In his upper eastside Manhattan apartment, Michael is throwing a birthday party for Harold, a self-awoved "32 year-old, pock-marked, Jew fairy", complete with surprise gift: "Cowboy" a street hustler. As the evening wears on, fueled by drugs and alcohol, bitter, unresolved resentments among the guests come to light when a game of "Truth" goes terribly wrong.
That painful declaration, spoken by Michael (Jim Parsons) near the end of the 50th anniversary revival of Mart Crowley's 'The Boys in the Band' at the Booth Theatre, comes close to saying it all. The rest is bitter, biting exposition.
Through it all, the ensemble filled with out-and-proud actors is uniformly terrific. They deftly hug the curves of the script as it goes from barbed humor to bile-spewing. To his credit Crowley doesn't tie things up with a bow. 'Call you tomorrow,' says Harold, after the carnage. In other words, boys will be boys.
1968 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
1996 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2010 | Off-Broadway |
Transport Group Revival Off-Broadway |
2017 | West End |
West End Transfer Production West End |
2018 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Robin De Jesus |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Mart Crowley |
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