This is one of those documentaries about gay history that I wish more gay men would take an interest in. This program is about how Mart Crowley, assistant and confidente to Natalie Wood, came to write the seminal gay play of the late 60's, "The Boys in the Band." This was the first time we got to see real gay lives on a stage. The doc tells about the impact this play had on the world, then and now. It gives us some background (dirt) on the making of the movie version. There's a follow-up by Mart Crowley of all the original actors, which is quite poignant. The play opened a year before the fervent Stonewall Riots of June 1969, so there is an attempt to capture the historical perspective. There is some terrific archival footage from 1965 of Roddy McDowell with a lot of his friends at a Malibu beach house (Tuesday Weld, Sal Mineo, Garland...a Hollywood who's who of talent). Many guest appearances include Michael Cunningham, Arthur Bell, Terrence McNally, and his ex, Edward Albee, who offers a candid rendition of why he disliked the play enough to pass up investing in it as well as the film version. To watch Albee step out of the closet is worth the price of admission. It's also a kicker to see a clip of a TV show Mart Crowley was writing that starred Bette Davis as "The Decorator." Please see this one, and read the play.

A bit disappointing. There wasn't enough about the play/movie itself rather than the author. I would also have liked to have heard more about the cast.