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| The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film | |
| Posted by: Whistler 03:23 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
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| I stumbled on the film of The Boys In The Band online today. I'd only seen it once, in small town Ohio, the summer it came out. I don't know why it was playing there. It might have been a college town, and two of the actresses and one of the actors I hung out with at a summer stock theater that summer wanted to see it. I don't remember the movie theater being particularly full, but it was probably a weekday afternoon if the actors were off. My schedule was more flexible. I remember the film being physically dark -- darker and more depressing than I thought necessary. I directed the play that winter, at another small college, and barely knew what I was doing. I needed an openly gay student advisor to explain things like "rimming." But two of my other students had seen the off-Broadway production before the film was made, and I must have known about the play before that, either from The Times, Newsweek, or Time, and I was up for directing anything. We played it as unself-hating as the script allowed. I think most of the guys were straight -- I've long lost contact, this was my first teaching job, and I was 23 -- but they listened to the off-Broadway recording once; that's all I allowed. I'd only heard it once before that and haven't heard it since. Still, the guys playing Harold and Emory picked up the cadences and were remarkably uninhibited. But coming onto the film today was old home week. I didn't watch it all. I barely watched the opening scene, between Donald and Michael, and the film wasn't that physically dark yet. Still, I didn't have the time I wanted to sit for a couple of hours and watch, but I will soon. The thing I like best about the film is I can pretend all the guys are still alive. I think only Laurence Luckinbill and Peter White have survived, let alone made it past their 50s. And, maybe miraculously, Mart Crowley. He must be proud, on so many different levels. |
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| re: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film | |
| Posted by: dbg 08:55 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
| In reply to: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film - Whistler 03:23 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
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| Laurence Luckinbill and Lucie Arnaz live in the Palm Springs area and were the guest speakers at a Luminary Luncheon a couple of years ago sponsored by the CV Rep theatre in Rancho Mirage. Laurence talked a lot about how his agent didn't want him to do the play and thought it could possibly destroy his career. I talked with him after the luncheon, mostly about the importance of Boys in the Band, and he was so charming and friendly, a really lovely man. | |
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| re: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film | |
| Posted by: AnObserver 08:33 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
| In reply to: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film - Whistler 03:23 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
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| Crowley is alive. The play will have its 50th anniversary next year and The New York Post announced it will play Broadway for the first time. | |
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| re: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film | |
| Posted by: Gustave 08:29 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
| In reply to: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film - Whistler 03:23 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
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| I was in grad school when I saw the movie. A bunch of us had been at a cookout when we decided to see it. I was surprised at how funny some of it was. Cliff Gorman died at age 65 of leukemia, not AIDs related. Reuben Greene's whereabouts are apparently unknown. Gustave |
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| Yep | |
| Posted by: Whistler 02:29 pm EDT 10/28/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film - Gustave 08:29 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
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| Yep, I knew about Cliff Gorman but hadn't checked so didn't remember he'd made it to his mid-60s. Better. 65 used to be old. Not anymore. Still, he had a very nice career. I first saw him playing one of the card players in a Julie Harris-headed Streetcar Named Desire. And first saw Peter White in a summer stock Barefoot In The Park. And Leonard Frey in Fiddler. And heard Ken Nelson on the Fantasticks album. The others came with the movie and recording of the play, and, of them, only Laurence Luckinbill had an extended career. He was terrific in Shadow Box, giving density to a part that may be underwritten and acting in sync with Patricia Elliot. I once stole his approach to a monologue from the script, but it made no sense out of context and I only seemed to be racing. And I knew about the Boys documentary but haven't seen it. But it's great context for people who don't already have it. Thanks, all. |
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| For more about 'The Boys in the Band' ... | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 11:47 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 11:43 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The Boys In The Band -- Off-Broadway Recording and Film - Gustave 08:29 am EDT 10/28/17 | |
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| there's ''Making the Boys,'' Clayton Robey's acclaimed 2011 documentary about the movie. It features interviews with Mart Crowley, William Friedkin, Dominick Dunne and Laurence Luckinbill, plus many more, including Edward Albee, Larry Kramer, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally and Paul Rudnick. And ''Theatre Talk'' once did a Stonewall 40th anniversary special about ''The Boys in the Band'' with Crowley, Luckinbill and Michael Musto. |
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| Link | 'Theater Talk': Looking back at 'The Boys in the Band' |
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