The Boys in the Band (Broadway)
Closed 1h 50m
The Boys in the Band (Broadway)
89

The Boys in the Band (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets

89%
(503 Ratings)
Positive
97%
Mixed
3%
Negative
0%
Members say
Great acting, Funny, Absorbing, Entertaining, Thought-provoking

About the Show

Two-time Tony Award-winning director Joe Mantello brings Mart Crowley's groundbreaking 1968 play to Broadway in a production starring Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, and Andrew Rannells.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (503)

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68 Reviews | 19 Followers
99
Great acting, Great staging, Masterful, Resonant, Intense

See it if you want a raw insight into the never ending process of self discovery.

Don't see it if you think gay marriage causes hurricanes. Read more

170 Reviews | 39 Followers
98
Absorbing, Great acting, Great writing, Resonant, Intelligent

See it if you want to see an old play that is still relevant, performed by an amazing cast of actors in a brilliantly directed production.

Don't see it if you are homophobic and uncomfortable watching an honest, gay drama. Read more

55 Reviews | 20 Followers
98
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Intelligent, Resonant

See it if You want to see nine actors on their A-game; you appreciate resonant historical plays; another masterful Joe Mantello production.

Don't see it if You’re a homophobe; you’re expecting to laugh the entire time. Read more

59 Reviews | 7 Followers
98
Absorbing, Delightful, Funny, Great acting, Great staging

See it if you want to see a classic of gay drama brought to life. The actors breath life to this gem of a drama. Biting, witty, needed

Don't see it if you don't like stories about gay relationships. This is an incredible staging that has you entranced from the first scene.

55 Reviews | 12 Followers
98
Clever, Funny, Great acting, Great writing, Hilarious

See it if The writing, clever, the acting outstanding. captures elegantly specific time in history

Don't see it if If you don't like theatre about gay men, fast dialogue, plays that take place in one place on one evening

69 Reviews | 20 Followers
97
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Must see, Thought-provoking

See it if you want to see a brilliantly written and acted show, beautifully produced. Sit in the balcony if you have bladder issues, 110 minutes long.

Don't see it if you are homophobic and don't want your dated views to be challenged, or if you only like musicals or comedies.

68 Reviews | 12 Followers
97
Absorbing, Great acting, Resonant, Edgy, Hilarious

See it if you’re a fan of the film or have never seen it onstage. Great opportunity to see an all-star cast having a blast and being witty, catty.

Don't see it if you’re tired of seeing tired old queens make the same tired old jokes.

112 Reviews | 10 Followers
96
Absorbing, Clever, Entertaining, Great acting, Riveting

See it if you enjoy ensemble plays with wonderful witty writing and nuanced performances.

Don't see it if you are not interested in seeing a roomful of gay men be unapologetically themselves.

Critic Reviews (43)

Talkin' Broadway
May 31st, 2018

"There are certainly some wince-worthy moments that cannot be avoided altogether...But time, history, and a slew of plays and musicals featuring gay, lesbian, and, transgender characters, allow us to better appreciate the place of 'The Boys in the Band' in the grand scheme of things...It is wrong to dismiss this play, and why this outstanding production, performed and directed by openly and proudly gay men, marks a triumphant return for 'The Boys in the Band.'"
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New York Stage Review
May 31st, 2018

"Thanks to its excellent new Broadway production, 'The Boys in the Band' is revealed to be a trenchant period drama that dazzles contemporary viewers with a barrage of explosive laughs even as its smart staging respects the thorny past...Mantello, one of the top directors around, delivers quite a seductive production...Under Mantello’s astute guidance, a terrific ensemble sweeps the audience along on the story’s increasingly emotional roller-coaster ride as ribald laughter gives way to tears."
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New York Stage Review
May 31st, 2018

"The play remains compelling viewing, for its wit and its pathos and especially as a slice of historical anthropology. But there’s just no good reason, and there’s never been a good reason, why the miserable men in Michael’s living room don’t simply get up and leave. It’s the unavoidable flaw in this unavoidable work. Director Joe Mantello hasn’t solved that problem. But he’s otherwise given us as fine a version of 'Boys' as we’re likely to get."
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Theater News Online
June 3rd, 2018

"Crowley uttered a 'cri de coeur' with tremendous style and grace, an existential scream with perfect pitch...A document of its time and, weirdly, a predictor of society to come...Mantello’s starry and glossy revival maximizes the script’s angsty impudence...It’s an exemplary piece of naturalistic playwriting, with a masterful control of pacing and tone. And it’s howlingly funny, packed with bitchy one-liners that help to mitigate the slide into darkness."
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Broadway News
May 31st, 2018

"Certainly director Joe Mantello’s smashing production of Crowley’s dark comedy sustains a savage humor from start to finish. More surprising, perhaps, is that the actors, under Mantello’s exquisite direction, probe the tender spots in Crowley’s time capsule of a play with a sensitivity that resonates even now...Mantello and his expert cast manage to make us see past the outmoded tropes to the wellsprings of truth from which they emerged."
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CurtainUp
June 5th, 2018

“Not a great play...However, it remains a funny/sad group character portrait that deserves its own 50th Birthday party to honor its trailblazing status....The actors make the zingers still work...While Parsons is both the major character and star name, it's the ensemble that's this production's true heart and soul...An all too timely reminder that GLBT community's hard-won rights demand continued activism in the face of current Blue State hostility to those rights.”
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Front Mezz Junkies
May 31st, 2018

"As directed by Joe Montello, that anger flies at us in this 50th anniversary production, punching us as hard as it can, taking no prisoners in this game of telephone calls. He and this marvelously authentic cast makes us sit up and take notice of these boys, and the band they all play for...Everything about this, including the ripe and engaging performances, remind us of the 1968 time period without beating us over the head with it."
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Broadway Blog
May 31st, 2018

"Without the political constraints of the last 50 years, Crowley's script emits a sense of structural freedom, whereby these men struggle, swoosh, snap, and sneer their way through an evening of self-discovery that transcends its timestamp. In spite of the streamers and balloons, 'The Boys in the Band' is far more than a theatrical gay party favor."
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