History Theatre / TheBoysInTheBand

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: "Anything Goes" in the film.

* LovableAlphaBitch: '''Harold'''.
** Harold is in many ways the group's TeamMom: He reassures Emory about his cooking when no one else does, makes sure Bernard will be taken care of, defends Cowboy from moments of bullying -- all while remaining the master DeadpanSnarker.

* SchiffOneLiner: "As my father said to me when he died in my arms, 'I don't understand any of it. I never did.'"

''The Boys in the Band'' is an off-Broadway play written by Mart Crowley which premiered in 1968. It was faithfully adapted into a film (starring the original stage cast) by Creator/WilliamFriedkin in 1970. When it first opened, it was notable for the being first mainstream play (and film) to treat homosexuality in a direct and realistic way rather than cloaking it in subtext or portraying the characters as freaks. Furthermore, to quote Vito Russo, "[[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped The internalized guilt of eight gay men at a Manhattan birthday party formed the best and most potent argument for gay liberation ever offered in a popular art form.]]"

* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat: Alan's unconvincing attempt to tell Michael that he has nothing against homosexuality.

* TheSixties
* SocietyMarchesOn: An interesting example. The ''play'' first ran in 1968. The Stonewall Riots occurred in 1969, changing the views of homosexuality from a disease to a sexual orientation. The ''film'' appeared in 1970, and even in 1970 it was a window into the psychiatric self-loathing of gays pre-Stonewall that at the time was TooSoon to examine. A few decades later, despite the datedness of some of the psychiatric attitudes, almost all of the actual personalities and dialog still ring true in the 21st Century.

* RecycledInSpace. ''WhosAfraidOfVirginiaWoolf'' [-WITH GAYS!-]

-->'''Michael''': What's so fucking funny?
-->'''Harold''': Life. Life's a goddamn laugh riot.

As it turned out, it was gay liberation itself that made ''The Boys In The Band'' go from being groundbreaking and revolutionary to a being a nasty relic of the Bad Old Days™ in the near instant, thanks to its bad timing. While the play was released in 1968, the Stonewall Riots occured in 1969 - and the film had the bad sense to be released in 1970 during the height of gay liberation. For years, it was often [[{{Demonization}} demonized]] as being not only dated, but flagrantly offensive. Over time, however, it's been [[VindicatedByHistory re-vindicated by history]], with more and more people recognizing it as a classic, eventually leading to a [[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E4DB1639F93AA35755C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all stage revival in 1996]] and a long overdue DVD release in 2008.

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[[caption-width-right:320: ''I don't understand any of it, I never did.'']]

--->'''Emory:''' You may as well be Everybody thinks you are anyway.

---->'''Emory:''' You may as well be Everybody thinks you are anyway.

-->'''Harold:''' You're warning me? ''Me?'' I'm '''''[[AlphaBitch Harold]]'''''. I'm the one person you don't warn, Michael, because you and I tread too heavily with each other, and we both play each other's game too well. I know this game you're playing, I know it very well and I play it very well. You play it very well too, but you know what? I'm the only one who's better at it than you are. [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry I can beat you at it so don't push me.]] [[YouHaveBeenWarned I'm warning]] ''[[YouHaveBeenWarned you.]]''

* ManlyGay: Hank. Speaks in a deep voice, introduces himself with a firm handshake, used to play college basketball and is shown shooting hoops in the film's opening montage.

* LoveHurts

* CastFullOfGay: Both the characters and most of the actors. Ironically, the most flaming queen, Emory, was played by straight actor Cliff Gorman.

* TallDarkAndSnarky: [UpToEleven HAROLD]]. Michael is this too, but he's a far second to the queen bee himself.

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* ComingOutStory: Hank, who's in the process of divorcing his wife to be with Larry.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boysintheband1.jpg]]

* Lovable AlphaBitch: '''Harold'''.

* AlphaBitch: '''Harold'''.

* GallowsHumor: Michael declares that the lasagna the group are eating is actually [[SuddenlyLastSummer Sebastian Venable]]. The Cowboy doesn't know the reference - told, he remarks, "Jesus..."