Good Boys and True

2nd Stage Theater

I saw this a long, long time ago. And, I waited a long time to write it up because I think I just got busy. And, I was having a difficult time finishing a couple of other posts.

This was a play about the perils of sexual identification and ego. It was also about class differences, power, the ruling class, sexism, young people's cruelty and a whole host of other issues. It was a stew of themes. But, mainly it was about a young football player who is gay, but doesn't identify as gay, who tries to cover up his sexual identity by secretly releasing a sex tape of some risque sexual exploits with a girl from the proverbial other side of the tracks. She has no knowledge that she has been taped and he never shows his face.

The tape makes its way through several schools and around town. It destroys her reputation. It is unclear whether initially it bolsters his reputation. Ultimately, though, it jeopardizes his future. His potential acceptance into his choice school is put into jeopardy. Although, with his breeding, money and social power it is uncertain whether at the end of the day (when his father gets home) he won't make it out of the problems he created in one piece after all.

It was a completely complex play, difficult and well staged. This was a nice production. The moral of the story might be that there is indeed a ruling class in America. And, if we refuse to identify it then we run the added peril of quietly being used and abused by it. But, it may have been any number of other morals of the story, too.

The mother of the boy was the character who achieved the greatest self-discovery. She searched herself for truth and came up with a memory of her relief in a situation when she was younger that her husband was involved in. She was relieved that it wasn't her or anyone in her crowd that suffered at the hands of the young and powerful of her time. This cruelty was apparently passed down generation-to-generation. It was unclear, however, what action she was really going to take to right the wrongs of the men in her life. Would she remain quiet and acknowledge what had been done? Or, would she actually be driven to action? Guilt is useless. Knowledge, also, is useless without action.

This was difficult because the resolution was rather lightweight. The justice was slim for the main character, I won't say protagonist. Discovery occurred, but it may or may not have been ineffective.

In all of this, I enjoyed it, though. It was something of a puzzle and a stew, but good.