''Some Men'' is a play by

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...

that consists of an interwoven series of stories which chronicle and contrast the lives and attitudes of

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...

in the United States over the past 80 years. The play begins and ends with a contemporary gay wedding, relating interconnecting stories of generations of gay men in New York City. ''Some Men'' premiered

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 tha ...

in 2007.

Production history

''Some Men'' had a workshop at the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...

Theatre Laboratory at White Oak (

Yulee, Florida Yulee is a Census county division (CCD) in Nassau County, Florida, United States. The population is currently 28,798 as of April 2018. Yulee is part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area, which was home to 1,504,980 people in 2017. Today, t ...

). The play had its world premiere at the

Philadelphia Theatre Company The Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) is a theater company located Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974 as The Philadelphia Company by Robert Hedley and Jean Harrison. Since October 2007, PTC's home has been the new Suzanne Rober ...

from May 12 to June 11, 2006. ''Some Men'' premiered

at the

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

on March 26, 2007 and closed on April 22, 2007. Directed by Trip Cullman, the cast featured

Fred Weller Frederick Weller (born April 18, 1966) is an American actor known for portraying Johnny Sandowski on ''Missing Persons,'' Shane Mungitt in '' Take Me Out'' and Marshall Mann on ''In Plain Sight''. Early life Weller was born in New Orleans, Lou ...

, Don Amendolia,

Kelly AuCoin Kelly AuCoin (born February 14, 1967) is an American actor who has appeared in film, television, and theater. He is best known as "Dollar" Bill Stern on '' Billions'' (Showtime), and Pastor Tim on ''The Americans'' ( FX). He has had recurring rol ...

, Romain Fruge, Michael McElroy and Randy Redd. The Canadian premiere was produced by Raving Theatre in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

from November 21 - December 2, 2007. The play had its

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

premiere at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco in June-July 2009.Hurwitt, Robert
"Review: Terrence McNally's 'Some Men'"
sfgate.com, June 8, 2009

Overview

In a

gay bathhouse A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath (uncommonly known as a gay spa), is a commercial space for gay, bisexual, and other men to have sex with men. In gay slang, a bathhouse may be called just "the baths", "the sauna", ...

in 1975, a school librarian proposes to a war veteran. The scenes shift showing gay men in various places: a Harlem nightclub in 1932, the Stonewall uprising in Greenwich Village in 1969, an AIDS hospital in 1989, an Internet chat room and a piano bar.

Critical response

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

, in his review for ''

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 ...

'' wrote that the play is a "breezy series of sketches about gay American life through eight decades..." but "has little of the psychological texture and shading found in Mr. McNally’s best plays...The hot-button topic of gay marriage is the running theme of 'Some Men,' with the attendant questions that the subject invariably raises."Brantley, Ben
"Theater Review. 8 Decades of Gay Men, at the Altar With History"
''The New York Times'', March 27, 2007

Awards and nominations

The play received nominations for the

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 Outstanding Play and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Fred Weller). The play received a nomination for the

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 Theatre ...

, Outstanding Featured Actor, David Greenspan, and Outstanding Lighting Design (Kevin Adams).Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth
"'Spring Awakening', 'In the Heights' and 'Stuff Happens' Win Lucille Lortel Awards"
playbill.com, May 7, 2007

References

{{reflist 2006 plays Plays by Terrence McNally LGBT-related plays Plays set in New York City