Drew Droege has updated Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Rope” by casting all the characters as Emory from Mart Crowley’s play “The Boys in the Band.” I would call this mash-up “Screaming Queer Killers,” but the playwright has gone for the less in-your-face “Messy White Gays,” which is the only thing subtle about the 80-minute comedy that opened Sunday at The Duke on 42nd Street.
For those not acquainted with ancient LGBTQ history, that “Rope” vs. “Boys” reference might need some explaining. The 1948 Hitchcock film “Rope” is a fictional version of the Leopold and Loeb murder case from 1924 in which two gay students killed a man simply to prove their intellectual superiority. In the film, those characters, played by Farley Granger and John Dahl, hide the corpse in a cabinet right before guests arrive for a dinner party in their fabulous Manhattan apartment. One of those invited is James Stewart’s professor, who solves the crime. The murderers’ sexual orientation is not discussed; it was 1948, after all, but there’s no doubt in their performances that Granger and Dahl are playing gay men who can pass as straight.
Except for maybe the corpse, none of the five characters in “Messy White Gays” can pass for straight, nor do any of them care to. The two killers here are a couple named Brecken (James Cusati-Moyer) and Caden (Aaron Jackson) who have just murdered a house guest who outstayed his welcome after making an unfortunate comment about the actress Jean Smart. Long before Brecken and Caden decided to off the guy, they planned a Sunday brunch — and those guests are about to arrive.
“Messy White Gays” is said to be set in Hell’s Kitchen, but the gorgeous view of Central Park from their apartment (scenic design by Alexander Dodge) puts it in one of those 57th Street towers between Broadway and 6th Avenue. In other words, Brecken and Caden have money, lots of it, and they’re not the only boys at this brunch who flaunt their white male privilege despite being queer. One guest continues the WASP tradition with the name Thacker (Pete Zias) but is more often referred to as Gumdrop, thanks to his gaudy outfit (costumes by James + AC). An out-of-work actor, Thacker/Gumdrop can’t get a job on Broadway anymore because people of color get all the work nowadays. A gym bunny named Addison (Derek Chadwick) completes the party, which is interrupted by a downstairs neighbor (Droege) who belongs to a much older generation because his name is Karl.
Karl plays the Miss Marple role here, but unlike Jimmy Stewart who had not a clue he was playing a homosexual in “Rope,” Droege’s Karl is a screaming queen. And so is everybody else on stage in “Messy White Gays” under Mike Donahue’s very hyper direction.
Years ago, I attended a screening of William Friedkin’s “Cruising,” and afterward, the director spoke about that Al Pacino-starrer and his other gay-themed film, “The Boys in the Band.” Friedkin mentioned that he greatly admired Cliff Gorman as the flamboyant Emory on stage but wished he had toned down that over-the-top performance for the movie version.
For the record, Gorman’s performance in “Boys” is a study in understatement compared to what’s happening on stage in “Messy White Gays.” Even the ensemble of “Oh, Mary!” looks subdued in comparison.
Droege has loaded his comedy with lots of one-liners, most of which detonate the theater with laughter. A few miss their mark, and that’s when the performances work overtime to massage those rare moments of awkward silence.
Karl, the downstairs neighbor, has a husband who’s a Black cop whom we never see. However, talk about his race gives the play’s theme of white male privilege much of its oxygen. The boys in this band will do anything to keep that spectacular view of Central Park.
