Search - Bill Solly, Rita Gordon, Paul Ratkevich :: Boy Meets Boy (1975 Original Off-Broadway Cast)

BOY MEETS BOY reissued on CD: A Gem In The Rough

Stephen Weber (laughingegg@webtv.ne | Burbank, CA | 10/31/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The original off-off Broadwayproduction of BOY MEETS BOYwas quite a landmark in it's time. Aside from featuring a bright and energetic cast framed by crisp and colorful Art Deco sets, the show managed to present it's theme of a boy/boy relationship in an elegant, romantic and almost Noel Cowardian way.The original cast recordingis quite good on the whole butsuffers from low-budget production values. Bill Solly's score is for the most part melodious and cleverwith only one number verging on inept..("Clarence's Turn")All in all I'm delighted to see BOY MEETS BOY on CD but I feel that without having witnessedthe show first-hand, most people might find it a bit difficult to relate to the recording."

Delightful, delicious, de-lovely score; so-so recording

Frank Kelly | Long Island, NY USA | 08/17/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What Rick Besoyan's LITTLE MARY SUNSHINE is to operetta, Bill Solly's BOY MEETS BOY is to Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers '30s movie musicals -- except that it was presented on stage and featured, well, boys. Originating off-off Broadway at Edith O'Hara's 13th Street Theatre in NYC, it lost one "off" when it moved to the Actors Playhouse in September 1975. The story? Well, to quote the opening song: "Boy meets boy, boy loses boy, but boy gets boy in the end!" The performers here know their '30s style as well as Solly does. Clearly the recording needed more careful engineering and a lot more takes, but the genuine wit and charm of the show do come through."

Tiny Diamond in the Rough

Jeff Watkins | Santa Fe, NM United States | 05/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Time has passed by this little masterpiece, which was an oddity when it first appeared in the late 1970s. But not its obscurity, not the primitive quality of this one-of-a-kind original cast recording, not even its uniquely controversial subject can rob it of its sheer delight. Done in the style of those Astaire-Rodgers movie musicals, this piece approaches that chic world of the roaring 20s as though gay relationships were the most natural thing in the world. From there, it's pure romantic comedy: love misunderstood then unrequited then frustrated then fulfilled, with lots of mistaken identity hijinx in between. And the songs are strong enough for any big budget hit, with "It's A Boy's Life," "Does Anybody Love You," "Beautiful," and "Let's Say Let's" special stand-outs. It remains one of theater's great mysteries why the songwriter Bill Solly didn't become the next Jerry Herman."