Theater in the Gay 90s
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Next month plays with gay themes will occupy two of the three stages in the Theatre Building. About Face Theatre’s production of Mart Crowley’s landmark drama The Boys in the Band opens June 2. Then, ten days later, Ronnie Larsen’s comedy Making Porn will return to the Theatre Building, where it enjoyed an extended run in the summer of 1995. Making Porn is about a straight man who starts appearing in gay porn movies to make money and in the process becomes a star. The show has been playing off-Broadway for more than a year with a succession of well-known male porn stars in the lead roles. Though the play didn’t feature famous porn actors during its initial engagement here, Los Angeles-based producer Caryn Horwitz plans to bring the show back with one of the real McCoys–porn star Ryan Idol. While The Boys in the Band and Making Porn are at the Theatre Building, Bailiwick Repertory’s annual gay- and lesbian-oriented Pride Series will be in full swing next door through the end of August.
But the pair hit pay dirt with Making Porn. After the show ran in Chicago, Horwitz and Larsen took it to Los Angeles, where it became a favorite among insiders in the gay porn industry. They talked some big names into appearing in their show, and the porn stars’ marquee value helped boost the box office. Horwitz estimates that over the past two years Making Porn has netted nearly $1 million in profit from its various incarnations in Los Angeles, New York, and almost a dozen other markets.
