Kelly teaches creative writing and drama as literature at Oakton Community College. In this essay, he discusses the historical significance of the play and looks at the reasons why its setting is so appropriate.

It was not too long after it changed the image that Americans had of homosexual men when it opened in 1967 that Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band came to seem dated and irrelevant. Such things can happen. Everyone has had the experience of meeting someone who makes a startling first impression and then becomes tiresome as hours drag by; certainly an innovative artistic piece is just as likely to lose its sheen once the novelty wears off. In the case of Crowley's play, the novelty was based on its respectful handling of the many facets of gay life. Coming at a time when the only homosexuals that showed up in popular entertainment...