1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:05,422 --> 00:00:08,299 [Crowley] I don't know that I knew what the hell I was doing, 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:08,383 --> 00:00:09,718 to tell you the truth. 5 00:00:09,801 --> 00:00:12,429 I knew I was writing a play about gay life. 6 00:00:13,388 --> 00:00:15,223 When I started to write this play, 7 00:00:15,306 --> 00:00:18,351 {\an8}I had been so advised by so many people 8 00:00:18,435 --> 00:00:22,022 {\an8}in positions of authority not to go there. 9 00:00:22,105 --> 00:00:24,190 {\an8}[harp plays] 10 00:00:24,274 --> 00:00:25,984 {\an8}[Parsons] There are certain historical things 11 00:00:26,067 --> 00:00:29,237 {\an8}that are part of your social DNA 12 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,907 {\an8}and you can be a better version of who you are by knowing 13 00:00:32,991 --> 00:00:34,242 what came before. 14 00:00:34,325 --> 00:00:38,580 [Quinto] And for young people who aren't familiar with Boys in the Band, 15 00:00:38,663 --> 00:00:42,500 {\an8}I think it's a reminder of just how difficult and how painful it was. 16 00:00:43,084 --> 00:00:45,837 [Quinto] The play itself, it was really revelatory and unprecedented. 17 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,465 Nobody had ever seen anything like it at the time. 18 00:00:48,548 --> 00:00:51,593 This is 1968, right before Stonewall. 19 00:00:51,676 --> 00:00:53,762 [crowd chanting] Gay power! 20 00:00:53,845 --> 00:00:58,141 [Crowley] And I remember it was buried in the Times, the New York Times, 21 00:00:58,224 --> 00:01:01,561 You know, like page 18, 19 or something, 22 00:01:01,644 --> 00:01:03,980 it was some very peculiar heading on it 23 00:01:04,064 --> 00:01:10,070 like "Unpleasantness at Village Bar," or something, you know. 24 00:01:10,153 --> 00:01:14,949 It was not, like, an event that would define an era of liberation. 25 00:01:15,033 --> 00:01:17,118 [Bomer] There was this combustion 26 00:01:17,202 --> 00:01:18,328 that was taking place. 27 00:01:18,411 --> 00:01:22,874 {\an8}All the frustrations and the desperation that they were experiencing 28 00:01:22,957 --> 00:01:24,626 starts to bubble to the surface. 29 00:01:24,709 --> 00:01:28,004 {\an8}Being gay wasn't legal, it wasn't okay, it wasn't accepted. 30 00:01:28,088 --> 00:01:29,839 {\an8}It was illegal for men to dance together, 31 00:01:29,923 --> 00:01:33,343 {\an8}It was illegal for groups of gay men to congregate together. 32 00:01:33,426 --> 00:01:36,971 So, you ran the risk of getting arrested socializing. 33 00:01:37,055 --> 00:01:39,808 [Crowley] I was so dumb or so young, 34 00:01:39,891 --> 00:01:43,770 I didn't even feel like I was taking any risk. 35 00:01:43,853 --> 00:01:46,689 I just got this idea for a play. 36 00:01:46,773 --> 00:01:50,360 These nine gay guys at a birthday party. 37 00:01:50,443 --> 00:01:53,279 {\an8}He is the first person to take up the challenge. 38 00:01:53,363 --> 00:01:59,661 {\an8}to write about gay men's lives in a way that was completely commercial. 39 00:01:59,744 --> 00:02:01,037 {\an8}This is a monumental thing. 40 00:02:01,121 --> 00:02:03,998 Mart's play showed gay audiences that they could be seen. 41 00:02:04,082 --> 00:02:07,669 And next came difficult conversations about how they should be seen. 42 00:02:07,752 --> 00:02:09,754 [Bomer] What I think is wonderful about this piece is 43 00:02:09,838 --> 00:02:14,259 that there are so many different well-drawn gay characters. 44 00:02:14,342 --> 00:02:15,677 They're not a cliché. 45 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,638 [Washington] I think they're real men because Mart wrote them as real men 46 00:02:18,721 --> 00:02:20,682 {\an8}and they're imperfect, as all good characters 47 00:02:20,765 --> 00:02:21,891 {\an8}and good human beings are. 48 00:02:21,975 --> 00:02:25,103 {\an8}[de Jesús] This was a cast of all out, very out, 49 00:02:25,186 --> 00:02:27,313 proud, gay men playing gay characters. 50 00:02:27,397 --> 00:02:29,065 {\an8}There's a different type of camaraderie 51 00:02:29,149 --> 00:02:31,568 {\an8}and there's a different flow of energy that exists 52 00:02:31,651 --> 00:02:34,028 when you get nine gay men together, 53 00:02:34,112 --> 00:02:36,531 and that's really beautiful to watch. 54 00:02:36,614 --> 00:02:38,366 [Watkins] When you've got leading men saying, 55 00:02:38,449 --> 00:02:39,993 {\an8}"here's who I am, and I'm still working" 56 00:02:40,076 --> 00:02:43,163 {\an8}or "I get to work not in spite of that, but because of it," 57 00:02:43,246 --> 00:02:45,415 {\an8}that is a turn of events. 58 00:02:45,498 --> 00:02:47,917 That changes the zeitgeist. 59 00:02:48,001 --> 00:02:51,337 [Carver] There's something about it that's so familiar to my generation 60 00:02:51,421 --> 00:02:53,631 {\an8}and it speaks to being a part of history 61 00:02:53,715 --> 00:02:57,468 {\an8}and some sort of spirit out there in the world that won't ever change. 62 00:02:57,552 --> 00:03:00,680 {\an8}[Emory] Harold has very tight, tight, black curly hair. 63 00:03:00,763 --> 00:03:02,432 This number's practically bald. 64 00:03:02,515 --> 00:03:04,434 Hey, thank you and fuck you! 65 00:03:04,517 --> 00:03:07,353 [Crowley] You know, I sold the play 66 00:03:07,437 --> 00:03:11,900 by couching it as a comedy-drama situation. 67 00:03:12,859 --> 00:03:15,486 And the laughs sold it, and… 68 00:03:16,154 --> 00:03:19,490 the laughs lightened it up. 69 00:03:19,574 --> 00:03:21,409 And although I have never seen my soul, 70 00:03:21,492 --> 00:03:24,037 I understand from my mother's Rabbi that it's a knockout. 71 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:25,580 [laughs] 72 00:03:25,663 --> 00:03:29,000 [Crowley] I hope that they take the serious content 73 00:03:29,083 --> 00:03:32,253 that's buried underneath to heart. 74 00:03:33,796 --> 00:03:36,216 [Parsons] It's been so long, and we have come so far. 75 00:03:36,299 --> 00:03:41,304 If things are better today, and I hope that's true worldwide, 76 00:03:41,387 --> 00:03:44,849 it's because of things like this and moments in time like this. 77 00:03:44,933 --> 00:03:48,937 Fifty years later, the fact that now everyone can be open with themselves 78 00:03:49,020 --> 00:03:51,022 and we can look back on it and go, "Oh, wow. 79 00:03:51,105 --> 00:03:52,774 We were there, and now we're here, 80 00:03:52,857 --> 00:03:55,235 and let's thank the people who got us to this place." 81 00:03:59,447 --> 00:04:00,281 {\an8}Hi. 82 00:04:00,865 --> 00:04:03,326 {\an8}Come in. Welcome to my apartment. 83 00:04:03,409 --> 00:04:06,246 Mart Crowley was very helpful with sharing memories that he had 84 00:04:06,329 --> 00:04:09,415 about the process of writing the play and a lot of personal stories 85 00:04:09,499 --> 00:04:11,751 about loosely who these guys were based on. 86 00:04:11,834 --> 00:04:13,962 They're based on people he knew 87 00:04:14,045 --> 00:04:16,673 and they are really his group of friends, 88 00:04:16,756 --> 00:04:20,218 and they came to life in this, you know, feat of imagination, 89 00:04:20,301 --> 00:04:22,804 this huge creative risk. 90 00:04:22,887 --> 00:04:26,641 This is sort of a New York gallery, as you see, it's only 91 00:04:27,183 --> 00:04:31,396 wide enough for one person to look at the pictures at one time. 92 00:04:31,479 --> 00:04:33,648 These are all my friends. 93 00:04:33,731 --> 00:04:36,567 [Crowley] The Boys in the Band originally premiered 94 00:04:36,651 --> 00:04:42,532 off Broadway April 14th. It was Easter Sunday, as a matter of fact, 95 00:04:42,615 --> 00:04:46,119 and the joke was, "I hope it doesn't lay an egg." 96 00:04:46,661 --> 00:04:53,334 {\an8}The revival of the play was April 30th, 2018, fifty years later. 97 00:04:54,711 --> 00:04:58,965 This is the photograph that was used to publicize 98 00:04:59,882 --> 00:05:02,760 the play on Broadway, 99 00:05:02,844 --> 00:05:08,474 and it is obviously mocking up the original. 100 00:05:08,558 --> 00:05:12,061 Here we are, the cast and me. 101 00:05:12,729 --> 00:05:15,815 I wanted to acknowledge the bravery 102 00:05:15,898 --> 00:05:19,193 of those guys that took on those parts, 103 00:05:19,944 --> 00:05:23,281 even against the advice of their agents. 104 00:05:23,865 --> 00:05:27,327 There was a tremendous undercurrent of fear 105 00:05:27,410 --> 00:05:30,621 about what this could do to them and their careers. 106 00:05:31,664 --> 00:05:34,417 And I think that they were all, in their own ways, 107 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:38,421 incredibly brave to bring it to life. 108 00:05:38,504 --> 00:05:43,551 It would have been career suicide to have come out 109 00:05:43,634 --> 00:05:48,264 and not even acknowledge personally that they were gay, but… 110 00:05:48,348 --> 00:05:49,515 Because some of them weren't. 111 00:05:49,599 --> 00:05:54,979 The actors all in this version are open and out and successful, 112 00:05:55,063 --> 00:05:59,901 {\an8}but in the original, six were gay, played by gay actors, 113 00:05:59,984 --> 00:06:02,195 {\an8}and three were played by straight actors. 114 00:06:02,278 --> 00:06:06,991 All of them, though, had everything on the line. 115 00:06:07,075 --> 00:06:11,120 You know, the gay community had been verboten, 116 00:06:11,204 --> 00:06:16,125 so nobody ever really talked about it unless you were gay 117 00:06:16,209 --> 00:06:18,211 and you knew somebody else who was gay, 118 00:06:18,294 --> 00:06:21,506 and then you talked about it within the confines of your own… 119 00:06:22,465 --> 00:06:28,096 private surroundings, but there wasn't too much public announcement about it. 120 00:06:28,179 --> 00:06:30,932 And there's Billy Friedkin and me on the set 121 00:06:31,015 --> 00:06:32,767 of The Boys in the Band up there. 122 00:06:33,601 --> 00:06:37,105 Here's the original set design by Peter Harvey. 123 00:06:37,188 --> 00:06:41,192 [Parsons] I wrote to Mart, and I have this trove of emails from him now 124 00:06:41,275 --> 00:06:43,903 that so well written and such good reads 125 00:06:43,986 --> 00:06:46,948 about all these movies that made an effect on him, 126 00:06:47,031 --> 00:06:49,367 and, "I saw this in this country," 127 00:06:49,450 --> 00:06:51,160 because he's another one, like Michael, 128 00:06:51,244 --> 00:06:53,121 he was always jet-setting around or whatever. 129 00:06:53,204 --> 00:06:58,376 This cigarette box, it was a gift from the cast and crew. 130 00:06:58,459 --> 00:07:00,378 They bought it in Tiffany's, 131 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,757 but Tiffany's wouldn't engrave it because it has a line from the play 132 00:07:04,841 --> 00:07:07,218 which is, "Thank you and fuck you." 133 00:07:07,718 --> 00:07:09,137 [laughs] 134 00:07:09,220 --> 00:07:11,764 [Donald] You know what you are, Michael? You're a real person. 135 00:07:11,848 --> 00:07:13,558 Thank you and fuck you. 136 00:07:14,350 --> 00:07:17,228 This is who Donald was based on, 137 00:07:17,311 --> 00:07:19,063 my friend Douglas Murray, 138 00:07:19,147 --> 00:07:23,151 and the play is dedicated to Doug, 139 00:07:23,234 --> 00:07:25,403 and to Howard. 140 00:07:25,486 --> 00:07:27,238 They couldn't stand each other. 141 00:07:27,321 --> 00:07:31,159 This is my goddaughter, and she's holding up the photo-- 142 00:07:31,242 --> 00:07:32,410 the photograph 143 00:07:32,493 --> 00:07:34,704 that is a gift in the play. 144 00:07:34,787 --> 00:07:38,124 [Bomer] This play has gone through so many different iterations 145 00:07:38,207 --> 00:07:40,543 in terms of how it's been perceived by society. 146 00:07:40,626 --> 00:07:43,671 It was loved and adored because it was the first time 147 00:07:43,754 --> 00:07:45,756 gay men were being portrayed like this on stage, 148 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,802 and then it was sort of reviled because people thought it was regressive, 149 00:07:49,886 --> 00:07:52,638 then I think the nice thing about fifty years later 150 00:07:52,722 --> 00:07:55,308 is that we're able to revisit in a way where we could say, 151 00:07:55,391 --> 00:07:57,226 "Oh, this is a part of our history." 152 00:07:58,227 --> 00:08:00,396 [Crowley] I like this picture very much. 153 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,065 There's Joe on one end… 154 00:08:03,858 --> 00:08:05,693 and Ryan on the other end, 155 00:08:05,776 --> 00:08:07,236 and me here. 156 00:08:07,904 --> 00:08:11,157 The fact that all actors involved in this are openly gay men, 157 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:13,659 it was a great way to show how far we'd come 158 00:08:13,743 --> 00:08:16,537 the fact that now everyone can be open with themselves. 159 00:08:16,621 --> 00:08:18,789 [Watkins] There were people who said, "I remember this. 160 00:08:18,873 --> 00:08:20,374 Thank you for telling our story," 161 00:08:20,458 --> 00:08:23,878 and then there were young people who said, "You're telling my story." 162 00:08:23,961 --> 00:08:28,090 [de Jesús] One person, he was, like, sobbing, crying, and he said, 163 00:08:28,174 --> 00:08:29,926 "I'm just so proud. 164 00:08:30,009 --> 00:08:32,136 I'm so proud to be an out, gay man." 165 00:08:32,220 --> 00:08:34,388 [Crowley] Ones my age that were saying, 166 00:08:34,472 --> 00:08:37,433 "Oh, we're not like that anymore." And then... 167 00:08:38,434 --> 00:08:43,731 the youngest ones saying, "Well, we're still just like that." [laughs] 168 00:08:43,814 --> 00:08:48,486 There is a phenomenon as a 52-year-old gay man where you 169 00:08:48,569 --> 00:08:52,573 don't really know how to grow old gracefully. 170 00:08:52,657 --> 00:08:56,494 Mart is, for me, an example of what is possible. 171 00:08:57,078 --> 00:09:00,498 Here's the Tony Award that we all won. 172 00:09:00,581 --> 00:09:02,500 Well, I was totally surprised. 173 00:09:02,583 --> 00:09:05,211 Nobody believes that, but I was, I mean, 174 00:09:05,294 --> 00:09:08,005 in fact, I didn't even have a speech prepared. 175 00:09:08,089 --> 00:09:10,508 I mean, knew who I had to thank, I had a list. 176 00:09:10,591 --> 00:09:14,554 I got out a paper that had a list of people that I had to thank, 177 00:09:14,637 --> 00:09:17,807 but then my eyes teared up and I couldn't even read that. 178 00:09:18,307 --> 00:09:22,853 This telegram, which was from my psychiatrist. 179 00:09:22,937 --> 00:09:25,022 He sent it to me on opening night. 180 00:09:25,106 --> 00:09:29,235 "Dear Mart, no one can be more pleased nor proud of you than I." 181 00:09:29,902 --> 00:09:32,029 So, we'd come through a lot together 182 00:09:32,113 --> 00:09:37,868 and I guess he was thrilled with his work. [laughs] 183 00:09:38,578 --> 00:09:39,829 -[man] Set. -[director] Action. 184 00:09:41,581 --> 00:09:45,293 [jazz music plays] 185 00:09:45,418 --> 00:09:46,669 [Quinto] My character is Harold. 186 00:09:47,545 --> 00:09:49,213 He's a complicated fellow. 187 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:53,926 I know that he's based on someone in Mart's life, 188 00:09:54,010 --> 00:09:55,303 a guy named Howard Jeffrey. 189 00:09:56,554 --> 00:10:00,016 It's always interesting to hear stories about people 190 00:10:00,099 --> 00:10:02,893 who have influenced characters and… 191 00:10:02,977 --> 00:10:04,186 and so that was cool. 192 00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:09,817 [Crowley] Howard Jeffrey was my best friend. 193 00:10:09,900 --> 00:10:13,112 I would say that, you know, pretty much, 194 00:10:13,195 --> 00:10:16,741 Michael, the lead in the play, is based on me. 195 00:10:16,824 --> 00:10:22,121 And Harold, who is his nemesis in the play, 196 00:10:22,204 --> 00:10:23,456 was based on Howard. 197 00:10:23,539 --> 00:10:27,168 -And how are you this evening? -You're stoned, and you're late. 198 00:10:27,251 --> 00:10:29,128 You were supposed to arrive at this location 199 00:10:29,211 --> 00:10:31,589 at approximately 8:30 dash 9:00. 200 00:10:32,923 --> 00:10:34,550 This is Howard Jeffrey. 201 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,346 That picture was taken by Jerome Robbins. 202 00:10:39,096 --> 00:10:44,560 And as you see, Howard was a very attractive guy. 203 00:10:44,644 --> 00:10:46,646 He was a dancer. 204 00:10:46,729 --> 00:10:51,609 The top echelon of choreographers all wanted him. 205 00:10:51,692 --> 00:10:55,279 He was born in Los Angeles, worked all over the country. 206 00:10:55,363 --> 00:10:58,866 Many of the big movies of their era, he was a part of. 207 00:10:58,949 --> 00:11:02,703 [Crowley] Natalie Wood, Howard taught her all the routines 208 00:11:02,787 --> 00:11:04,997 in West Side Story the film. 209 00:11:05,081 --> 00:11:06,290 That's where I met him. 210 00:11:06,374 --> 00:11:11,462 And then the three of us became lifelong friends from then on. 211 00:11:11,545 --> 00:11:14,340 {\an8}Big film stars worshipped him, 212 00:11:14,423 --> 00:11:17,343 {\an8}particularly if they weren't dancers themselves. 213 00:11:17,426 --> 00:11:21,889 Barbra Streisand, when she did Funny Girl, which was her first film, 214 00:11:21,972 --> 00:11:26,268 was so reliant on Howard that she demanded that whenever she had to dance 215 00:11:26,352 --> 00:11:28,479 with a partner it would be with Howard. 216 00:11:28,562 --> 00:11:32,233 And so therefore he's featured in the Ziegfeld Follies sequence 217 00:11:32,316 --> 00:11:33,526 with the pregnant bride. 218 00:11:34,151 --> 00:11:39,198 {\an8}She demanded that he be one of the waiters in the great "Waiters' Gallop." 219 00:11:39,281 --> 00:11:41,075 {\an8}And here's Howard again. 220 00:11:41,158 --> 00:11:45,121 This is one of the last photographs that was taken of him 221 00:11:45,204 --> 00:11:47,206 because he was very ill here. 222 00:11:47,289 --> 00:11:48,833 This is in Italy. 223 00:11:48,916 --> 00:11:52,461 In the end, Howard Jeffrey did die in the AIDS plague. 224 00:11:53,045 --> 00:11:54,839 And he was my age, he was 52. 225 00:11:55,381 --> 00:11:59,218 And you can hear in Mart's description of him 226 00:11:59,301 --> 00:12:02,138 a sense that he talked to him yesterday. 227 00:12:02,221 --> 00:12:07,059 He's very present in Mart's imagination, and he's very present on the page. 228 00:12:07,143 --> 00:12:09,729 [Crowley] The play is dedicated to him. 229 00:12:09,812 --> 00:12:11,897 He didn't know about it when I was writing it. 230 00:12:11,981 --> 00:12:14,608 I was terrified to even let him know 231 00:12:14,692 --> 00:12:16,819 because I didn't know what the hell he would… 232 00:12:17,445 --> 00:12:18,696 how he would react. 233 00:12:18,779 --> 00:12:21,907 [laughs] 234 00:12:21,991 --> 00:12:24,034 What's so fucking funny? 235 00:12:24,118 --> 00:12:27,455 [Quinto] What I've learned about Howard and his complexity 236 00:12:27,538 --> 00:12:31,208 and who he was informs Harold to a certain extent. 237 00:12:31,292 --> 00:12:34,795 Life is a goddamned laugh riot! You remember life. 238 00:12:34,879 --> 00:12:38,758 You really get a very clear sense of who this man is 239 00:12:38,841 --> 00:12:41,218 just by, you know, reading Mart's dialogue. 240 00:12:41,302 --> 00:12:43,971 I'm having seconds and thirds, and maybe even fifths. 241 00:12:44,472 --> 00:12:46,849 I'm absolutely desperate to keep the weight up. 242 00:12:46,932 --> 00:12:50,019 There are other influences in my own life, 243 00:12:50,102 --> 00:12:52,563 and in my own experience of people who 244 00:12:52,646 --> 00:12:55,441 I've sort of drawn on to help me 245 00:12:55,524 --> 00:12:58,778 shade in the colors of who my version of Harold is. 246 00:12:58,861 --> 00:13:03,282 I know Zach to be a really hilarious person 247 00:13:03,365 --> 00:13:04,950 with a great sense of humor. 248 00:13:05,034 --> 00:13:08,996 I kept forgetting and accidentally turning my hateful mother on with the salad. 249 00:13:09,955 --> 00:13:11,081 But I think she likes it. 250 00:13:11,165 --> 00:13:14,084 No matter what meal she comes over for, even if it's breakfast, 251 00:13:14,168 --> 00:13:16,420 -she says, "Let's have a salad!" -[laughs] 252 00:13:16,504 --> 00:13:19,757 I thought it would be interesting to really push him in that direction, 253 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:21,884 to expose that side of him, 254 00:13:21,967 --> 00:13:25,513 which I don't think he gets called on to do all that often. 255 00:13:25,596 --> 00:13:27,598 Now, it is my turn. 256 00:13:29,642 --> 00:13:30,476 [sighs] 257 00:13:31,977 --> 00:13:34,313 -And ready or not, Michael, here goes… -[jazz music plays] 258 00:13:34,396 --> 00:13:38,859 [Crowley] And Howard was as he is in the play, the truth teller, the… 259 00:13:39,652 --> 00:13:44,448 the demolisher of all pretension, you know. 260 00:13:44,532 --> 00:13:47,451 And Howard could always read me that way 261 00:13:47,535 --> 00:13:51,080 and not let me get away with anything. 262 00:13:51,163 --> 00:13:52,957 You have left out one detail. 263 00:13:53,624 --> 00:13:56,502 The pills are paid for. 264 00:13:56,585 --> 00:13:59,755 I resented that at times, of course, bitterly, 265 00:13:59,839 --> 00:14:02,341 and we had many fights about a lot of things. 266 00:14:03,384 --> 00:14:05,427 Michael, thanks for the laughs. 267 00:14:06,595 --> 00:14:11,642 [Crowley] But in retrospect, I learned more from him about myself 268 00:14:12,268 --> 00:14:13,936 than I did from anybody. 269 00:14:15,646 --> 00:14:16,689 Come on, Tex. 270 00:14:18,482 --> 00:14:19,358 You're on. 271 00:14:21,986 --> 00:14:25,447 [Crowley] When I started to write this play, I knew I wanted Emory 272 00:14:25,531 --> 00:14:30,286 to provide Harold with a birthday present who was a hustler. 273 00:14:30,369 --> 00:14:33,622 I just needed a hustler, you know, as a party gift. 274 00:14:35,207 --> 00:14:37,001 I was fascinated by them 275 00:14:37,084 --> 00:14:38,878 and whenever I'd go to Fire Island, 276 00:14:38,961 --> 00:14:42,840 I mean, I knew who was out to make some money for the evening 277 00:14:42,923 --> 00:14:46,135 and there was one particular one that I found rather charming. 278 00:14:46,218 --> 00:14:48,429 Mary, she's gorgeous. 279 00:14:48,512 --> 00:14:52,391 [Crowley] He knew how fascinated I was with his being a sex worker, 280 00:14:52,474 --> 00:14:55,603 and I happened to be dancing with him 281 00:14:55,686 --> 00:14:58,022 and I said to him, "Are you good in bed? 282 00:14:58,856 --> 00:15:01,609 With all these guys that you have to go to bed with, 283 00:15:01,692 --> 00:15:03,235 I mean, how do you do this?" 284 00:15:03,319 --> 00:15:05,654 And he said back to me, 285 00:15:05,738 --> 00:15:09,283 "I'm not like the average hustler you'd meet…" 286 00:15:09,366 --> 00:15:11,201 I try to show a little affection. 287 00:15:13,704 --> 00:15:15,789 Keeps me from feeling like such a whore. 288 00:15:15,873 --> 00:15:17,833 [laughing] And I thought, "Oh, my God!" 289 00:15:24,590 --> 00:15:26,050 I… 290 00:15:27,176 --> 00:15:29,303 I couldn't write anything that good. 291 00:15:30,554 --> 00:15:32,640 I couldn't write anything that good. 292 00:15:40,230 --> 00:15:41,398 Call you tomorrow. 293 00:15:43,651 --> 00:15:44,693 [door closes] 294 00:15:45,194 --> 00:15:47,154 [jazz music plays] 295 00:15:47,237 --> 00:15:51,200 [Crowley] Gosh, so here we are on the set of The Boys in the Band. 296 00:15:51,283 --> 00:15:53,494 -[Crowley] "Who are you?" -[Carver] "Who are you?" 297 00:15:53,577 --> 00:15:55,579 You seem like you've already prepared-- 298 00:15:55,663 --> 00:15:57,748 -I haven't prepared, no! -[Crowley laughs] 299 00:15:57,831 --> 00:15:59,041 This is on the fly. 300 00:15:59,124 --> 00:15:59,959 -It is? -Yeah. 301 00:16:02,086 --> 00:16:07,883 [Carver] You, in telling this story, have fundamentally changed pop culture. 302 00:16:07,967 --> 00:16:10,636 This was the first portrayal of gay men anywhere. 303 00:16:10,719 --> 00:16:14,848 [jazz music plays] 304 00:16:14,932 --> 00:16:19,520 What's it like for you to see gayness portrayed now? 305 00:16:19,603 --> 00:16:22,690 What feels familiar? What feels different? 306 00:16:22,773 --> 00:16:26,944 I'm very happy that the topic and the subject matter 307 00:16:27,027 --> 00:16:30,114 has come to be so pervasive. 308 00:16:30,197 --> 00:16:33,617 It seems like every play on Broadway these days 309 00:16:33,701 --> 00:16:37,579 and every musical has got some gay element in it, 310 00:16:37,663 --> 00:16:39,039 and that's all very diverse. 311 00:16:40,082 --> 00:16:41,166 Oh! 312 00:16:41,250 --> 00:16:44,003 -[laughing] -Oh! Hey! 313 00:16:44,878 --> 00:16:46,213 Who the hell are you? 314 00:16:46,839 --> 00:16:49,550 [Carver] You were the same age I am now 315 00:16:49,633 --> 00:16:51,552 when you wrote Boys in the Band. 316 00:16:51,635 --> 00:16:54,847 I suppose that's a question for myself, "What does that feel like for me?" 317 00:16:54,930 --> 00:16:57,599 Yeah, I think so, but I don't wanna panic you 318 00:16:57,683 --> 00:17:01,979 because, I tell you, all I remember about being your age, 319 00:17:02,062 --> 00:17:03,856 and I'm not even gonna say what it is, 320 00:17:04,398 --> 00:17:08,110 -Oh, please do, though. -Well, you've turned a corner, you're now… 321 00:17:08,610 --> 00:17:10,738 -in, you know, thirty… -Yeah. 322 00:17:10,821 --> 00:17:13,532 …one. [laughs] 323 00:17:13,615 --> 00:17:14,867 Yes! 324 00:17:14,950 --> 00:17:20,456 ♪ Happy birthday to you! ♪ 325 00:17:21,331 --> 00:17:22,541 [Crowley] And I thought, 326 00:17:22,624 --> 00:17:27,713 when I was 31 I thought, "Oh, shit. I'm past 30." 327 00:17:27,796 --> 00:17:30,174 I mean, I haven't done anything. 328 00:17:30,257 --> 00:17:31,467 I gotta do something. 329 00:17:31,550 --> 00:17:34,011 [Cowboy] I never use the steam room when I go to the gym. 330 00:17:34,803 --> 00:17:37,014 It's bad after a workout. It flattens you down. 331 00:17:37,848 --> 00:17:43,937 I don't like to foreground my sexuality or that aspect of my life, 332 00:17:44,021 --> 00:17:46,190 but at the same time, I got to a point in the business 333 00:17:46,273 --> 00:17:48,192 where I felt like 334 00:17:48,275 --> 00:17:52,362 I was suffering and then I felt like I had to keep part of myself hidden, 335 00:17:52,446 --> 00:17:56,575 and I knew other people working the business 336 00:17:56,658 --> 00:18:00,954 who were suffering and that they were hiding their true selves, 337 00:18:01,038 --> 00:18:04,708 or getting set up on fake dates by their manager and stuff like that. 338 00:18:04,792 --> 00:18:07,753 And that was about perpetuating 339 00:18:07,836 --> 00:18:11,715 this omission of the truth to young audiences, 340 00:18:11,799 --> 00:18:15,594 and you've spoken at length about how Boys in the Band was 341 00:18:15,677 --> 00:18:18,514 -sort of born out of your frustration -Yeah. 342 00:18:18,597 --> 00:18:20,933 with the business and with the world, 343 00:18:21,016 --> 00:18:23,727 and my coming out was kind of like that for me too. 344 00:18:23,811 --> 00:18:26,730 And what do you do for twenty dollars? 345 00:18:27,314 --> 00:18:28,273 I do my best. 346 00:18:28,357 --> 00:18:31,485 This is the kind of production that… 347 00:18:31,568 --> 00:18:34,571 I think and hope moves the ball forward, 348 00:18:34,655 --> 00:18:37,825 and kind of expands that whole conversation. 349 00:18:37,908 --> 00:18:38,784 Well, I do too. 350 00:18:39,993 --> 00:18:43,539 [Carver] Do you ever have conversations in your head 351 00:18:43,622 --> 00:18:46,125 with actors who are no longer with us? 352 00:18:46,208 --> 00:18:48,293 [Crowley] I'm a really sentimental slob, 353 00:18:48,377 --> 00:18:51,547 and you know that because I break up and tear up too easily. 354 00:18:51,630 --> 00:18:54,883 I mean, I completely fucked up at the Tonys. 355 00:18:54,967 --> 00:18:56,677 -I got to the stage -[Carver laughs] 356 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,221 and there the nine of you were behind me. 357 00:18:59,304 --> 00:19:03,392 So, I wanted to dedicate the thing  to the guys that were brave enough 358 00:19:03,475 --> 00:19:05,102 to do the play in the beginning. 359 00:19:05,185 --> 00:19:06,979 -Yeah. -And I owed it all to them. 360 00:19:07,062 --> 00:19:12,442 Like I owe all of this production and this revival to you, 361 00:19:12,526 --> 00:19:15,487 and the other eight actors, and Joe Mantello. 362 00:19:15,571 --> 00:19:18,448 And I was so happy that you were all there 363 00:19:18,532 --> 00:19:22,369 -that I forgot to say thank you! -[both laugh] 364 00:19:22,452 --> 00:19:24,872 [Cowboy] It would be terrible if you got that stuff in your… 365 00:19:24,955 --> 00:19:26,456 [jazz music plays] 366 00:19:27,708 --> 00:19:28,542 I'll be quiet. 367 00:19:30,294 --> 00:19:32,462 Is there anything that you would want 368 00:19:33,213 --> 00:19:35,132 audiences to take away 369 00:19:35,215 --> 00:19:38,760 from the play or this movie in 2020? 370 00:19:38,844 --> 00:19:41,054 Yeah, I want them to take it all away, you know? 371 00:19:41,138 --> 00:19:43,682 -[Crowley laughs] -[Carver, laughing] Oh, God! 372 00:19:43,765 --> 00:19:46,268 -Take it away and get out of here. -Oh, man! 373 00:19:46,351 --> 00:19:48,562 No, I mean really, seriously. 374 00:19:48,645 --> 00:19:52,566 They can take what they like and leave what they don't like behind. 375 00:19:52,649 --> 00:19:54,526 You know what? I like your attitude, Mart. 376 00:19:54,610 --> 00:19:56,361 I think I'm just gonna adopt this approach. 377 00:19:57,112 --> 00:19:59,489 "Take it all away, you can have what you want." 378 00:19:59,573 --> 00:20:01,909 -[laughs] But it's true, isn't it? -Please enjoy. 379 00:20:01,992 --> 00:20:05,662 Just look at what's happened through the years. 380 00:20:05,746 --> 00:20:08,624 Fortunately, you and I can sit here and laugh about it, 381 00:20:08,707 --> 00:20:11,627 but it was no laughing matter then, in any way. 382 00:20:11,710 --> 00:20:14,296 But yet, there's always humor in the darkness, isn't there? 383 00:20:15,756 --> 00:20:17,716 I'm gonna get that down right now! 384 00:20:17,799 --> 00:20:19,760 [both laugh] 385 00:20:19,843 --> 00:20:21,845 -[man] All right, thank you! -[woman] Thank you! 386 00:20:21,929 --> 00:20:24,723 [cheering and applause] 387 00:20:24,806 --> 00:20:27,100 [jazz music plays] 388 00:20:28,101 --> 00:20:29,978 Let's do it please, guys. Here we go. 389 00:20:33,857 --> 00:20:35,025 [director] Action. 390 00:20:35,108 --> 00:20:39,154 [Michael] Oh, no. No. We all have to call on the telephone 391 00:20:39,238 --> 00:20:43,867 the one person we truly believe we have loved. 392 00:20:44,493 --> 00:20:47,871 [Crowley] I love their approach. I mean, it's all realistic. 393 00:20:48,914 --> 00:20:51,375 -Am I stunning? -You're absolutely stunning. 394 00:20:51,458 --> 00:20:53,627 [Crowley] You know, when you look back on something, 395 00:20:53,710 --> 00:20:58,173 you see the "oh, you're dressed funny," or "your hairstyles are funny" 396 00:20:58,257 --> 00:21:00,425 or nostalgic, or whatever. 397 00:21:00,509 --> 00:21:03,387 But if you lived through the period, you don't think anything of it. 398 00:21:04,304 --> 00:21:06,223 [Michael] I butched it up quite a bit. 399 00:21:06,306 --> 00:21:09,393 And I didn't think I was lying to myself, I really thought I was straight. 400 00:21:09,476 --> 00:21:12,396 [Crowley] Yeah, it was a very closeted society. 401 00:21:12,479 --> 00:21:15,899 Everybody was just taken, generally, to be straight, 402 00:21:15,983 --> 00:21:18,402 but that certainly wasn't true. 403 00:21:19,486 --> 00:21:22,030 [Washington] I think Bernard is very comfortable in his own skin 404 00:21:22,114 --> 00:21:24,199 and the fact that he is two minorities. 405 00:21:24,283 --> 00:21:28,620 He's gay, he's Black, but he's also an intellectual and he's in New York City. 406 00:21:28,704 --> 00:21:32,958 So I have these examples of openly gay Black men who wore suits 407 00:21:33,041 --> 00:21:35,335 and functioned inside of white worlds all the time, 408 00:21:35,419 --> 00:21:37,462 and never compromised their racial identity. 409 00:21:37,546 --> 00:21:41,591 You allow him to degrade you constantly by Uncle Tom-ing you to death. 410 00:21:41,675 --> 00:21:42,968 He can do it, Michael. 411 00:21:43,051 --> 00:21:45,721 I can do it. But you can't do it. 412 00:21:45,804 --> 00:21:48,598 I mean, I just pretend like I'm having brunch with Jimmy Baldwin tomorrow 413 00:21:48,682 --> 00:21:51,101 and I'm gonna tell him what these bitches did to me last night. 414 00:21:52,477 --> 00:21:55,522 I'm not ready for my close-up,  Mr. DeMille. 415 00:21:55,605 --> 00:21:59,067 There's a part of me, as an actor, that always absorbs the characters, 416 00:21:59,151 --> 00:22:03,989 so my extra-ness right now is heightened by the fact that I'm playing Emory. 417 00:22:04,072 --> 00:22:05,949 It's very serious! 418 00:22:06,033 --> 00:22:09,536 [de Jesús] Joe and I spoke about taking up my space as Emory, 419 00:22:09,619 --> 00:22:13,832 and that kind of messed with me here and here, 420 00:22:14,499 --> 00:22:19,629 because Robin himself was in a place of kind of playing small, 421 00:22:19,713 --> 00:22:22,007 so it made me learn from Emory, 422 00:22:22,090 --> 00:22:24,801 and learned that you are in fact capable of taking up space 423 00:22:24,885 --> 00:22:27,387 while allowing others to have their own. 424 00:22:27,471 --> 00:22:29,556 Ask him if he's got any hot cross buns! 425 00:22:29,639 --> 00:22:31,224 [de Jesús] This is who I am, 426 00:22:31,308 --> 00:22:34,770 and people are gonna like it or not, and I'm just gonna do me. 427 00:22:34,853 --> 00:22:36,063 Who is she? 428 00:22:36,855 --> 00:22:37,898 Who was she? 429 00:22:38,690 --> 00:22:40,108 Who does she hope to be? 430 00:22:40,192 --> 00:22:43,195 [jazz music plays] 431 00:22:43,278 --> 00:22:45,197 [Rannells] Well, this is Andy Rannells in Omaha. 432 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,033 I'm gonna say this was my fifth or sixth birthday, 433 00:22:48,116 --> 00:22:52,162 and my mother gave me a Malibu Ken and a Malibu Barbie, 434 00:22:52,245 --> 00:22:53,538 because I asked for them. 435 00:22:53,622 --> 00:22:55,791 I think the idea on paper was to give 436 00:22:55,874 --> 00:22:58,668 Andy Barbies so that he would play with his little sister, 437 00:22:58,752 --> 00:23:00,212 but I really just wanted the Barbies. 438 00:23:00,295 --> 00:23:03,465 [Quinto] This is 1988 at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. 439 00:23:03,548 --> 00:23:06,134 This was my very first professional production of The Wizard of Oz, 440 00:23:06,218 --> 00:23:08,178 in which I played a munchkin. 441 00:23:08,261 --> 00:23:10,639 Great make-up job, you'll notice. I did it myself. 442 00:23:11,223 --> 00:23:15,435 It's obviously Christmas time. I guess cowboys were the thing that year. 443 00:23:15,519 --> 00:23:17,062 It looked like I'm maybe four or five. 444 00:23:17,145 --> 00:23:18,939 [interviewer] Did you have any other siblings? 445 00:23:19,022 --> 00:23:22,234 I did. I had an older brother who had a matching cowboy getup. 446 00:23:22,317 --> 00:23:24,986 I think he's been edited out of the photo. Sorry, Neil! 447 00:23:25,070 --> 00:23:29,616 This was in the sort of mid-70s in Pittsburgh 448 00:23:29,699 --> 00:23:33,745 a time where it also wasn't so okay or encouraged to be gay, certainly. 449 00:23:33,829 --> 00:23:35,038 [jazz music plays] 450 00:23:35,122 --> 00:23:39,167 [Washington] This would have been circa 1983 in Dallas,Texas. 451 00:23:39,251 --> 00:23:41,837 My mother loved a nice red rug. 452 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:43,547 It's like a red carpet wherever you went. 453 00:23:43,630 --> 00:23:48,093 [Carver] Northern California, and this was right before I got married to the cat. 454 00:23:48,176 --> 00:23:49,803 [interviewer] How did that marriage go? 455 00:23:49,886 --> 00:23:50,846 Well, the cat died. 456 00:23:50,929 --> 00:23:53,432 -Okay, you're a widower. [laughs] -Yeah. I'm a widower. 457 00:23:53,515 --> 00:23:56,810 [de Jesús] This photo was taken on picture day at my school. 458 00:23:56,893 --> 00:23:58,562 And what was cool about this day, 459 00:23:58,645 --> 00:24:01,022 first of all I remember picking out this shirt, 460 00:24:01,106 --> 00:24:03,817 'cause it reminded me of my brother's shirt and I thought I was badass, 461 00:24:03,900 --> 00:24:06,445 but also you got to pick the background. 462 00:24:06,528 --> 00:24:08,989 [Watkins] I wanted to wear my favorite orange shirt 463 00:24:09,072 --> 00:24:11,074 and my mom said, "You have to wear a collared shirt." 464 00:24:11,158 --> 00:24:13,160 When she went into the kitchen, I ran back upstairs, 465 00:24:13,243 --> 00:24:15,787 put on my favorite shirt, ran out the front door, ran to school, 466 00:24:15,871 --> 00:24:18,748 and when the pictures came home, she saw that I was wearing this shirt, 467 00:24:18,832 --> 00:24:21,668 and when she saw how happy I was, she realized, 468 00:24:21,751 --> 00:24:23,962 "I should let the kid wear any shirt he wants to wear." 469 00:24:24,546 --> 00:24:26,256 [interviewer laughs] 470 00:24:28,467 --> 00:24:31,094 Don't you wonder, was that before or after I… 471 00:24:31,178 --> 00:24:33,388 -[interviewer laughs] -threw down in the toilet. 472 00:24:33,472 --> 00:24:35,932 -That looks like an after smile. -It's got to be. 473 00:24:37,058 --> 00:24:39,060 -[interviewer] All right, lightning round. -Oh, yes! 474 00:24:39,144 --> 00:24:40,687 -Ooh! -[laughs nervously] 475 00:24:40,770 --> 00:24:43,148 [interviewer] She's never gonna run out of ideas about… 476 00:24:44,232 --> 00:24:46,693 -Her hair. [laughs] -[interviewer laughs] 477 00:24:46,776 --> 00:24:47,777 The color red. 478 00:24:47,861 --> 00:24:50,405 I remember being so obsessed with the color red. 479 00:24:50,489 --> 00:24:52,949 The Thanksgiving family talent show. 480 00:24:53,033 --> 00:24:55,285 It's just so hard to get into the psyche of a four-year-old 481 00:24:55,368 --> 00:24:58,914 I like that I'm standing in the exact same position and I didn't even realize, 482 00:24:58,997 --> 00:25:01,833 but that's what's happening right now. [laughs] 483 00:25:01,917 --> 00:25:03,460 [interviewer] And she would never… 484 00:25:04,044 --> 00:25:07,255 She would never upset her mother. 485 00:25:07,339 --> 00:25:08,215 Play soccer. 486 00:25:08,298 --> 00:25:11,593 Let her sister win a lip-syncing contest. 487 00:25:11,676 --> 00:25:13,345 Eat all her vegetables. 488 00:25:13,428 --> 00:25:16,097 Which is very opposite from me now, as you can attest, 489 00:25:16,181 --> 00:25:19,518 pretty much all I eat are vegetables. So, parents, don't give up hope. 490 00:25:21,186 --> 00:25:23,021 I'm usually good at this stuff, Charlie. 491 00:25:23,104 --> 00:25:24,773 What does she-- You know what I think it is? 492 00:25:24,856 --> 00:25:26,483 I think the pronoun's really throwing me! 493 00:25:26,566 --> 00:25:28,985 [interviewer] She doesn't even want to hear about… 494 00:25:29,069 --> 00:25:30,820 Okra. She hated okra. 495 00:25:32,155 --> 00:25:33,782 Not Oprah. Okra. 496 00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:36,284 [interviewer] And who did she hope to be? 497 00:25:36,368 --> 00:25:39,204 She hoped to be a movie star. 498 00:25:39,287 --> 00:25:41,915 -Ariel in The Little Mermaid. -[interviewer laughs] 499 00:25:41,998 --> 00:25:42,958 A good friend to people. 500 00:25:43,750 --> 00:25:46,211 I hope I lived up to your hopes and dreams, honey. 501 00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:58,557 [jazz music plays] 502 00:26:00,934 --> 00:26:02,519 -[interviewer] Here we are. -Oh, hi. 503 00:26:03,687 --> 00:26:05,355 Fancy meeting you here. 504 00:26:05,438 --> 00:26:06,690 Where are we today? 505 00:26:06,773 --> 00:26:09,276 We're in Julius' bar, 506 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,279 where I've been many times in my life. 507 00:26:12,821 --> 00:26:14,072 [director] Background! 508 00:26:16,324 --> 00:26:19,369 [Crowley] And this is fun, being in the film, especially with you, 509 00:26:19,452 --> 00:26:23,665 and this lovely silk tie with this golden ring 510 00:26:23,748 --> 00:26:25,834 that will not stay in place. 511 00:26:26,501 --> 00:26:31,339 [jazz music plays] 512 00:26:31,423 --> 00:26:34,217 [interviewer] Are there any palpable differences filming 513 00:26:34,301 --> 00:26:37,012 this version versus the previous? 514 00:26:37,095 --> 00:26:40,640 I'm a grown-up, officially. I was 84 yesterday, 515 00:26:40,724 --> 00:26:44,853 so I guess I count as an adult these days. 516 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:48,356 I was just a frisky young thing back then 517 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,400 and feeling my oats. 518 00:26:51,610 --> 00:26:56,698 I don't feel my oats much anymore. [laughs] 519 00:26:56,781 --> 00:27:00,035 Anyway. It's nice to be standing in front of it 520 00:27:00,118 --> 00:27:03,371 on this beautiful day when we're shooting around the corner. 521 00:27:04,247 --> 00:27:07,042 [jazz music plays] 522 00:27:07,125 --> 00:27:07,959 Yesterday? 523 00:27:08,043 --> 00:27:09,544 -Yesterday. -Happy belated! 524 00:27:10,962 --> 00:27:12,047 That's fantastic. 525 00:27:12,130 --> 00:27:13,214 Excuse us. 526 00:27:13,298 --> 00:27:15,675 -When was your debut? -Just tonight. 527 00:27:15,759 --> 00:27:17,385 -Tonight? In acting? -Yeah. 528 00:27:17,469 --> 00:27:19,596 This is the best birthday present you could have gotten. 529 00:27:19,679 --> 00:27:21,890 Absolutely, it was fantastic. 530 00:27:21,973 --> 00:27:24,934 Home again. I'm back after 50 years. 531 00:27:25,018 --> 00:27:26,227 -That's incredible. -Comeback. 532 00:27:26,311 --> 00:27:28,021 -Yeah. Love it. -[Crowley laughs] 533 00:27:28,772 --> 00:27:30,774 That's fantastic. Legend coming back. 534 00:27:30,857 --> 00:27:32,984 Thank you. Well, good luck on your close up. 535 00:27:33,068 --> 00:27:34,277 Thank you very much. 536 00:27:34,361 --> 00:27:35,403 [applause] 537 00:27:35,487 --> 00:27:37,947 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 538 00:27:38,031 --> 00:27:42,160 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 539 00:27:42,243 --> 00:27:46,706 ♪ Happy birthday dear Mart… ♪ 540 00:27:48,917 --> 00:27:52,671 [man] Mart is the first one that planted the flag with the play. 541 00:27:52,754 --> 00:27:56,132 It's held up as a great piece of dramatic literature 542 00:27:56,216 --> 00:27:59,094 and that can stand the test of time. 543 00:27:59,177 --> 00:28:01,930 {\an8}[jazz music plays]