Review: The Boys in the Band
This play is based on the groundbreaking play from 1968 by Mart Crowley, the motion picture from 1970 and its 2018 Broadway revival.
It's about a group of openly gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City and an unexpected guest(who is straight) arrives only for the party to be turned upside down.
Produced by Ryan Murphy and directed by Joe Mantello, the Netflix version had the entire cast from the revival play reprise their respective roles including Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto and Michael B. Washington. Crowley adapted the stage adaptation once again with the help of his son, Ned. The film is dedicated to the playwright, who passed away in March.
Jim Parson's character, Michael is seen as a social butterfly and is a nice drunk, though his shenanigans make memorable conversations. He also dreads getting older, even implying that he combs his hair 40 times a day. There's Donald, played by Matt Bomer, then Emory, a man of pure flamboyancy, Larry and his partner, Hank and Bernard.
Now... that's the starting lineup, I'll follow that up with two unexpected guests, a male blond prostitute and Michael's old college friend, Alan. Earlier, Alan calls Michael to meet up before breaking down. Feeling worried, Michael invites him for a quick drink, but Alan calls later to reschedule, making his visit even more unexpected. The most memorable dramatic detail of the play is Alan's dilemma, the reason why he wanted to talk to Michael in the first place. When Alan physically hurts Emory for insulting his homophobia, Michael pours himself some hard liquor returning to his old drinking habits and Harold, the man of the hour, finally arrives and he witness the mischief that Michael has started by playing a party game which involves calling the person that you've truly loved, it's a game that's both sadistic and masochistic. Harold haunts the background of the party enjoying every bit of it and Zachary Quinto plays him so perfectly. It's probably one of Zachary Quinto's best performance. The other performances from Andrew Rannells, Tuck Watkins, Michael B. Washington and Robin de Jesus certainly did break my heart and the flashbacks were a bit distracting.
Anyway, back to Michael. The role of Michael is incredibly tough to play, but Jim Parsons was more than up to the challenge by playing a sober and deeply flawed human being. The performance is nothing compared to Kenneth Nelson's performance from 1970 but at least Parsons tried his best.
"The Boys in the Band" has been accused of presenting gay men as self-hating, but the emotions that they let out are far more complicated than that, it's also important to truly understand who we really are.
I definitely recommend watching the 1970 film, but also give this latest movie a watch too.
Share your thoughts below, fellas and Good Night!!
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