"The Boy in the Band" brings together gay actors "by chance"

Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer in "The Boys in the Band" by Joe Mantello -

• "The Boys in the Band" is an adaptation of a play written in the late 1960s by Mart Crowley.

• Nine homosexual actors make up the cast.

• Joe Mantello, director of the film broadcast on Netflix, explains his choices.

It is to Ryan Murphy, creator of the

and

 that director Joe Mantello owes to have brought

to the screen

.

A play by Mart Crowley written in the late 1960s, already adapted for cinema in 1970 by William Friedkin that Joe Manello had brought back to Broadway in 2018 before making a film out of Netflix.

A birthday party between nine homosexual men is at the center of this story with powerful dialogues.

Everyone must face their desires and their contradictions at the mercy of a party that quickly turns into a generalized settling of accounts.

For

, the director of

looks back at his version of a cult work, at the same time funny, poignant and biting.

Why repossess this piece half a century after its creation?

The reputation of the play is a roller coaster with its ups and downs.

It caused a sensation before being criticized by the LGBT community which considered it caricature and then rehabilitated fifteen years ago.

I consider it, for my part, as a piece of history of the gay community.

At the time, it was the first play to feature gay men, but it owed its success not only to the LGBT community.

The public wanted to discover this mysterious, exotic and slightly sulphurous environment which had its own language and its rituals.

The New Yorkers who went to see the play felt as if they were slaughtering themselves.

Today, it can be considered a classic of American theater.

Tonight's screener is The Boys in the Band.

It's good!

pic.twitter.com/5bhbA9jRfI

- Josh Sewell (@IAmJoshSewell) September 26, 2020

Why did you bring together gay actors?

It was not our will at first.

It turned out like that!

Ryan Murphy and I offered the roles to comedians we had worked with before and we picked the rest of the cast by hosting castings.

If the actors are gay, it's a coincidence.

But it saved us precious time as they were familiar with the subject of the play and its vocabulary.

In addition, they felt bound by the solidarity that can be had between gay men.

What have you changed from William Friedkin's version?

I chose to show what happens after the party.

The outcome of William Friedkin's adaptation is very hard.

I chose a more optimistic ending.

We are lucky to be able to take a step back that this first filmed version did not have.

At the time, rage was strong in hearts.

It can be felt in the room and I wanted to bring calm.

Was Ryan Murphy's influence significant on TV inclusion?

It was instrumental as he fought to move forward and, after slipping his foot through the door, he was generous enough to keep it open for others.

In particular, he had the courage to hire gay actors who had come out of the closet in his various series, which was a strong message to encourage actors not to hide anymore.

Today, we must continue to push the door so that it does not close and more and more different stories and different people can find their place on the screens.

It can only make the world a better place!

One of the characters says "Show me a happy homosexual, I'll show you a gay corpse", is that still true?

This line, the most famous of the play, was already ironic in 1968. Being gay in the 1960s did not make your life easier.

Today, things have nevertheless evolved for the better.

is broadcast on a platform where it can be seen by large audiences around the world instead of being shown in small venues to a niche audience.

The idea that all these people are going to discover this classic of gay literature played by nine openly gay actors and proud of it makes me happy.

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• United States

• Lgbt

• Homosexuality

• Theater

• Netflix

• Cinema