The Men from the Boys

The plot follows the characters of The Boys in the Band, revisiting them 35 years later. The group is brought back together at the funeral of Larry, who died of pancreatic cancer. They revisit the same apartment in Manhattan as the first play, and again begin talking and arguing. The dialog and story is relayed in "real time." New characters include Scott, a younger man dating Michael, who is poorly received by the group. Michael angrily defends Scott, and yells at the new character Jason, a "strident young activist" who had been romantically involved with Larry. Emory and Harold get involved in the arguments, while non-combative characters include Donald, Bernard, and Rick, a male nurse who had been harboring feelings for Larry.[7] Among other details, three of the characters have joined Alcoholics Anonymous.[8]

The play was written by Mart Crowley, famous for writing The Boys in the Band, which was groundbreaking for its frank portrayal of gay perspectives and lives in a repressive time, prior to the cultural acceptance of gay rights[9] later in the 1960s.[8] Crowley stated that he had always declined recommendations to write a sequel, until he felt enough time passed where he knew what had likely happened to the characters.[9] It was his first play since Avec Schmaltz in 1984.[9] The original score was composed by Larry Grossman, known for A Doll's Life.[9]

Its world premiere was on October 26, 2002 at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theater Center, under artistic direction by Ed Decker. It was billed as a "sequel play." Actors included:[7]

• Russ Duffy as Michael
• Olen Christian Holm as Scott, a "pretty boy" dating Michael
• Owen Thomas as Jason, a young activist
• Michael Patrick Gaffney as Emory
• Will Huddleston as Harold
• Peter Carlstrom as Donald, the group's remaining alcoholic
• Lewis Sims as Bernard
• Andrew Nance as Larry, a schoolteacher[9]
• Terry Lamb as Hank
• Rajiv Shah as Rick, a young nurse

Opening officially for review on November 9, 2002,[9] it was presented in two acts with a running time of two hours and twenty minutes. Rick Sinkkonen and Sarah Ellen Joynt handled set.[7] It ran until December 8.[9]

About the 2002 premiere, Variety noted that a "lack of significant change" in the characters' demeanor was one of several major problems in the play, wondering why Michael, Harold, Emory, and the other characters had remained friends despite their years of backstabbing. Dennis Harvey of Variety complained that the characters seemed to have "resisted 35 years of social potential personal change," and that they remained single, "predatory," and ill-suited for long-term relationships. It also criticized what it perceived as the use of characters as "authorial mouthpieces" for outdated and racist sentiments. Decker's production was also criticized for its staging and "ill-conceived" apartment set. It praised Duffy for the best acting, with Michael portrayed as "poisonous yet occasionally poignant."[7]

• Curtainup.com