“Boys in the Band” is a landmark 1968 Broadway hit that shocked the theatre world at the behind-the-scenes look into a gay dinner party. The show is being presented at Studio Theatre (141 South Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst, Long Island) beginning July 10. David Dubin, the owner of the theatre who is doubling as director for the play, and I had a conversation about it prior to the cast rehearsal.
What made you decide to do “Boys in the Band?”
“Boys in the Band,” most importantly, is a great play, and it was groundbreaking when it first came out in 1968. It was the first play that told the truth of what it was like to be in the company of gay men. It shocked NYC when it came out. Studio Theatre has always done plays that have been daring in that the plays touch on issues that the gay community is concerned with. It was the first theatre to do “Falsettos,” “Jeffrey,” “Eastern Standard” and the Charles Busch plays. So the Studio Theatre has been gay friendly for much of its 45 years’ existence. But “Boys in the Band” is something we must do as a period piece. We can’t update it, because when you see the self-loathing in these gay men…it’s something that young gay men can’t identify with. So we are setting it in 1968, and we are going out of our way to show that this is a moment in time that has passed. So audiences today who might take the rights that gay people have for granted can look back at a play set not all that long ago and realize how far we have come. These men are the “Boys in the Band” that started the march. We’ve seen it come to fruition with things like gay marriage, an issue that these men in the play could never have dreamed would come to pass.
How long have you owned Studio Theatre?
Studio Theatre has been here since 1970, and I have directed here for 20 years, but I’ve owned it as of this past New Year’s Eve.
“Boys in the Band” was a great movie.
And the movie is very faithful to the play. The movie features the same cast that was in the original Broadway production, and the scripts are pretty similar.
The director is?
That would be me. I’m directing most of the shows this season. I want to start off seeing to it that the shows, at least in the beginning, are done precisely the way I think they should be. So I’m a control freak, at least for this first year.
Presently you are an English teacher?
Well, I’ve been doing it for 34 years, but this has become a full-time job, running this theatre. I can’t imagine being able to do two full-time jobs for much longer. So something is going to have to give soon.
Tell me something about David Dubin besides being part owner of Studio Theatre.
I’ve directed in this area for 35 years after studying drama at NYU and with Stella Adler in the city. Last June I was offered the opportunity to take over this theatre. The previous owner has two other theatres on Long Island. I directed here for many years, so he offered me the chance to buy it, and of course I said no. Then I slept on it. I didn’t like the idea that if I didn’t take the theatre, chances are this 45-year-old theatre would have gone out of business. I think most actors and directors on Long Island would say this is their favorite place to work because of its intimacy. That’s another reason we are doing “Boys in the Band,” because of the intimacy of the theatre. It needs the audience to feel as if they were right at this dinner party with these men, and I think it really adds to the experience of feeling for these guys. When you do it in a traditional theatre, there is a distance, and I don’t think it’s as powerful that way. There is also a sequel to the “Boys in the Band,” and it’s called “The Men From the Boys,” and it’s set 25 years after “Boys in the Band.” It’s never been produced in NYC as a play. We’re going to do it a week after “Boys in the Band” ends as a stage reading. Same cast. You’ll see the characters played by the same actors 25 years later, set in the late ‘8’s where they’ve gone through the AIDS crisis. They invite a couple of young men to this dinner party—as a matter of fact, it’s in honor of one of the men who has died. I’m not going to give away who it is. The conversation between these men, who were the boys in the band and are now in their 50s, and the young men who take some of their rights for granted, makes for a very compelling evening. There will be three performances of it beginning July , August 1 and August 2, and it will be a stage reading with wine and cheese. I think the sequel is just as well written as the original, and it’s going to be fascinating, and very few people know about it.
