Matt Crowley’s groundbreaking 1968 play”The Boys in the Band” will be revived for a limited Broadway engagement for it’s 50th Anniversary and will be directed by two-time Tony winner Joe Mantello. and starring five openly gay actors: Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Matt Bomer, and Tuc Watkins.
The cast will also include Tony nominee Robin De Jesús as Emory, Brian Hutchison as Alan, and Michael Benjamin Washington as Bernard. The role of Cowboy remains to be cast.
Not to spoil the 50 year old plot line but in The Boys in the Band, an affluent, thirty-year-old gay man named Michael has invited a number of his homosexual friends to his stylish New York City apartment for a birthday party honoring their gay Jewish friend, Harold. The group includes Donald; Michael’s present lover; Emory, a portrait of the effeminate gay stereotype; Hank, once married and the father of two children but now living with Larry; Bernard, a gay black man; and a male prostitute who is Emory’s birthday gift to Harold. Michael’s former college friend, Alan, who is married and hostile toward homosexuals, crashes this party. Alan soon recognizes the stereotypical Emory as a homosexual, is offended by his behavior, and punches him; however, Alan is later surprised to discover that the others also are gay, especially Hank, who Alan thinks is heterosexual. The action of the play culminates in a party game that Michael designs; each guest must telephone the one person he truly believes he has loved and confess his deepest feelings. Michael intends for this game to reveal Alan’s latent homosexuality, but Alan’s telephone call goes to his wife. The play ends with Harold characterizing Michael as a gay man consumed by self-loathing.
The production marks The Boys in the Band’s Broadway premiere. Originally scheduled to run for five performances at a small Off-Broadway venue, the play became an overnight sensation, and—after transferring to a bigger theatre—ran for over 1,000 performances. The show went on to have an acclaimed run in London and was adapted into a film by William Friedkin in 1970. But it never played on Broadway.
The TBITB is scheduled to play the Booth Theatre April 30–August 12, 2018.
The production is being produced by Ryan Murphy and veteran Broadway producer David Stone.
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