The fall run by the Drama Desk Award-winning company is billed as the 40th anniversary production, and Crowley will be involved. Transport Group artistic director Jack Cummings III is expected to direct the drama in his signature style that eschews the literal world of kitchen-sink drama.
The play — about a group of gay men who hire a hustler as a birthday present for their friend, but wind up spending the night of the party airing their pleasures and miseries — was seen in a Transport Group reading (followed by a panel discussion) in June 2008. That presentation featured Patrick Boll, Manoel Felciano, Barrett Foa, Malcolm Gets, David Greenspan, Jonathan Hammond, Christopher Innvar, Norm Lewis and John Wellman, who will be invited back for the fall production. Casting depends on availability; an official announcement with more details will be forthcoming.
Transport Group presents at the Connelly Theatre on East Fourth Street in the East Village.
The Boys in the Band was one of the first plays to deal with contemporary life among gay men. It played 1,000 performances in its original Off-Broadway production at Theatre Four. Robert Moore directed a cast that included Cliff Gorman (1968 OBIE Award Distinguished Performance), Leonard Frey, Laurence Luckinbill, Kenneth Nelson, Frederick Combs, Reuben Greene, Robert La Tourneaux and Keith Prentice.
A 1970 film version followed (it was released on DVD with special features in fall 2008). A new documentary about the play, "Making the Boys," was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and is seeking a wider release. *
As previously announced, Transport Group will present a June 15 benefit conversation with Tony Award-winning composer William Finn at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, An Evening With William Finn & Friends, with performances by artists who appeared in his original productions.
TG executive director Lori Fineman told Playbill.com that anyone who buys their ticket before June 1 will be entered into a drawing to win two free tickets to the Oct. 30 gala opening night of The Boys in the Band.
Trasport Group is the recipient of a Special Drama Desk Award for its "breadth of vision and presentation of challenging productions." For more information, visit www.transportgroup.org.
