Movie Review: “Making the Boys” (+)

March 21, 2011

A friend of mine, Charles Kaiser, asked me if I had seen this documentary about the making of the Broadway hit play, “The Boys in the Band.” He said it was excellent and that it includes interviews of the two of us. I hadn’t seen it so I decided to catch it last weekend. It is indeed very good. (Charlie is the author of two seminal books: “1968 In America,” documenting what happened in that momentous presidential campaign year, and “The Gay Metropolis,” setting forth a history of the gay movement in America. Both books are superb.)

“Making the Boys” recounts how the author, Mart Crowley, came to write “The Boys in the Band.” It contains fascinating interviews with many of the people involved. Especially interesting is the one with Edward Albee who talks about turning down the opportunity to invest in the play. He thought it stereotyped and caricatured gays and that it would not help the cause of providing gays and lesbians with equality and respect. When the play appeared on Broadway in 1968, sodomy was a crime in New York, whether committed by men or women. The Court of Appeals ruled the law unconstitutional in 1980. The law itself was repealed by the State Legislature in 2000.

The play was performed for nine days by actors who worked for nothing. It was an instant success and moved to Broadway. Albee laughs and talks about how dumb he was not to invest in it. The play was followed by a movie in 1970.

“The Boys in the Band” is acknowledged by most, if not all, observers as having been extremely important in getting Americans to be more accepting of homosexuals. It also strengthened the movement to achieve legitimacy and equality for those whose orientation is homosexual so that 43 years later one of the major issues facing our nation is the legalization of same-sex marriages. That has been done in five states and the District of Columbia. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has urged the State Legislature to enact such legislation. The Assembly did so on prior occasions and undoubtedly will do so again. The Senate rejected the bill last year, but I believe it will approve it the next time it votes on the matter. I certainly hope so.

When I saw the film last weekend, Mart Crowley appeared and answered questions from the audience. We also took a photo together. Although Charlie Kaiser has five appearances in the movie and I have only one, I am delighted to have been interviewed for such an important film about the gay movement.

Mart Crowley wrote a sequel to the play which has appeared in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Surely someone, not wanting to repeat Albee’s error, will invest in the sequel and bring it to Broadway and then on to Hollywood.