‘The Boys in the Band’ @ Uptown Players
Photos by Mike Morgan
—Teresa Marrero
The Boys in the Band, written by Mart Crowley, premiered off-Broadway in 1968. It became an instantly iconic piece of theatre for its open portrayal of gay men on New York’s Upper East Side. The play barely preceded the infamous 1969 Stonewall riots, a series of spontaneous demonstrations by the LGBT community against unjust police raids on the Stonewall Inn in NYC’s Greenwich Village. Violence erupted from the police and from demonstrators. Cultural historians consider Stonewall a turning point in the modern struggle for LGBTQIA+ rights in the United States.
The Boys in the Band enjoyed a revival on Broadway in 2018 for its 50th anniversary. And for this show of such renowned background both culturally and artistically, Uptown Players rises to the occasion brilliantly under Dennis Canright’s direction at Turtle Creek’s historic Kalita Humphreys Theater. On opening night, the house was full of an appreciative audience.
Uptown Players is celebrating its 23rd season in Dallas, and is one of the premiere theatre companies at the national level dedicated to representing the LGBTQIA+ communities’ concerns and experiences.
From the opening to the end, the nine-member all-male cast did justice to their characters. Michael (Clayton Younkin), a rather difficult central character, sets up the action for an evening of birthday celebration for his friend Harold (Ryan Maffei). I say difficult because while one expects a jolly time, things slowly fall apart among this group of friends. Donald (Caddo Lindsey)—Michael’s (former?) lover—arrives early, takes a shower, and declares that he will not be spending the night. Michael lives beyond his means, and Donald is pretty straight-laced (no pun intended). Their relationship seems ambiguous until the end, when Michael’s alcoholic trauma and co-dependency flares up.
Emory (Ethan Rodriguez Mullins) arrives with the edibles—and with friend Bernard (Quintin Jones Jr.), the only person of color in the cast. I found Rodriguez Mullins’ Emory (described by his friends as a “fairy”) to be one of the most loveable and vulnerable of the characters, even during a surprise moon-shining! Bernard’s story didn’t come into play until the second act, as we finally got to see his acting chops during Michael’s rather mean-spirited “call the person you loved the most” telephone game. An irresistibly humorous note comes into play when the rather dumb but sexy Texas Cowboy (Noah Randall) makes an appearance as Emory’s birthday “gift” to Harold.
Clean-cut and wearing a rather boring tie is Hank (Ian Mead Moore), who is married but has just left his wife and two kids for the love of his life, the flauntingly sexy Larry (Nick Marchetti). Bare-chested, with long hair and tight pants, Larry portrays the sexually free pre-AIDS gay man. The baths are mentioned, as are the bars. This was a time when the sexual repressions of the Establishment met with a ground-swell of increasing out-ness from the gay and lesbian communities. Hank wants monogamy, reproducing the heterosexual code of marriage, but Larry will have none of it. Their love for each other is evident, however.
Alan (Seth Paden), a straight, black-tie-wearing college friend of Michael’s, arrives uninvited and ends up bearing the brunt of Michael’s sadistic telephone game. Whether Alan did or did not sleep with their mutual friend Justin we will never know—because Alan stiffly refuses to acknowledge any homosexual tendencies, thus making himself a target for this group.
And finally, birthday boy Harold (Maffei) arrives at his own soiree. Dressed in a black Nehru jacket, red shirt, John Lennon glasses and a dressy hat over his long tresses, he self-describes as an “ugly, pock-marked, Jew fairy.” However, I found him a witty character with great lines and tremendous stage presence. I am cis-gender woman, but definitely would say that Harold is the sexiest character at that party. But perhaps I am just revealing my bias in favor of intelligence and wit.
All in all, this vintage ensemble piece ticked along like a fine Swiss watch. Each character shone and then receded at the appropriate moments of their story line, and I found myself thinking more than once of just how good the acting was.
Kevin Brown’s spilt-level set design for Michael’s apartment includes the bedroom and bathroom upstairs, plus a living area and backstage kitchen downstairs. The costumes and hair/makeup (Suzi Cranford and Michael B. Moore respectively) were relevant without leaning too much toward towards the kitschy look contemporary culture too often applies to depictions of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
This is a play about friends, friends who sometimes turn into adversaries, and about gay men coming to terms with their homosexuality at a time when the anti-sodomy laws were still in full effect. The U.S. Supreme Court repealed them in 2003 in the case of Lawrence v. Texas. Yet in 2023 twelve states still hold onto them. So, the struggle is not over yet by any means.
Oh and yes, the “boys’” chorus-line number of Martha and the Vandella’s 1963 hit “Heatwave” is to die for!
Homosexual themes and language are the heart of the play. Audience members need to evaluate age-appropriateness for this show. Other than a brief, hilarious mooning moment by Emory, there is no nudity in the play. There is sexual banter in abundance, but to me it seemed more fun and witty than erotic.
Do catch The Boys in the Band while you can. Uptown’s production is top-notch and the variety of characters worthy of any Shakespeare drama (dare I say it, queens and all). And women, do not miss this opportunity to see no lines during intermission at the women’s bathrooms—what a pleasant surprise!
WHEN: August 16-25, 2024
WHERE: Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd., Dallas
WEB: uptownplayers.org
Teresa Marrero is Professor of Latin American and Latinx Theater at the University of North Texas. She reviews Dance and Theater for onstagentx.com
