The Boys in the Band

Summary

The scene is set in Michael’s apartment in the Upper East Side in NYC. Michael, Larry, Hank, Bernard, and Donald, gather in Michael's apartment for a birthday party for Harold. Alan, an unexpected guest who was Michael’s college roommate, shows up and learns that all the men are gay. As they continue to drink, they play games that lead to secrets being spilled, arguments, and grappling with the self hatred and qualms deep within themselves. They play a phone game where they call up someone that they truly still love. Michael claims that he knows Justin and Alan used to sleep with each other secretly in college, but Alan wholeheartedly denies this. Michael forces Alan to call Justin and Alan ultimately says “I love you” and Michael rips the phone away from him realizing that it’s Alan’s wife on the other end of the phone. Harold unpacks all of Michael’s deepest insecurities about the fact that he is ashamed to be gay and that no amount of praying to God is going to change that. 

Analysis

This play aims to humanize gay men in a time when it was taboo. This play became so popular becuase of its honesty and forwardness on the experience of being gay, especially in a time when it was something a majority of people would shame others for. It shows struggles the of men with their sexuality that allows for representation and normalization of those struggles in the LGBTQ+ community. The main message is to depict gay men’s lives with honesty and show the genuine friendship, emotion, and internal battles during that time. 

Cultural context

This play was one of the first authentic representations of gay men at the time. Gay men were free enough to gather privately, but not publically during this time period. In addition, all the people in the play were based on real people, even on Crowley himself. In the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, Crowley explained, "The self-deprecating humor was born out of a low self-esteem, from a sense of what the times told you about yourself." The play premiered just one year before the Stonewall riots. Stonewall Inn was one of the most popular gay bars in NYC. It was raided by the police on June 28th, 1969. A six day rebellion of LGBTQ+ community against the police. The events of the rebellion changed the discourse of LGBTQ+ activism. Crowley wrote the play out of anger that "had partially to do with myself and my career, but it also had to do with the social attitude of people around me, and the laws of the day." He says he "wanted the injustice of it all — to all those characters — known." Crowley has also stated, "I was not an activist, then or now. I didn't know what hit me. I just wrote the truth.”

Works Cited

“1969 Stonewall Riots - Origins, Timeline & Leaders.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024. 

“‘The Boys in the Band’: A Successful Remake of A Timeless Gay Classic: Arts: The Harvard Crimson.” The Harvard Crimson, www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/10/17/the-boys-in-the-band-review/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Boys%20in%20the%20Band%E2%80%9D%20was%20originally%20a%20play%20by,was%20largely%20rejected%20as%20taboo. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024. 

“The Boys in the Band (Play) Plot & Characters.” StageAgent, stageagent.com/shows/play/13217/the-boys-in-the-band. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024.