''Boy Meets Boy'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

with music and lyrics by Bill Solly, as well as a book by Bill Solly and Donald Ward.

Edith O'Hara The Thirteenth Street Repertory Theatre (13th St Rep) is an Off-off-Broadway, off-off Broadway theater in New York City founded in 1972 by Edith O'Hara. It is home to the longest running play in Off-Off Broadway history, Israel Horovitz's ''Line ( ...

and Jim Payne originally produced the show in February 1975, at the13th Street Theatre, New York City. After a seven-month run, O'Hara and Payne moved the show

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

to the Actor's Playhouse, opening on Sept. 17, 1975 in association with Christopher Larkin and Lee Barton. The show is a fast-paced, light-hearted musical comedy, featuring a 1930s-style Astaire/Rogers romance between two men, and a

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. The world of the play posits that in 1936,

same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

s are considered as normal as

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions ...

ones. The play begins against the background of the abdication of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

and ends with the Duke of Windsor's (and the protagonists') June 1937 weddings. This is appropriate, as one of the major themes is "Giving It Up for Love." The action occurs in the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...

, a few elegant nightspots in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, a bar in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and a black-sheep aunt's disreputable establishment in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The original New York cast included David Gallegly as Guy Rose, Joe Barrett as Casey O’Brien and Raymond Wood as Clarence Cutler. Edith O'Hare and Jim Payne took the show and most of the cast to the Las Palmas Theatre in Los Angeles, as well as to the Chi Chi Club in San Francisco, in 1976. The show had its London premiere in December 2012. There, the cast included

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

winner

Stephen Ashfield Stephen Ashfield is an Olivier Award-winning Scottish actor. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and since graduating from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music in London, he has enjoyed a successful stage car ...

as Casey O'Brien with Johnjo Flynn as Guy Rose and Ben Kavanagh as Clarence Cutler.

Critical reception

The original production at the Actor's Playhouse in New York received admiring reviews - save for a criticism in the New York Times by Mel Gussow (about the acceptance of gay marriage in the 30s, he wrote, "So much for thirties realism."). “The brightest, tunefullest, wittiest, most elegant, refined, gracious and entertaining musical in years!" wrote Carll Tucker in

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

. In

New York magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

Alan Rich Alan Rich (June 17, 1924 – April 23, 2010) was an American music critic who served on the staff of many newspapers and magazines on both coasts. Originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, he first studied medicine at Harvard University before tur ...

wrote that the play had “an uncommonly light and antic touch. The first of its kind that could happily play in an old ladies’ home in Dubuque...delightful”; while

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and authority figures, Patrick is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked his ...

said that "it rewrites the past and presents it just as entertainment, not in the Orwellian sense of trying to convince anyone the past was like that but saying that it ought to have been”. The production ran for two years. Subsequent productions in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

received positive reactions. It has often been revived regionally. The 2012 production at the

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an Off West End studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghet ...

in London was well received by the British press.

Libby Purves Elizabeth Mary Purves, (born 2 February 1950) is a British radio presenter, journalist and author. Early life and career Born in London, a diplomat's daughter, Purves was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and educated at convent school ...

in the

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specificat ...

called it “Funny, silly and, with gay marriage on the horizon, slyly topical." Emma Slater wrote that it was "an unexpected gem of a musical. The score is varied in style and form, the lyrics clever, and the script highly intelligent and very funny. Both the script and lyrics have elements of Wilde’s wit and Coward’s charm. A festive treat – highly recommended!”. Meanwhile, in the

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

, Ryan Gibely thought that while "in 1975 this lithe blasé vision of an alternative reality must have felt subversive hesurprise is that it still does."

Musical numbers

; Prologue: * "Boy Meets Boy" - Chorus * “Party in Room 203” - Chorus ; Act I: * "Giving it Up for Love" - Casey, Andrew * "Me" - Clarence * "The English Rose" - Reporters * "Marry an American" - Waitresses * "Marry an American" - Waiters * “It’s a Boy’s Life” - Casey, Guy * "Does Anybody Love You?" - Guy * "You’re Beautiful" - Guy * "Let's!" - Guy, Casey ; Act II: * “Paris” - Josephine, Guy (song added for London production) * "Just My Luck" - Clarence, Casey * "It's a Dolly" - Josephine, Chorus * "What Do I Care" - Guy * “In Love Never” - Casey (song added for London production) * “Clarence’s Turn - Clarence * “It’s a Dolly: Reprise” - Josephine, Chorus * "Does Anybody Love You: Reprise" - Guy, Casey * "Finale" - Cast

References

External links

*
Queer Music Heritage article on the playCast Album on AllMusic.com
1975 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Original musicals LGBTQ-related musicals Musicals set in hotels Musicals set in London Musicals set in Spain Musicals set in Paris Musicals set in the 1930s {{musical-theat-stub