The Boys in the Band film event at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, June 30

 

On Sunday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m., The Boys in the Band will be screened as a Ridgefield Playhouse Film Society Lost & Found Film Series event. A Q&A with veteran actor Laurence Luckinbill, who stars in the film, will be hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Ira Joe Fisher after the screening. The Boys in the Band, a 1970 film, is directed by William Friedkin and co-stars Laurence Luckinbill who plays an out-of-the-closet husband and father.  The screenplay by Mart Crowley is based on his Off -Broadway play of the same title. This event is underwritten by Cohen and Wolf, P.C. and The Ridgefield Press with media sponsor WSHU Public Radio Group.

"The Boys in the Band is not a musical,” read the film's original ads. As the first major movie studio production to deal frankly with homosexuality, every member of the show's original Broadway cast appears in the film, including Laurence Luckinbill. Film director/ producer/screenwriter William Friedkin is best known for directing The French Connection in 1971 for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director. In 1973, The Exorcist was also nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Director. Both films won Golden Globe Awards.

The ensemble cast, all of whom also played their roles in the play's initial stage run in New York City, includes Laurence Luckinbill as Hank, Kenneth Nelson as Michael, Peter White as Alan, Leonard Frey as Harold, Cliff Gorman as Emory, Frederick Combs as Donald, Keith Prentice as Larry, Robert La Tourneaux as Cowboy and Reuben Greene as Bernard. Model/actress Maud Adams makes a brief cameo appearance as a fashion model in the opening montage of scenes.

The Boys in the Band is set in an Upper East Side apartment in New York City in the late 1960s. Michael, a Roman Catholic and recovering alcoholic, is preparing to host a birthday party for his friend Harold. Another friend, Donald, a self-described underachiever who has moved from the city, arrives and helps Michael prepare. Alan, Michael's (presumably straight) old college roommate from Georgetown, calls with an urgent need to see Michael. Michael reluctantly agrees and invites him to his home. One by one, the guests arrive. Emory is a stereotypical flamboyant interior decorator; Hank, a soon-to-be-divorced schoolteacher, and Larry, a fashion photographer, are a couple, albeit one with monogamy issues; and Bernard is an amiable black bookstore clerk. Alan calls again to inform Michael he isn't coming after all, and the party continues in a festive manner. When Alan appears unexpectedly, he throws the gathering into turmoil. To learn the dénouement, attend this special film screening.

For reserved seats, ($10 adults, $7.50 seniors & $5 students by calling the box office), call or visit the box office at (203) 438-5795, or go to ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.