Michael Urie, who plays Vanessa Williams' assistant on ABC's "Ugly Betty," heads a cast that also includes Tom Beckett, Thomas Jay Ryan, Matthew Schneck and Sam Breslin Wright. Directed by Jonathan Silverstein, the limited engagement will run through May 18.

"Temperamental," according to press notes, "was a code word for 'homosexual' in the early 1950s, part of a created language of secret words that gay men used to communicate."

The new play tells the story of two men, "the communist Harry Hay and the young Viennese refugee and designer Rudi Gernreich, weaving together the personal and the political to tell a relatively unknown chapter in gay history. It explores the deepening love between two complex men, while they build the first gay rights organization in the United States pre-Stonewall. . . . The characters consist of the actual men who founded the Mattachine Society, as well as prominent figures of the time such as Frank Tavener of the House Un-American Committee and the director Vincente Minnelli."

The production features set and costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Josh Bradford and sound design by Daniel Kluger. Classical composer and vocal coach Aaron Dai is the musical consultant.

Playwright Marans also penned Old Wicked Songs, a 1996 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama and winner of the New York Drama League Award and the L.A. Drama Logue Award.

Show times are Friday-Monday at 8 PM with matinees on Sundays at 4 PM. Special performances are scheduled for April 30 at 8 PM and May 2 at 2 PM.

The Barrow Group Studio Theater is located in Manhattan at 312 West 36 Street, 3rd Floor. Tickets, priced $18, are available through www.smarttix.com or (212) 868-4444.