The critically acclaimed play “The Boys in the Band” will come to life on stage this month in Lexington.You can catch this iconic piece of LGBTQ theatre at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center during the month of July.
The play revolves around a group of gay men who get together to celebrate a birthday in New York City. It premiered off-Broadway in 1968 and was groundbreaking for its portrayal of gay life. Director Marc Roland believes it’s an important piece of work that is still relevant today.
“In 1968 we were as a country dealing with some tumultuous events. You had the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. You had the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Race relations were high, fraught with discrimination with the LGBTQ community. Same amount of discrimination. So you’ve got these two. You’ve got racism. You’ve got discrimination against the LGBTQ community. You’ve got self-loathing issues. These were all things that were prevalent in 1968 and they still today linger. And we felt that the play gave perspective on that and so that’s why we wanted to do it.”
The ‘Boys in the Band’ deals with adult subject matter and language that some people could find offensive. Roland said audiences can expect a production that doesn’t have a happy ending but will spark important conversations.
“It deals with some pretty serious issues and it takes a very dark turn. But I think they’ll (audiences) walk out of here thinking and talking about the experience of LGBTQ individuals and they’ll have probably a different take on racism, homophobia, what the gay public goes through in their everyday lives and they’ll have a glimpse at what it’s like.”
Roland is usually seen onstage but felt drawn to wear the director’s hat for this production.
“I think it’s still very relevant. It’s a controversial play. It deals with a lot of hard issues that society wants to sometimes turn its head away from and that a lot of plays don’t really address and I thought it was important for us to do it for that reason.”
ActOut’s production of ‘Boys in the Band’ is sponsored by Just Fund Kentucky. Again, it’s at the DAC on July 19th and 27th at 8:00. July 26th and 27th at 8:00 and Sunday the 28th at 2:00. Tickets are $20. Click here to order https://tinyurl.com/y697doyt