Breaking: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Will Come to Broadway This Spring with Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells & More! — Page 4

The Cowboy won't go into a steam room after a workout because it will deflate his muscles (I *think* the word used in the script is deflate). Being muscly is absolutely a job requirement. And being pretty. Too pretty, as the script indicates. Ben Platt is wonderfully talented and is many things...but The Cowboy in Boys in the Band is not one of those things.

Eh. I wouldn't say anyone in this cast is "brilliant." They're all very "fortunate," but not "brilliant." I wish it was in a bit bigger of a theater, but I'm excited to see it. I wonder if the late start date means "Meteor Shower" might extend a bit?

Not joining the praise of this work. It has actually done a lot of damage to peoples' lives and perpetuates so many sad and pathetic stereotypes, one wonders why so many gay stars wish to reenact it.

It's a snapshot in time. I remember the first time as a young gay watching this movie. I was horrified but couldn't look away it was so compelling. The times are different but there are still a lot of self loathing gay people. You could say the same thing about "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woof", it tough to watch but no one says that it indicative of all heterosexuals. No one goes to the theatre to watch a boring couple eating dinner and watching TV, they go for drama.

BuddyStarr said: "It's a snapshot intime. I remember the first time as a young gay watching this movie. I was horrified but couldn't look away it was so compelling. The times are different but there are still a lot of self loathing gay people."

I really hope they turn up the self-reflection for all the current anti-femme, anti-asian/black rhetoric gays have got going. Even with increasing conversation around these topics in last couple of years, the trend has neither gone away nor being confronted head on by the community. The themes are all already there in the text, it will be interesting to see if they're able to make it feel more current.

And I have to agree with the poster above about Parson being an excellent choice for Michael. His The Normal Heart performance was touching and heartbreaking. I think he'll probably be the only person in the Big Bang Theory cast who'll be able to break the shackles of his character and play a myriad of roles in coming years.

I have no idea how it played in the late 60's (I was just an itch in my daddy's pants), but this show isn't really about a whole bunch of self-hating gay men. It's really about only one self-hating gay men and the people around him who are further along in their journey towards acceptance. Harold (and Leonard Frey's beautifully bizarre performance in the film) may hate things about himself, but he doesn't hate his homosexuality. That's the epic showdown at the end of the play...Harold's full acceptance and relative happiness as a gay man vs. Michael's deep sense of self-hatred. And Harold wins.

I think it was smart to cast a Latino Emory, as his cohort is Bernard and it may make give their relationship more depth as the two men of color in the room. You won't be able to escape the racial ugliness of this group of mostly white men...particularly when Michael sings his 'no matter how you figger', it's tough to be a n*gger, but it's tougher to be a Jew.' It's not subtext...it's actual text.

I have a feeling this show will feel much more relevant than any of us expect.

SonofRobbieJ said: "The Cowboy won't go into a steam room after a workout because it will deflate his muscles (I *think* the word used in the script is deflate). Being muscly is absolutely a job requirement. And being pretty. Too pretty, as the script indicates. Ben Platt is wonderfully talented and is many things...but The Cowboy in Boys in the Band is not one of those things."



I think the word used is flatten. Later on the cowboy asks why the lasagnas noodles are flat to which Donald quips "It's been in the steamroom".

No complaints about that casting!