Off-Broadway classic timely, or bad play? EIU's Theater Department self-respect. Even by many who flash and bite, even if, with the has wound up an eight-perfor­ initially found it amusing and en­ passage of time, it has lost most of mance run of "The Boys in the tertaining, Crowley's play was its shock value. some ofit is lost in Band," the 1968 Mart Crowley Carl eventually damned as a negative, the Eastern staging, because the play about homosexuals, directed Lebovitz stereotypical guilt-trip. actors race their line to the point by C.P. Blanchette. With all the Today the play seems dated, a of unintelligibility. And those to-do right now about gays in the Lebovitz is period piece about the internal­ lines should be delivered with a military and gays in general, reviewer-at­ ized guilt and self-hatred of eight certain among of camp and high Eastern couldn't have picked a large for the homosexuals. "You show me a style. This is, after all, queer Journal Gazette better time for this revival. Or, and Times­ happy homosexual," says drawing-room. In those days, from the standpoint of gays, at Courier. Michael in the play's most famous when closeted gays were with least, a worse play. line, " and I'll show you a gay their peers, they would act like This is the one in which eight , corpse." For heterosexual audi­ queers. It was their ways of com­ homosexuals gather at a Manhat­ works about homosexuality. ences who may never have met a ing out for a while. The Eastern tan birthday party and spend an Twenty plays with gay characters real live homosexual, it was on ' actors tend to be wooden and in­ evening savaging each other, were seen on Broadway, and an­ the order of a freak show, a slum­ hibited for the most part. themselves and their way oflife. other 26 off-Broadway, from 1968 ming party. Some 20 years later, Both the play and the cast, They include Harold, the birth­ to 1973. During the decade that the reviewer of a production in In­ however, come to life in the sec­ day boy, a Jew; a black (for some followed, 84 plays with either gay dianapolis wrote, "The audience ond-act melodramatics ofthe vi­ reason changed at Eastern ap­ characters or gay themes were ... was laughing heartily at the cious telephone truth game de­ parently to a Hispanic named seen on New York stages. Otis L. naughtiness of the going on and vised by the host, Michael. Every­ Jorge); Donald, a WASP; a mid­ Guernsey Jr. observed a pattern cringing as well at the discomfort one shines here - - D. Patrick night cowboy hired for $20 as a to them: "The first act tends to­ of sole straight male." Swearingen as Michael, Brandon birthday present for Harold; ward comedy; but then in the sec­ Still, "Boys," more than any Hoefle as Donald, Brad Pugh and Emory, a flaming nellie queen; ond act when the script must re­ other single play, publicized ho­ Don Gaul Jr. as Hank and Larry, Hank, a married man; Hank's veal the tension underneath the mosexuals as a minority group. John Goeckner as Jorge, Bryan lover Larry; and the host Michael, warp, there is an onslaught of bit­ The audience for the play, and Stanis as the cowboy, Jeremy a guilt-ridden Catholic. And terness leading to hysteria. Yet even more so for the movie, in­ Seymour as Alan, Jacob Gent as there is an unexpected guest - there was no emotion, no sympa­ cluded gays who had grown up Harold. And then there's Michael's old school roommate thy evoked by the second-act thinking they were the only ho­ Matthew Gillespie as Emory. Alan, a self-professed hetero­ tears that had not already been mosexuals in the world. And in Everything he does with his voice sexual. evoked by the first-act laughter." the lovers Hank and Larry, it pre­ and body is just right for a stand­ "The Boys in the Band" was the When "Boys" opened April 15, sented two nonstereotypical ho­ out screaming-queen perfor­ first play centering on homosexu­ 1968, at New York's Theatre mosexuals with a working rela­ mance. ality. The original off-Broadway Four, it was set in "the present." tionship, showing that not all Blanchette's apartment set is production initially attracted At Eastern, the time has been gays are limp-wristed queens in elegant, but a few period gay pub­ predominately gay audiences, changed to "the late 1970's," pink fatigues. lications like "After Dark" would but eventually came to the atten­ which is a mistake. The play was The first act consists essen­ have been a nice contemporary tion of straight theater-goers and still running off Broadway when tially offag humor and some jum­ touch. The chic costumes are by played for over a thousand perfor­ the Stonewall riots occurred-­ bled Freudian stabs at over-pos­ Marjorie A. Duehmig, the light­ mances before it was made into a a watershed marking the begin­ sessive mothers and passive fa­ ing by David Wolski and the movie. It inspired a host of other ning of gay consciousness and thers. The dialogue has a witty sound design by John P. Rouke.