About the Play:

Boys' Life has long been a favourite of acting teachers for male monologues, female/male scenes and three-person scenes.

Boys' Life is a full-length comedy by Howard Korder. The play, written as a series of short, sketch-like scenes, tells the story of three buddies from college entering the "real" world of adulthood where the stakes are higher and the potential mistakes much more serious than when they were kids. But Boys' Life isn't just a guy thing. Women get almost equal stage time in this dark-edged comedy about the mating game in the mid-to-late 1980s in New York.

Boys' Life tells the story of a group of twenty-something urbanites struggling to deal with the disillusionment and emptiness of modern life. There is the cynical Jack, who is already married and a father, but is not above pursuing daytime adulteries while babysitting in the park; the innocent, vulnerable Phil, who grows weary of not being taken seriously and concludes that being unhappy is the way things are supposed to be; and the handsome, amoral Don, who risks a solid relationship with his girlfriend by sleeping with another, simply to see if he "could get away with it." Moving along briskly, with its mood of satirical humour brilliantly sustained, Boys' Life dissects and anatomizes the male narcissism which characterizes its protagonists and, in the end, makes it hilariously clear that it is actually the women who possess the qualities of "manhood" and maturity which their deluded lovers so desperately lay claim to. Named after the monthly magazine published by the Boy Scouts, Boys' Life lacerates the prolonged adolescence that often takes the place of modern manhood.

Boys' Life premiered in 1988 at New York's prestigious Lincoln Center Theater. It was a great critical and popular success and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has been performed in regional repertory and college theatre productions as a showcase of student talent.

Cast: 5 female, 4 male

What people say:

"Howard Korder's Boys' Life puts sexual insecurity among under-30 males under the comic microscope and the result is a satisfying and thoughtful work by a fresh playwriting voice." — Variety

"…Boys' Life is the most balanced and intelligent comment on the battle of the sexes I've seen in a long time…." — The New Yorker

"…it makes Howard Korder a presence to take seriously in the theater." — Village Voice

"Boys' Life is the freshest thing I've seen in ages." — New York Daily News

About the Playwright:

Howard Korder is an American screenwriter and playwright. The Broadway production of his drama Boys' Life won rave reviews and a Pulitzer Prize nomination and established him as one of the most important playwrights in America. He plays have been performed throughout the U.S., in Canada, and in Europe. He has also worked on several television projects, including HBO's Boardwalk Empire.