The first time Parsons read it, 'I was confused, I'll be frank with you,' he says. ('Show me a happy homosexual and I'll show you a gay corpse,' Michael says late in the play.)
But critical reappraisals haven't always been kind, with some in the LBGTQ community feeling that 'Boys in the Band' plays into dated, harmful stereotypes that all gay men are self-hating, catty and unable to commit to meaningful romantic relationships. The stage play and William Friedkin's 1970 film version were considered groundbreaking 50 years ago for putting gay characters front and center, warts and all. But the booze-soaked night takes a turn when Michael's homophobic, maybe closeted college roommate, Alan (Brian Hutchison), shows up unannounced, and the men begin to air their resentments: for each other, and a society that has conditioned them to hate themselves.
The drama unfolds in a chic New York apartment in the late ’60s, where Michael (Parsons) is hosting a birthday party for his friend Harold (Quinto) and their pals, all of whom are gay.
