The Boys in the Band (Original Version)

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Boys in the Band (Original Version)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  9m

This groundbreaking play premiered Off-Broadway in 1968 and ran for 1,001 performances. It was subsequently made into a feature film with the original cast, directed by Academy Award winner William Friedkin.

In 2018, The Boys in the Band made its Broadway debut at the Booth Theatre in an unprecedented production featuring a cast of entirely out-and-proud gay actors. "Its reappearance now is a triumph of liberation." -Jesse Green, The New York Times

Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

The Boys in the Band (Original Version)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    9m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

In his Upper East Side apartment, Michael is throwing a birthday party for Harold, a self-avowed “thirty-two-year-old, pockmarked, 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.

This groundbreaking play premiered Off-Broadway in 1968 and ran for 1,001 performances. It was subsequently made into a feature film with the original cast, directed by Academy Award-winner William Friedkin. In 2018, The Boys in the Band made its Broadway debut at the Booth Theatre in an unprecedented production featuring a cast of entirely out-and-proud gay actors. This new edition contains both the original two-act script and the one-act Broadway version, as well as an introduction by celebrated playwright Tony Kushner.

This Acting Edition includes the 2018 revised version and the Original version of The Boys in the Band.

History

The Boys In the Band was first presented at Theatre Four in New York City on April 14, 1968. It was directed by Robert Moore.

Cast Attributes
MICHAEL - thirty, average face, smartly groomed.
DONALD - twenty-eight, medium blond, wholesome American good looks.
EMORY - thirty-three, small, frail, very plain.
LARRY - twenty-nine with a starkly simple sense of individual style and color in his clothes. Dark eyes, dark hair, extremely handsome.
HANK - thirty-two, tall, solid, athletic, attractive.
BERNARD - twenty-eight, African-American, tall, gaunt, nice-looking, dressed in Ive-League clothes.
COWBOY - twenty-two, light blond, muscle-bound, too pretty.
HAROLD - thirty-two, dark, lean, strong limbs, unusual face.
ALAN - thirty, aristocratic Anglo-Saxon features.
  • Time Period 1960s
  • Setting Michael's apartment the East Side in New York City. 1968.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes
    • Smoking

Media

“Scathing... Marked a turning point in the American theater.” – Peter Marks, The Washington Post

"Wildly entertaining. By turns vicious, lacerating and bitingly funny. Crowley's play is a reflection of a certain period of American history, but it is also a mirror of our current one." - Hanya Yanagihara, The New York Times

"A play of real substance, one that deserves to be performed not occasionally but regularly." – The Wall Street Journal

“One of the few plays that honestly helped spark a social revolution.” – Associated Press

“One of the most effective American plays of the past half-century.” – The Wall Street Journal

"Terrifically thoughtful... The Boys in the Band emerges remarkably universal." – NY1

"Deliriously delicious." – Gay City News

"Humor is still on key in this poignant, sparkling revival of a landmark gay play... the star of the evening is the play itself solidly built, still moving and enormously entertaining." – New York Daily News

"This is a play that takes the homosexual way of life totally for granted and uses this as a valid basis for human experience... the power of the play is the way in which it remorselessly peels away the pretensions of its characters." – The New York Times

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

Musical Theatre and the LGBTQ+ Audience: An Interview with Patrick Pacheco
by Jim Colleran
June 20, 2019

Photos

  • The Boys in the Band (Original Version)

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

  • The Boys in the Band (Original Version)

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Mart Crowley

Mart Crowley (1935-2020) was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi and educated at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. After graduating from the drama department, he went to New York to pursue a career in the theatre and landed jobs as production assistant to the d ...

View full profile

Now Playing