| re: 'The Boys in the Band' speak out ... | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 08:33 pm EST 01/24/18 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:31 pm EST 01/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: 'The Boys in the Band' speak out ... - singleticket 02:19 pm EST 01/24/18 | |
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| "And in retrospect, the way that the play feels seriously dated in this day and age is that gay men no longer gather in a heterogenous group. We largely self-select into different tribes via social media. And I suspect that Crowley's assemblage was a stretch even the 1960's when different types of gay men found fewer opportunities to gather together in a social setting. It does take place in a large urban center where there were more opportunites for gay men." A lot of generalities and presumptions here, which cannot be proven beyond anecdotal evidence. The self-selecting into tribes angle may be true in many areas, but in others, not necessarily the case. But beyond that, Crowley wasn't suggesting that this gathering was archetypical or even routine in the 1960s. The characters are not all friends, or even entirely comfortable with one another. Take a fresh read: the contention runs in every direction. Loyalties have shifted among casual acquaintances, but the atmo is thick with the awkwardness of the assemblage. Watch the stuff between Larry and Donald. (They admit they were all together on Fire Island. Is that so different today?) If anything, the play is about Michael's efforts to force this particular gathering. The attendees acknowledge a lot of the forced camaraderie, which I'd think serves your point about tribal segregation. An even bigger poing: I believe the best way to view the play is very specifically. These are specific men, not representatives of subcultural subsets. Michael has an agenda, and he builds it around this evening for Harold. Neither man is a stand-in for a category, but only two people with some tension and love between them. I understand the need to make a sociopolitical case. Yet the play will work or not based on how well it nails these characters as distinct individuals. |
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