Review: Windy City Playhouse’s The Boys in the Band Has Aged Well and Warmly
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An afterword. I wondered how gay men who would have been the age to be guests at that party would feel about the play today. I asked a friend who saw the play how it affected him and he sent me this interesting and heartfelt response. "It seems to me that Boys in the Band is a play for everyone; younger or older, gay or straight. Older gay gentlemen will remember the days when house parties were a primary social outlet. Younger gay dudes may find the historical perspective interesting. Straight folks will find that issues such as racism and ageism are handled forthrightly albeit through a rainbow lens. Some people may find the play prompts difficult memories and regretful feelings. But isn’t one of theater’s functions to make us think about how we’ve lived our lives, through the eyes and experiences of others? And perhaps to do better in the future. Boys in the Band seems intended to showcase the sad and sorrowful lives of so many gay people in the 1960s and 1970s; an intention admirably fulfilled. A thoughtful audience member should also be reminded of the steadily improving lot of gay people (not all, but many) and consider how they might contribute to that upward trajectory."Nancy S Bishop
Nancy S. Bishop is publisher and Stages editor of Third Coast Review. She’s a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2014 Fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. You can read her personal writing on pop culture at nancybishopsjournal.com, and follow her on Twitter @nsbishop. She also writes about film, books, art, architecture and design.