''The Temperamentals'' is a 2009 play by

Jon Marans ''Old Wicked Songs'' is a two-character play written by Jon Marans. It was his first play, first performed in 1995, and received a nomination for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Productions ''Old Wicked Songs'' was first produced at the Waln ...

. It chronicles the founding of the

Mattachine Society The Mattachine Society (), founded in 1950, was an early national gay rights organization in the United States, perhaps preceded only by Chicago's Society for Human Rights. Communist and labor activist Harry Hay formed the group with a collection ...

, the first sustained

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

rights organization in the United States, and the love affair of two of its founding members, Harry Hay (

Thomas Jay Ryan Thomas Jay Ryan (born August 1, 1962) is an American stage and film actor. He may be best known for his starring role in the 1997 film '' Henry Fool''. Early life and education Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ryan attended Carnegie Mellon Uni ...

) and

Rudi Gernreich Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich (August 8, 1922 April 21, 1985) was an Austrian-born American fashion designer whose avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s. He purposefully used fashio ...

(

Michael Urie Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC dramedy television series ''Ugly Betty''. He can be heard as Bobby Kerns in ''As the Curtain Rises'', an original podcas ...

). The title is drawn from the early-20th Century usage of the word "temperamental" as slang for "homosexual". After premiering at The Barrow Group Studio Theater in April 2009, the play began previews

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 th ...

New World Stages New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue. ...

on February 18, 2010 and premiered February 28. Producers Darryl Roth and Stacy Shane announced that ''The Temperamentals'' would close May 30. "We began our wonderful journey in April 2009 and are very grateful for the awards, honors, nominations and recognition that we have received and are receiving the end of this theater season. We would like to leave on a high note."

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave ''The Temperamentals'' a good review, calling it an "eminently likable docudrama". ''The Temperamentals'' received a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Best Ensemble Cast. Michael Urie, who originated the role of Rudi Gernreich, received a

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

for Outstanding Lead Actor.

Film adaptation

''The Temperamentals'' is in film development with Daryl Roth Productions.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Temperamentals, The 2009 plays Docudrama plays LGBT-related plays Off-Broadway plays American plays Drama Desk Award-winning plays Plays set in Los Angeles Fiction set in 1950 Mattachine Society