‘The Boys in the Band’: Zachary Quinto and Charlie Carver kiss in first trailer for Ryan Murphy Netflix remake
The all-gay movie remake of Mart Crowley’s seminal 1968 play premieres on 30 September.
By Will Stroude
Less than two weeks after we got our first proper look at Ryan Murphy’s The Boys in the Band, the first trailer for the upcoming film remake of gay stage classic has arrived – and yes, that’s drama you can smell.
The three-minute trailer sees sparks fly and tears flow as 1960s New Yorker Michael (The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons) hosts a tension-filled party for a group of gay friends.
First announced last year, the film remake of Mart Crowley’s seminal 1968 play features an all-star (and all-gay) cast of greats including Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Charlie Carver, Andrew Rannells, Tuc Watkins and Michael Benjamin Washington.
The cast all appeared in Joe Mantello’s Tony Award-winning Broadway production in 2018, and Mantello is back in the director’s chair for the film adaptation.
Often cited as a milestone in the history of queer cinema, hit off-Broadway show The Boys in the Band was first adapted into a movie back in 1970 and was among the first major American motion pictures to revolve around gay characters.
An official synopsis for the new remake reads: “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 Boys in the Band premieres on 30 September on Netflix. Watch the first trailer below: