To mark the 50th anniversary of Mart Crowley’s Ground breaking queer play THE BOYS IN THE BAND in 2018 director Joe Mantello mounted a Broadway revival with a cast of all-gay actors. Both a critical and commercial success, it won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
Ryan Murphy, the celebrated queer producer with a seemingly Midas Touch quickly announced that he would film the play using the same star studded Broadway cast. And now 2 years later it is completed and about to stream exclusively on NETFLIX next month.
With Mantello at the helm again directing Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington and Tuc Watkins, the movie is destined to be a must see queer movie of the season.
Set n 1968 New York City – when being gay was still considered to be best kept behind closed doors – a group of friends gather for a raucous birthday party hosted by Michael, a screenwriter who spends and drinks too much, in honor of the sharp-dressed and sharp-tongued Harold. Its an evening of razor sharp wit and bitchery with all the guests throwing shade at each other .
Then Alan whois Michael’s straight-laced college roommate, shows up unexpectedly and now somehow each man feels challenged by the threat of feeling so exposed to the rest of the group.
It’s a wonderful, albeit controversial, observational piece in our community’s history and sadly how very rampant internalised homophobia was back then.
You will so kick yourself if you miss it!
Labels: 2020, film, The Boys In The Band
