Theater Talk: Stonewall Special: Looking Back at "The Boys in the Band"
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- Playwright Mart Crowley, actor Laurence Luckinbill and commentator Michael Musto of "The Village Voice" discuss the inspiration behind "The Boys in The Band" -Crowley's landmark 1967 drama on the LGBT rights movement of today.
Taped: 06-20-2009
Theater Talk is a series devoted to the world of the stage. It began on New York television in 1993 and is co-hosted by Michael Riedel (Broadway columnist for the New York Post) and series producer Susan Haskins.
The program is one of the few independent productions on PBS and now airs weekly on Thirteen/WNET in New York and WGBH in Boston. Now, CUNY TV offers New York City viewers additional opportunities to catch each week's show. (Of course, Theater Talk is no stranger to CUNY TV, since the show is taped here each week before its first airing on Thirteen/WNET.)
The series is produced by Theater Talk Productions, a not-for-profit corporation and is funded by contributions from private foundations and individuals, as well as The New York State Council on the Arts.
Watch more Theater Talk at www.tv.cuny.edu/show/theatertalk
I had the honor of meeting Mart a few times, and to attend one of his talks. He was a pioneer, very modest, yet knew the contribution he brought to gay culture. Musto, of course, is as concise and witty as ever.
As a young actor, I used Michael's monologue at the end of the play for many an audition, and it always elicited a great response. Classic. It should be required reading for any LGBT studies class.
I totally agree!!!!
I first watched “The Boys in the Band” as a boy of 13 , very late at night after my parents had gone to bed
Of course , most of the dialogue went over my head but I felt I belonged in some way to this group and I was fascinated by them And being a devout boy , I’m sure I went to confession about seeing it
seeing this movie was a life changer for me. it proved to me that" there was nothing wrong with. that i was ok. that it was ok to be gay and i had a right to be{" prior to that i believed what the society said about people like my self. i started to like myself and believe i can have a purpose.
This play is so brilliant and having seen it with a younger friend who was unfamiliar with it, it still stands up for both of us.
This is one of my favorite movies and always will be. Although stereotypical, this film was groundbreaking! I was only 8 when this movie came out.... A lot has changed since then.....
this movie was a shot straight (no pun intended) to my heart! i remember seeing this as a gay closeted man and i couldnt stand up afterwards! i was 'floored' on what i had just seen. you have to remember this was way b4 the 'will n grace' n the others that have come sense but back then, hardly anything even discussed the topic.i'm so thankful to have this dvd as its like a friend that gives you a shot of honesty n truth. so bravo to mr crowley for giving us a memory of how we were once long ago.
Marc Joe, although this movie came out long ago, it's a slice of the Gay community today. I've attended parties like that when I came out. There are still a lot of Michaels, Harolds, Emoryss, Hanks, and Larry's out there. The times change, but humanity stays the same. Thank you, Mr. Crowly for creating a slice of my life.
The claustrophobic, but lovely townhouse where Michael lives and the party takes place work ABSOLUTELY - creating tension between the characters and, along with the snappy dialogue..magical!! Larry Luckinbill calls it right when he speaks about the 'foxhole' element of it..
That was Tammy Grimes's actual duplex.
Just saw the film and watched this. Thanks for having an archive to preserve everyone's history.
People need to respect this movie as a great work with drama, humour etc
If this is a gay movie that straight people can't watch then I hope no gay people watch straight movies. I have a wife and 3 kids and this is one of my favourite movies because of the script, the issues it deals with and the execution!
Open your minds and accept people for who they are. I accept gay marriage not because I'm open minded but what someone else does is none of my bloody business. I love the fact Cliff is straight and he plays the camp part so well :)
Amen, friend! This movie (and the play it's based upon) are dated, but still have great appeal because of the writing and acting. The themes are universal: self acceptance, unrequited love, and friendship. I'm glad to see that it made fans across the lines of sexual identity. Good call, evorobin!
One of the great twentieth century plays.
I remember those parties. And it was the booze. Any close-knit group was susceptible-- almost every family event had a "Michael". Personally, the "Harold"s of the world are my favorite people at any party.
My sole issue with the movie has always been the elision of Michael's Evelyn and Walt speech about his parents in the first scene with Donald, since it gives us an insight into Michael's vulnerability. That's it; a brilliant film of a brilliant play, which still strikes a nerve and well it might -- bitchiness, self-loathing, safety in numbers, alcoholism and internecine loyalty have hardly been eradicated from the gay culture. Great episode of TT.
i just performed this play with the West Coast Players Theatre in Clearwater, FL! This was truly a groundbreaking play!
My favourite movie.I couldn't wait to meet those kinda of people.And I did, as soon as I came out.
👏 BRAV-OOOOO 👏 Still a phonemenal trail- blazer 👍 Without ☆ Mr. Crowley's ☆ profound pioneering, ◇ "Angels in America" ◇ is impossible to imagine. 👏 BRILLIANT 👏
Funny anecdote about Laurence Luckinbill, he is married to Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Dezi Arnaz and Lucille Ball
I grew-up in the tail-end of that period...and for years the film scared me. It was outside of my suburban, far from the big city, life. And then AIDS happened and I retreated quietly. Now I'm 65 and alone.
Musto would make a great Harold.
2:10 Exactly! It’s scathingly witty & intelligently written, reflecting the time! 20:11 Still do! Holding court is inevitable whenever queens are present 👑🤷🏾♂️😂
I think younger gay men have far fewer issues with the movie than the men who were in their twenties when it came out.
I think you’re right
Having a Korean play Reuben's part when the play is done in Japan is totally understandable. In Japanese society, that's who slots into the position that character is in. (I can't remember his name, dammit.)
Bernard.
RIP Mart!
You know what jers guiva, I was and I am still shocked over the death of Mart. It's just not fair, but then again, life isn't fair.
I agree that Hank is the true heart of the play.
I miss Theater Talk, disappointed the program came to an end. Before these days if socal distancing, there was something called socioeconomically distancing; this program was my link to the New York theater scene.
Reuben Greene supposedly passed in 2012 of a heart attack. No other info is out there as of 2019
Reuben Greene is still alive today. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Greene
I believe the character studies in the play transcend just the gay community. I could identify with the insecurities and self hatred and life regret and sensitivity of many of the characters as a straight man. I just watched the movie last year for the first time and have watched it ten times. I still am confounded by Alan's motivations,however.
R.I.P. Peter White
Only 2 left... :(
i had to sub, on my own free will
Why nothing about Kenneth Nelson?
Irony that Leonard Frey really was pick marked in the face just like his character.
THE BOYS IN THE BAND IS NOT A MUSICAL"
thousand legs
Is Michael Musto gay?
Liche Christ no way, he is straight as an arrow...a real Boy Scout.
WHY?
@@118Columbus Your reply broke me up! LOVED it! :)
movie was so stereotypical in its depiction of gay MEN
2018 : play is dated, hateful, awful....
What a narrow-minded thing to say.
The play is an American treasure and a snapshot of a wonderful time in NYC.