‘Making the Boys’ is a fascinating look at the 1968 groundbreaking
play ‘The Boys In The Band’, and a profile on its writer and creator Mart
Crowley. The breakthrough play about a
Birthday Party full of funny, but self-hating gay men was the very first off-Broadway
play written by an openly gay man which was all about gay man. Pre-dating the Stonewall Riots by some
months, the play was a sensational success and ran for an unheard of 5
years. Whilst everyone applauded its
achievement by being a definitive moment for what would become the gay
movement, many hated the sad lonely stereotypes it portrayed. By the time it was made into a movie picture
in 1970 the progress that the play had been a part on had moved things in the
gay community forward at such a pace, that the plot had already started to look
dated.
play ‘The Boys In The Band’, and a profile on its writer and creator Mart
Crowley. The breakthrough play about a
Birthday Party full of funny, but self-hating gay men was the very first off-Broadway
play written by an openly gay man which was all about gay man. Pre-dating the Stonewall Riots by some
months, the play was a sensational success and ran for an unheard of 5
years. Whilst everyone applauded its
achievement by being a definitive moment for what would become the gay
movement, many hated the sad lonely stereotypes it portrayed. By the time it was made into a movie picture
in 1970 the progress that the play had been a part on had moved things in the
gay community forward at such a pace, that the plot had already started to look
dated.
When Crowley’s play was premiered it shouldered the
burden of being the only visible gay thing for the ‘outside world’ to see and
clearly earned it’s place in the annals of our history for that alone. For the actors who ignored the advice of
agents and friends there was success and acclaim, but as Crayton Robey’s
documentary uncovers, most of their careers suffered as a result. And there is an extremely touching part of
the dialogue when Robey reveals also that many of them died from AIDS too.
burden of being the only visible gay thing for the ‘outside world’ to see and
clearly earned it’s place in the annals of our history for that alone. For the actors who ignored the advice of
agents and friends there was success and acclaim, but as Crayton Robey’s
documentary uncovers, most of their careers suffered as a result. And there is an extremely touching part of
the dialogue when Robey reveals also that many of them died from AIDS too.
Crowley admitted to quickly blowing his new found
wealth and when his next play flopped, he retreated to Europe with his tail
between hIs legs. It was only when his
good friend Natalie Wood persuaded him to come back to Hollywood to write and
produce ‘Hart to Hart’, hubby Robert Wagner’s new TV series did he return, and
she later cajoled him to joining AA, an act he says saved his life. He comes over as an extremely likable person,
possibly lacking the gravitas of other gay writers interviewed here such as Edward
Albee and Larry Kramer, and even a tad modest when accepting the fact that ‘The
Boys’ was such a defining moment in (gay) history.
wealth and when his next play flopped, he retreated to Europe with his tail
between hIs legs. It was only when his
good friend Natalie Wood persuaded him to come back to Hollywood to write and
produce ‘Hart to Hart’, hubby Robert Wagner’s new TV series did he return, and
she later cajoled him to joining AA, an act he says saved his life. He comes over as an extremely likable person,
possibly lacking the gravitas of other gay writers interviewed here such as Edward
Albee and Larry Kramer, and even a tad modest when accepting the fact that ‘The
Boys’ was such a defining moment in (gay) history.
If I have one thing to take issue with in this
documentary is the fact that amongst the impressive roster of movers and shakers
of the gay movement that Robey interviewed, he also included a couple of real lightweights from
Reality TV such as Carson Kressley and a boy from Project Runway whose banal and ignorant
remarks were verging on being offensive.
documentary is the fact that amongst the impressive roster of movers and shakers
of the gay movement that Robey interviewed, he also included a couple of real lightweights from
Reality TV such as Carson Kressley and a boy from Project Runway whose banal and ignorant
remarks were verging on being offensive.
I never saw the play and have mixed feelings about the movie BUT nevertheless am happy to acknowledge that it was part of the start of
gay people saying ‘enough is enough’, and seeing this examination of our history
reminds us that we should never take our freedom for granted, even now.
gay people saying ‘enough is enough’, and seeing this examination of our history
reminds us that we should never take our freedom for granted, even now.
★★★★★★★★
Labels: documentary, gay
