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Netflix unveils its first trailer for The Boys in the Band

By Rachelle / 08 Sep 2020 (Tuesday)

The Boys in the Band - an upcoming drama film based on a play of the same name - has just released a new trailer ahead of its premiere on Netflix.

The film stars Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Tuc Watkins, Andrew Rannells, Matt Bomer, Michael Benjamin Washington and Robin de Jesús, all of whom will reprise their roles from starring in the revival of the 2018 Broadway adaptation of the play. The Tony-winning cast reunited with the help of Ryan Murphy, for their Netflix debut.

The film is set 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.

Watch the trailer below:

The upcoming film adaptation is directed by Joe Mantello, an actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out, Assassins and Angels in America. His version will actually be the second film adaptation of the play as William Friedkin had first adapted it 50 years ago with the 1968 Broadway company.

This film is just one of many on Netflix’s ever-expanding list of Broadway acquisitions. In the past, the streaming service has released Springsteen on Broadway and an onscreen adaptation of the play American Son starring Kerry Washington. Next up will be another Murphy production, The Prom, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut Tick… tick… Boom!.

The Boys in the Band will premiere on Netflix September 30.

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Netflix unveils its first trailer for The Boys in the Band