In 1968 the play The Boys in the Band was one of the first prominent pieces of American media to not just feature, but centre the stories of queer men.
It was initially difficult for write Mart Crowley to find a cast for the play, with Laurence Luckinbill (who would play Hank) warned that taking the role would end his career. But the production was such a success that it was adapted into a film in 1970. Now post-Stonewall, however, the lack of political angle to the film fell flat, and it wasn't a bit success.
The play was revived eventually for a Broadway production in 2018, with a cast of openly gay actors including Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto and Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons. The success of the revival led to a Netflix film adaptation with the same cast.
The Netflix version brought the story back into the public eye in an time when there are perhaps enough queer stories that there is perhaps more room for a small-scale, deeply personal story that offers a snapshot of another time, and drew from Crowley’s own life.
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[Images: 1970 and 2020 Boys in the Band posters]
