosm of the gay community's struggle for acceptance against a backdrop of urban sophistication and constraint.

Structure

Rather than relying on a traditional plot, The Boys in the Band revolves around thematic tension, particularly the question of Alan McCarthy's sexual identity. This central tension unfolds against the backdrop of Harold's birthday party, raising questions about self-acceptance and societal pressures. Alan's entrance into the narrative, marked by emotional outbursts atypical of his demeanor, signals an internal conflict regarding his sexual orientation. His interactions with Emory and the rest of the group highlight his discomfort with overt expressions of homosexuality, suggesting an inner struggle with his identity.

Michael’s character is pivotal, with the play’s emotional weight resting on his shoulders. As the party unfolds, his character is revealed through his interactions with Alan, whose presence acts as a catalyst for Michael's own reflections on identity. Alan's reconciliation with his wife and subsequent departure leaves Michael grappling with the broader implications of his own life, casting his character in a complex light defined by external perceptions and internal truths.

Style

The play’s language is characterized by its sharp wit and cleverness, a hallmark of Mart Crowley’s writing. This is exemplified through quick exchanges, such as the playful repartee among guests, showcasing a blend of sly put-downs and cultural references. The dialogue not only entertains but also reinforces the close-knit nature of the community depicted, with their shared humor and references creating a sense of belonging.

Emory: (Loud aside to Michael.) I think they’re going to have their first fight.
Larry: (Leans on landing) The first one since we got out of the taxi.
Michael: (RE: EMORY) Where’d you find this trash?
Larry: Downstairs leaning against a lamppost.
Emory: With an orchid behind my ear and big wet lips painted over the lipline.
Michael: Just like Maria Montez.
Donald: Oh, please.
Emory: (crossing to Donald) What have you got against Maria? She was a good woman.

Such interactions highlight the characters' shared worldview, emphasizing a cultural cohesion that is both inclusive and exclusive. The Cowboy’s character, unfamiliar with the group’s sophisticated banter, embodies this duality. His outsider status underscores the unique cultural milieu of the play, where humor and intellect form the backbone of community identity, even as they delineate the lines of social inclusion.

1968: Homosexuality is deemed a criminal offense in numerous states.

Today: While a few states still have anti-sodomy laws (most notably Georgia, which defended its law before the Supreme Court in 1986), these laws are rarely enforced.

1968: The American Psychiatric Association classifies homosexuality as a mental illness. Homosexuals seek psychiatric treatment to be "cured."

Today: The APA removed the disease classification in 1974. Research remains divided on whether homosexuality is genetic or learned.

1968: Homosexual characters in movies or plays are typically portrayed as flamboyant comedians or tragically confused individuals who often end up committing suicide. They are seldom seen on television.

Today: Diverse and well-developed gay characters are becoming more prevalent in television, theater, and film.

1968: Gays are stereotyped as promiscuous and unable to maintain enduring personal relationships.

Today: Several states recognize commitment ceremonies that grant gay couples legal rights similar to those of heterosexual marriages. However, gay marriage remains prohibited in part due to the "Defense of Marriage" act signed by President Clinton in 1996.

1968: Homosexuals live in fear of being physically attacked by those vehemently opposed to their orientation.

Today: Although such attacks still happen, most states and municipalities have hate crime laws that impose severe penalties on individuals who assault others based on their sexual orientation.

• Midnight Cowboy (1969), a feature film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. Known for its portrayal of male hustling and homoerotic implications, the film achieved significant popularity.
• The Boys in the Band (1970), a film version with a screenplay by Mart Crowley. Directed by William Friedkin, it starred the entire Broadway cast, including Frederick Combs, Leonard Frey, and Cliff Gorman. This adaptation is available on CBS/Fox Home Video.

• Adam, Barry D. The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement, rev. ed., Twayne, 1995. Called “the classic of its field,” this academic text traces the movement for gay rights back to its origins in Germany in the 1890s. More concerned with gay politics than any of the characters in the play, it is still useful for background to the world that Crowley changed.
• Augstums, Ieva. “Pioneering Playwright Shares Experiences with UNL Students.” Daily Nebraskan, March 13, 1998.
• Barnes, Clive. “Boys in the Band Opens Off Broadway.” New York Times, April 15, 1968, p. 48.
• Beams, David W. “Mart Crowley.” In Contemporary Dramatists, edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick. 4th ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1988.
• Canby, Vincent. Review of the movie The Boys in the Band. New York Times, March 18, 1970, p. 36.
• Clurman, Harold. Review of The Boys in the Band. Nation, April 29, 1968, p. 60.
• de Jongh, Nicholas. Not in Front of the Audience: Homosexuality on Stage, 1992. A thorough and interesting history of the portrayal of homosexuals on the stage.
• Duberman, Martin. Review of The Boys in the Band. Partisan Review 35 (Summer, 1968): 418.
• Feingold, Michael. “Queerly Beloved.” Village Voice 27 (July 2, 1996).
• Jay, Karla, and Allen Young. “Theatre: Gays in the Marketplace vs. Gays for Themselves.” In Lavender Culture. New York: Jove, 1978.
• Kaiser, Charles. “The Sixties.” In Gay Metropolis: 1940–1996. Houghton Mifflin, 1997. This much-lauded history of New York contains a long section explaining the ground-breaking impact of The Boys in the Band when it first appeared.
• Kroll, Gerry. “And the Band Played On.” Advocate 708 (July 28, 1996): 47.
• Marcus, Eric. Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Rights, 1945–1990, HarperCollins, 1992. The Boys in the Band falls right in the middle of the area covered by this oral history, which includes interviews with people from all walks of life who talk about what it was like for homosexuals while the world was beginning to acknowledge gay rights.
• Raymond, Gerard. “Boys Will Be Boys: Crowley’s Characters Get a Second Opinion.” Village Voice 25 (July 2, 1996): 83.
• Reed, Rex. “Breakthrough by The Boys in the Band.” New York Times, May 12, 1968, pp. 1, 11.
• Reed, Rex. “Mart Crowley.” In Conversations in the Raw: Dialogues, Monologues, and Selected Short Subjects. New York: World, 1969.
• Regan, Margaret. “Birthday Bash: Millennium Theatre’s Boys in the Band Is Older but Not Wiser.” Tucson Weekly, July 3–9, 1997.
• Rutledge, Leigh W. The Gay Decade: From Stonewall to the Present. The Penguin Group, 1992, p. 3.
• Rutledge, Leigh W. The Gay Decades: From Stonewall to the Present. Plume, 1992. This book gives a detailed, month-by-month account of gay history right after the opening of The Boys in the Band, starting with Judy Garland’s death on June 22, 1969, and continuing up into the 1990s.
• “The Theater: New Plays.” Review in Time, April 26, 1968, p. 97.
• Tyler, Parker. Screening the Sexes: Homosexuality in the Movies. 1972. Rev. ed. New York: Da Capo, 1993.
• van Leer, David. The Queening of America: Gay Culture in Straight Society. Routledge Press, 1995. van Leer examines the ways in which homosexual sub-culture has been incorporated into mainstream America, a feat that The Boys in the Band is famous for.