But 1 example … is 1 example…
But I get what you’re saying.
Is it selling well? I'd think those who loved the movie would watch this play regardless of who the actors are.
However, for mainstream folks, I'm not sure if they'd be willing to pay full price tickets to see a play based out of a movie that they can watch for less than $5 online... unless they're huge fans of the actors Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges.
In terms of representation, what made BOYS IN THE BAND play revival so exciting a few years ago was the fact that all the cast members were openly out and proud.
Chorus Member Joined: 3/20/17
"However, for mainstream folks, I'm not sure if they'd be willing to pay full price tickets to see a play based out of a movie that they can watch for less than $5 online..."
Yeah...Didn't work for Moulin Rouge... And now that Hamilton has been filmed, who's going to go see the stage version? Also, the play is not the movie.
"I'm tired of the sad gay play" Then here's an idea. Don't buy a ticket for it. Write your own happy gay play and keep us posted. I'm tired of jukebox musicals. So I don't go to them. Saves me a lot of agonizing.
How dare they not cast an out gay actor to play the gay men in this play?. So I guess if we follow that argument, gay actors shouldn't be allowed to play straight characters? We are going to limit work opportunities if we go down the road of "these "Fill in the blank" roles can only be played by genuine "Fill in the blank" actors. Or is it only when it comes to gay characters that you want that rule followed?
Lucas Hedges is a superb young actor. In the movie Lady Bird, he played a gay high school student, beautifully. He was equally good in Manchester by the Sea. I have not read the interviews in which he talks about his sexuality, but though I'm gay, I also don't happen to care, if he gives a wonderful performance.
If I happen to be in London, I would see this production, because I am curious to see how it is adapted for the stage. Maybe I will decide it should have been left as a story and a film. Or maybe it will be a beautiful piece of theatre. But I'm not going to boycott it based on whatever the sexual orientation of the actors happens to be.
Thanks for bumping the thread for this extremely enlightening comment.
Chorus Member Joined: 3/20/17
Ditto.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/21
Story in The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/may/09/cuddling-cowboys-brokeback-mountain-musical-oscar
"The result is no facsimile of the film. Entering the auditorium, theatregoers will see a sixtysomething man asleep on stage – this is the older Ennis, who is present throughout as he gazes back at his younger self. “It’s essentially a memory play,” says Butterell. “It’s about the deep regret that Ennis still holds on to. People often say Brokeback Mountain is a love story. I don’t think it is. It’s a story of fear, and how it corrupts love.”
Thanks for the link.
This is a poor article that says more about the writer's agendas than the piece itself.
The headline itself "cuddling cowboys"??? "Brokeback Mountain Musical"??? is enough to deter some potential ticket buyers. Irresponsible writing by the journalist.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/21
Early report from someone at tonight's first preview.
https://theatreboard.co.uk/post/466692/thread
Does anyone know when the press opening is? I can't find it listed.
MrsSallyAdams said: "Does anyone know when the press opening is? I can't find it listed."
I believe May 18 is their official opening night or Gala night, so probably the day before? I keep forgetting they technically have two opening nights, as one is for the press, and the other is the official gala opening when the big stars come out to see the show.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/21
On the new Brokeback-adjacent movie:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/pedro-almodovars-strange-way-of-life-is-a-queer-western-without-repression
"When the celebrated Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar declined to adapt Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain,” the job went to Ang Lee instead. Almodóvar later watched Lee’s version, and was so struck by an exchange between protagonists Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) that he spent years nursing a response. Two decades on, he’s unveiled a queer Western of his own: a thirty-one-minute short entitled “Strange Way of Life.” The film, starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, is decidedly an original creation, but the rhymes between the two love stories are revealing."
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
I didn't know there was a threat about this but I saw it last month while in London and didn't think much of it except for Mike Faist was kind of terrific, Lucas Hedges was miscast, the songs added nothing, and the playwright somehow made a bore out of a great short story and even better film.
Agreed Owen. Mike Faist really elevates things and my god is he sexy. Unfortunately the rest of the evening feels a little flat.
Here’s an honest review:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CstjXViosns/?igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==
Stand-by Joined: 11/17/11
Coming to Chicago next year, May 28–June 28, 2026. Jonathan Butterell will again direct. Casting is TBA.
Brokeback Mountain Play Will Make North American Premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
https://playbill.com/article/brokeback-mountain-play-will-make-north-american-premiere-at-chicago-shakespeare-theater
Ed: sorry, I didn't see the new thread that had just been created, even though I searched first.
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