And The Band Plays On

When it came out in 1971, Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band was criticized for being filled with stereotypes and negative portrayals of gay men. With its first release on DVD (November 11; see below to win a copy), it’s clear the criticisms had merit, but it’s also clear that this unflinching and unprecedented portrait of gay life in the late 1960s was courageous and honest. And, amazingly, it’s still relevant today.

Set on the Upper East Side of NYC, the film chronicles one night at a dinner party for Harold’s (Leonard Frey) birthday. A self-described “32-year-old pock-marked Jew fairy,” Harold’s self-hatred is matched by the eight other men present. Their campy repartee (“What’s more boring than a queen doing a Judy Garland imitation?" "A queen doing a Bette Davis imitation”) turns into an orgy of rage, shame and accusation, as host Michael (Kenneth Nelson) leads the group in a harrowing round of Phone the Only Person You’ve Ever Loved.

In one of the DVD's featurettes, playwright Tony Kushner gives his stamp of approval, declaring the film and the play on which it’s based “important historically, politically and artistically, and really spectacular works of art.” Only such art can spark such a range of emotions: There’s joy at how far we’ve come; anger at how far we still have to go; and sadness that at least five of the film’s stars died of AIDS-related illnesses in the decades that followed.


The Boys in the Band will be available on DVD November 11 from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. Modern Tonic has three DVDs, all autographed by Mart Crowley, to give away to our readers; email here and winners will be chosen at random this week.