Final answer:
The statement that 'The Boys in the Band' was the first play to bring gay life to mainstream audiences is true, considering that prior representations were not mainstream due to strict censorship and the prevailing social mores.
Step-by-step explanation:
When assessing whether The Boys in the Band was the first play to bring gay life to mainstream audiences, it is crucial to look at the historical context of how LGBT themes were treated in media during the time. The statement that The Boys in the Band was the first play to do so is indeed true. Prior to its debut, there was significant censorship in place with New York's banning of theater productions promoting homosexuality in 1927 and the subsequent enforcement of the Hays Code in the 1930s, which forbade homosexual content in movies. While there might have been instances of gay life representation in speakeasies or in literature, these were not mainstream platforms. Furthermore, according to George Chauncey's study, there was an increased visibility in gay culture during the prohibition era, but this did not equate to mainstream theatrical representation. The publication of Donald Webster Cory's 'The Homosexual in America' was pathbreaking as a non-fiction book recognizing gay and lesbian people as a minority group, yet still, it did not impact the theatre in the way The Boys in the Band did once it hit the stage.