Will Ryan Murphy Bring Boys in the Band to Broadway? | Playbill

Broadway News Will Ryan Murphy Bring Boys in the Band to Broadway? Mart Crowley’s groundbreaking Off-Broadway play may finally make its Main Stem debut.
Ryan Murphy Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock
Glee and Feud producer Ryan Murphy may produce the Broadway bow of Mart Crowley's 1968 play The Boys in the Band, according to the New York Post. Murphy has optioned the rights to the pre-Stonewall play, which was last seen in New York in 2010 in a production by Off-Broadway's Transport Group.

Murphy would like to present the revival next spring to celebrate the landmark work's 50th anniversary. Although no casting has been announced, there is talk of Tony and Emmy winners Jim Parsons and Neil Patrick Harris for the roles of Emory and Michael, respectively.

The Boys in the Band was one of the first plays to feature (mostly) uncloseted gay men in their contemporary natural habitat—at least from playwright Crowley's point of view.

In 1968, Robert Moore directed a cast that included Cliff Gorman (1968 Obie Award for Distinguished Performance), Leonard Frey, Laurence Luckinbill, Kenneth Nelson, Frederick Combs, Reuben Greene, Robert La Tourneaux, and Keith Prentice. It ran 1,000 performances. A 1970 film version followed (it was released on DVD with special features in fall 2008).

A 1996 production at Lucille Lortel Theatre played 88 performances and featured David Greenspan (who won an Obie Award), Christopher Sieber, David Drake, and more.

 
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