VideoMart Crowley, Joe Mantello, and Cast of The Boys in the Band on the Rich History Behind the ShowCBS Sunday Morning spoke to the cast and creative team about what it took to produce the groundbreaking play.
By
Olivia Clement
May 07, 2018
The May 6 broadcast of CBS Sunday Morning featured a look at the Broadway revival of Mart Crowley’s 1968 play The Boys in the Band, now in previews at the Booth Theatre.
In the video featurette above, Crowley talks about the play's rich history—the anger that fueled its writing, the taboo of being gay in the 1960s, the unexpected success of the Off-Broadway production, and the pushback it received in the face of the burgeoning gay rights movement.
Also featured in the video are director Joe Mantello, who talks about his “complicated response to the play,” and the Broadway cast, who open up about the pioneering nature of the piece and its continued relevance today.
The Boys in the Band will officially open on Broadway May 31. The play is about a group of gay men who gather in a New York City apartment for a friend’s birthday party. As the evening continues, the cracks beneath their friendships begin to show, exposing the self-inflicted heartache that threatens their solidarity.
Mantello directs a cast made up of Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Matt Bomer, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, Tuc Watkins, and Charlie Carver.
The limited engagement, produced by Ryan Murphy and David Stone, is scheduled to run through August 12.
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Look Back at Past Productions of The Boys in the Band
Look Back at Past Productions of The Boys in the Band
Mart Crowley’s groundbreaking 1968 play will come to Broadway in 2018.
16 PHOTOS
Cast in the 1968 production of The Boys in the Band
