The Boys in the Band

First Preview: Apr 30, 2018

Opening Date: Apr 30, 2018

Closing Date: Aug 11, 2018

Running Time: 01:50

http://www.boysintheband.com/

Playing @

Booth Theatre

222 W 45th St New York, NY 10036

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The groundbreaking comic drama The Boys in the Band, celebrating its 50th Anniversary, will appear on Broadway for the first time ever in a strictly limited 15-week engagement his spring.

Mart Crowley’s landmark 1968 play centers on a group of gay men who gather in a NYC apartment for a friend’s birthday party. After the drinks are poured and the music turned up, the evening slowly exposes the fault-lines beneath their friendships and the self-inflicted heartache that threatens their solidarity.

A true theatrical game-changer, The Boys in the Band helped spark a revolution by putting gay men’s lives onstage – unapologetically and without judgment – in a world that was not yet willing to fully accept them.

Age Guidance: 16

Show Notes: No Intermission

Audience Advisory:

Adult language & subject matter

Performance Schedule:

MONDAY, THURSDAY thru SATURDAY @ 8 PM
TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY @ 7 PM
WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY @ 2 PM

Director

Joe Mantello

Written by

Mart Crowley

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Reviews

Certainly director Joe Mantello’s smashing production of Crowley’s dark comedy, about the once-insular world of gay men in New York, sustains a savage humor from start to finish. More surprising, perhaps, is that the actors, under Mantello’s exquisite direction, probe the tender spots in Crowley’s time capsule of a play with a sensitivity that resonates even now, as the play celebrates its 50th birthday. (Harold is turning a mere 33.)“The Boys in the Band” is something of a bedrock of gay drama. When it was first produced off-Broadway in 1968 it was a succès de scandale. Critics admired it, but poked and prodded at it as if it were a strange, alien experience to see the lives of gay men depicted in such uncompromising terms. (As indeed it was.)

The impact of "Boys," written pre-AIDS crisis and only a year before the Stonewall uprising, goes well beyond period piece, It has often been noted that the current cast consists entirely of proudly openly gay men, most with notable careers in television, film and stage. And the world, of course, has changed in its acceptance of any number of LGBT issues. But some of that acceptance is tenuous — consider a couple of cases coming to the Supreme Court this fall. If "The Boys in the Band" does anything, it points out the reality that change can be fleeting, that nothing in the politics of sexual identity is certain.

*****5 STARS
Parsons, in the most difficult role, offers a searing portrait of self-loathing that defies us to confine it to the comfort of a period piece. At its most effective, Mantello’s The Boys in the Band moves beyond the gay past and stares the present straight in the face. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the mirror.

Accessibility:

Box Office

Ticket Lobby. Counter 43". Accessible pass-through with writing shelf at 32". Assistance available.

Parking

Lot: North side of streetbetween Broadway & 8th Ave. Vans enter on 46th St.Garage: East of Shubert Alley on south side of 45th St. between Broadway & 8th Ave. No vans.

Curb Ramps

(2.5" lip) SW corner of 45th St. & Broadway; NW corner of 45th St. & Broadway.

Directions Bus

Take the M7, M20, or M104 bus.

Restroom

Unisex: House left at orchestra rear crossover aisle. ADA compliant. Door 32". Stall 62"x139". Commode 18". Grab bars.

Directions Subway

1, 2, 3, 7, S, A, C, E, N, R, Q, W to 42nd St/Times Square

Seating

Orchestra on ground level. Mezzanine and lower lounge reached only by stairs. seats 781.

Elevator\Escalator

There are no elevators or escalators at this theatre.

Telephone

Ticket lobby. Coin slot 54". Cord length 30". Volume control. With TTY and electric outlet.

Entrance

Double doors in series:1st set (each 27") has one pair of automatic doors from Shubert Alley to Ticket Lobby with push-button control; 2nd set (each 29", attended by ushers) to inner lobby; 3rd set (one at 31.5", two at 28.5", attended by ushers) into Orchestra.

Folding Armrests

Eight row-end seats with folding armrests, ask for mobility seats when booking.

Water Fountain

Inner lobby. Spout 36".

Assisted Listening System

Reservations are not necessary. Drivers license or ID with printed address required as a deposit.

Wheelchair Info

Seating is accessible to all parts of the Orchestra without steps. Five ADA compliant viewing locations with companion seating. Transfer optional. ADA seats priced at regular orchestra and also at lowest price in the theatre.