Photos: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Opens at Madison Lyric Stage

Madison Lyric Stage, a professional theater company serving the Connecticut shoreline and the Connecticut River valley, will present Mart Crowley's landmark play The Boys in the Band for eight performances July 22 - August 1. Both hilarious and poignant, the dark comedy will be presented outdoors under a large tent on the grounds of Madison's Deacon John Grave House.

The Tony-Award winning play revolves around a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City in 1968, and the explosive truth and secrets that are revealed as the evening wears on.

"We are thrilled to present The Boys in the Band, featuring a diverse and inclusive cast of actors from Connecticut and New York City," said Marc Deaton, artistic director of Madison Lyric Stage. "The play is a time capsule of gay life at the time -- before Stonewall, before AIDS, before Marriage Equality. We invite audiences to travel back in time with us and experience the wit, humor and heartbreak that this revelatory play delivers."

The Boys in the Band premiered Off-Broadway in 1968 and was turned into a film with its original cast the next year by director William Friedkin. In 2018, it premiered on Broadway for its 50th anniversary, winning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, and was a celebrated Netflix film produced by Ryan Murphy in 2020.

Playing to sold-out audiences during its initial run, the play was groundbreaking for its humorous and poignant portrayal of gay life. The play has been called "a true theatrical game-changer, helping spark a revolution by putting gay men's lives onstage - unapologetically and without judgment - in a world that was not yet willing to fully accept them."

The Boys in the Band will be presented in association with the New Haven Pride Center, and a portion of all ticket sales will benefit the Center's youth programming.

Audiences are invited to arrive early for a pre-show that will feature music of the era, along with a signature cocktail and other drinks.

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by visiting madisonlyricstage.org, or by calling 203-215-6329. Show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. The Deacon John Grave House is located at 581 Boston Post Road in Madison.

The final production of Madison Lyric Stage's 2021 season will be a double bill of Puccini's Suor Angelica and Schoenberg's Erwartung in September.

Tenting for Madison Lyric Stage's 2021 outdoor season is being supplied by Taylor Rental of Branford and Orange.

Madison Lyric Stage is supported in part by generous gifts from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Guilford Savings Bank, the Maureen E. and Peter F. Dalton Fund of The Madison Foundation, and the New Alliance Foundation, along with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Madison Lyric Stage is an award-winning, non-profit arts collective serving Connecticut. Its mission is to expand participation in the arts by presenting accessible, inclusive and affordable professional-quality opera, musical theater and drama.

For more information about Madison Lyric Stage, visit madisonlyricstage.org.

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