The title of The Boys in the Band came from a Judy Garland line in, "A Star is Born," but playwright Mart Crowley says the stimulus that motivated him after more than two years of failure as a screenwriter was a New York Times feature by Stanley Kaufman on "closeted drama." "He wondered why America's leading playwrights who were gay didn't really write what they were really writing about. He was insinuating that female characters in plays by Williams, Inge and Albee were actually masked gay men. It stirred lots of controversy and I thought, 'Why hasn't anyone done that?' Then after a few beats, 'I can do that.'" It was 1967, and he did.
Crowley, "starvingÂ…and on the brink of destitution" but sitting in the lap of Hollywood luxury by housesitting for actress Diana Lynn, intended Band to be controversial. The inspiration for the setting at an all-gay birthday party came about following being taken by his best friend to an all-gay birthday party. The rest is, as they often say, history, but not without highs, lows, in-betweens, great success, setbacks and personal challenges.
Young director Crayton Robey, after nearly eight years of development, fund-raising and shoestring budgets, brings the story of how Crowley's 1968 landmark play came to life in the poignant documentary, "Making of the Boys," which opens in New York on Friday at Greenwich Village's Quad Cinema.
The Boys in the Band, developed by producer Richard Barr and his Playwright's Unit [in which he partnered with Albee], became a groundbreaking play that earned historical significance as the first successful work depicting gay characters as anything but stereotypes - though to many detractors, including Albee, the characters in the play were stereotypes. P>It stood alone for years as the premiere depiction of the gay lifestyle. In fact, it became a worldwide phenomenon [U.K., Japan, Germany, France, Denmark -- you name it]. When time came to adapt it into a movie, Crowley was a pioneer again. He turned down a vast amount of money from producer Ray Stark [Funny Girl, among many films] and decided he would produce it himself. Stark wanted to replace the unknowns in the cast with stars. Crowley would have none of that. He felt obligated to star the original cast. With help from renowned writer Dominick Dunne, he was able to do that.
Still, not all was bright, sunny and coming up roses for Crowley and a majority of the cast, who had tough times finding work. Success at age 32 was exhilarating for a Mississippi boy who dreamed all his childhood of writing and making movies; but it also brought demons: stress, depression and alcoholism. Following the failure of his second play, Remote Asylum, in L.A., he began to ruminate about being a "one hit" playwright, a theme that haunted him for years.
At 74, the past is behind him, Crowley accepts his role as "landmark playwright" and "pioneer"; however, he admits he went though "tons of money" buying the good life in NY, LA and throughout Europe. Yet, he's still here, now hobnobbing with style with the rich and powerful.
"The Making of the Boys" traces the behind-the-scenes drama of creation with set/costumes sketches by Peter Harvey, stills from the play, scenes from the movie, stills of his long-time, devoted friends Natalie Wood [he became her secretary after working with Elia Kazan on "Splendor in the Grass"] and Robert Wagner, anecdotes from Crowley, acclaimed director William Friedkin [who helmed the film adaptation], surviving cast members Laurence Luckinbill, Peter White and, from the tour and second company, Page Johnson.
The film has snippets from early docs on homosexuality, which, if not so ridiculously stern and sadly misinformed, would be hilarious. Albee, Larry Kramer, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally, Paul Rudnick and composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman appear in cameos discussing the impact of the play and how it opened doors for gay artists. They are joined in vignettes by Carson Kressley, Michael Musto, even former NYC mayor Ed Koch.
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