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| Mart Crowley | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mart Crowley |
| Birth name | John Martin Crowley |
| Birth date | August 21, 1935 |
| Birth place | Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Death date | March 7, 2020 |
| Death place | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter |
| Notable works | The Boys in the Band |
Mart Crowley was an American playwright and screenwriter best known for his 1968 play The Boys in the Band, a landmark work in LGBT theatre and American drama. Crowley's work intersected with prominent figures and institutions in theater, film, and television during the late 20th century, influencing conversations in Broadway, Off-Broadway, Hollywood, and activist communities. He collaborated with performers, directors, producers, and cultural organizations across New York, Los Angeles, and beyond.
Born John Martin Crowley in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Crowley grew up in a family and regional milieu that included Southern culture and connections to cities like New Orleans and Memphis. He later moved to Dallas and attended schools that exposed him to regional theater and to institutions in the American South and Southwest. Crowley's early exposures connected him to the milieu of Broadway and Off-Broadway producers, and to performing arts communities in New York City and Los Angeles that would shape his later career.
Crowley began his professional life in New York City by working for and around theatrical producers, connecting him to figures in the Broadway community, Off-Broadway theaters, and publishing houses in Manhattan. He moved between Los Angeles and New York, writing for television programs associated with studios and networks, and collaborating with screenwriters, directors, and producers in Hollywood. Crowley worked with actors from stage and screen, and his career intersected with theatrical institutions and festivals across the United States and Europe.
Crowley's most influential work, The Boys in the Band, premiered Off-Broadway in 1968 and drew attention from theater critics, drama departments, cultural commentators, and LGBT communities. The play's initial production involved actors who later worked on Broadway and in film and television, and it was associated with directors and producers prominent in American theater. The Boys in the Band was adapted into a 1970 film featuring many original cast members and later inspired revivals, reinterpretations, and scholarly attention from theater historians, critics, and university programs. The play is frequently discussed alongside works staged at venues connected to New York's Off-Broadway scene and in studies of modern American drama.
Beyond The Boys in the Band, Crowley wrote and contributed to television scripts, screenplays, and stage plays, collaborating with actors, directors, producers, and production companies in Los Angeles and New York. He worked in environments linked to major studios, theatrical agencies, and playwrights' circles, and his career involved participation in readings, festivals, and collaborative projects with playwrights and screenwriters. Crowley maintained relationships with colleagues in documentary projects, theater revivals, and television anthologies that included performers and directors from multiple generations.
Crowley's personal life placed him within networks of LGBT activists, artists, and cultural institutions during a period of social change in the United States. He engaged with communities and events in New York City and Los Angeles that intersected with advocacy organizations, theatrical collectives, and arts funding bodies. His work and visibility contributed to conversations in activist circles, academic departments, and cultural forums concerned with rights, representation, and artistic expression.
Over the course of his career, Crowley received recognition from theatrical organizations, critics' groups, and cultural institutions that honor dramatic writing and screenwriting. His work has been the subject of retrospectives, institutional programming, and academic study at universities, conservatories, and arts festivals. The Boys in the Band and Crowley's other writings continue to be referenced in discussions among theater professionals, historians, and cultural commentators.
Crowley died in Manhattan in March 2020. His death prompted responses from theater companies, performing arts institutions, actors, directors, playwrights, and cultural organizations. His legacy endures through revivals, film adaptations, scholarly work, and the influence his writing had on subsequent generations of playwrights, screenwriters, and LGBT artists working in American theater and film.
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