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| THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: sergius 11:33 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
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| It's not a great play, but it's a funny one and, of course, it's very, very important. THE BOYS IN THE BAND was unwelcome in the immediate aftermath of Stonewall and throughout the 1970s which were a sort of heyday for the gay liberation movement when that movement was principally concerned with the destigmatization--indeed, the celebration--of varieties of sexual freedom. It was further dismissed during the plague years of the 1980s when it seemed especially trite--and embarrassing--to the great many who were preoccupied with the serious business of trying to stay alive. Now, though, the play is appreciable for how well it depicts aspects of gay men's experience when it remained sub-cultural and criminal. To see it on Broadway these fifty years later is salutary and stirring. Mantello deftly directs a fully committed group of actors and he has found an ending for the play that smartly and easefully counters its notoriously grim conclusion without betraying or altering the script. Those familiar with the original production, or with 1970 film, will find some bones to pick here--mostly with the casting--but the play hold its own as both a relic and a reminder of the not too distant past and a precursor to the seismic shifts of a future that is still developing and is, by no means, secure. Despite its withering humor and its guilt soaked sorrow, there is a current of rage in this play that we are wise not to ignore or otherwise diminish; it is, after all, the subsequent redirection of this rage away from the self and onto a societal other that helped to give rise to the kind civil protections in place today. The boys in the band were yet a band of brothers. | |
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| re: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: EveryLittleChore 01:57 am EDT 05/29/18 | |
| In reply to: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - sergius 11:33 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
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| "Those familiar with the original production, or with 1970 film, will find some bones to pick here--mostly with the casting." Could you please explain what your bones with casting are? |
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| re: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: sergius 08:38 am EDT 05/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - EveryLittleChore 01:57 am EDT 05/29/18 | |
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| I was imprecise. I should have said "performances" instead of "casting." To me, Parsons, DeJesus and Quinto, who give fine, legible performances, were yet not the equal of the actors who played these parts originally. | |
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| re: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: Thom915 09:31 am EDT 05/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - sergius 08:38 am EDT 05/29/18 | |
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| I have to disagree with you about Quinto who I thought gave the best performance in the play. He even convinced me that he could be considered ugly, an amazing feat. I think DeJesus is just fine and only needs a bit more performances to make the role totally his own. These three roles of course are the three which are most indelible in people's minds and I think all three actors as well as the others in the cast are putting their own particular interpretations forward. I think they are successful in that. What i do not agree with are the cuts and the condensing of the play into one act. The lack of an intermission makes the play rather than the characters' evening seem longer. | |
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| Well, yeah, we all know THAT...but | |
| Posted by: Genealley 11:42 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
| In reply to: THE BOYS IN THE BAND Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - sergius 11:33 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
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| what did you think of the production? | |
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