The first trailer for Netflix’s The Boys in the Band is here and it stars a bunch of producer Ryan Murphy’s faves. The film is based on the Tony-winning play of the same name by Mart Crowley and looks like it captures much of the same one-room energy. Let’s check it out.
Here’s the plot description from Netflix:
In 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 (Jim Parsons), a screenwriter who spends and drinks too much, in honor of the sharp-dressed and sharp-tongued Harold (Zachary Quinto). Other partygoers include Donald (Matt Bomer), Michael’s former flame, now mired in self-analysis; Larry (Andrew Rannells), a randy commercial artist living with Hank (Tuc Watkins), a school teacher who has just left his wife; Bernard (Michael Benjamin Washington), a librarian tiptoeing around fraught codes of friendship alongside Emory (Robin de Jesús), a decorator who never holds back; and a guileless hustler (Charlie Carver), hired to be Harold’s gift for the night. What begins as an evening of drinks and laughs gets upended when Alan (Brian Hutchison), Michael’s straight-laced college roommate, shows up unexpectedly and each man is challenged to confront long-buried truths that threaten the foundation of the group’s tight bond.
The film boasts an incredible cast: Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Tuc Watkins. Joe Mantello (a Broadway director known for Wicked and Assassins, and who starred in the stage version of Angels in America) will direct, with Murphy, David Stone, and Ned Martel as producers.
Netflix
The Boys in the Band debuted on Broadway in 1968 and was a huge game-changer at the time. According to Broadwayworld.com, “The Boys in the Band helped spark a revolution by putting gay men’s lives onstage, unapologetically and without judgment, in a world that was not yet willing to fully accept them.” It was adapted into a featured film in 1970 and was revived for Broadway in 2019, where it won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
The Boys in the Band hits Netflix screens on September 30.
Featured Image: Netflix