The cast of the Broadway revival of ‘The Boys in the Band’
The acclaimed Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band announced this week that the limited-run production has already recouped it’s initial investment.
That’s very rare for a play – especially a limited-run play in one of the smaller Broadway theaters.
But it’s a testament to the power of the iconic play and how it speaks to audiences today.
Cast member Zachary Quinto shared in an Instagram post about the milestone. In his post, he wrote, in part:
“whenever a broadway show recoups it is a milestone… and a rare one at that. especially for a limited run in one of the smaller playhouses on the great white way. so today’s news is exciting as an industry achievement alone. but beyond that – it is a declaration for our community. and for those of us who have the distinct privilege of representing that community eight times a week in front of standing room audiences absolutely wild with excitement – it is humbling to say the least.”
A post shared by Zachary Quinto (@zacharyquinto) on Jul 16, 2018 at 11:05pm PDT
Laurence Luckinbill, one of the few living cast members from the original production off-Broadway recently spoke to Michael Musto of NewNowNext about the subtle differences he sees in this new production versus the original.
“I see something else in these new guys that I don’t think we had in our show. There is a freedom that has been given by circumstance and society to be gay and out in certain sections of the world, like New York. The freedom to be who you are, I think, imbues these new young actors because they have come out before this and I think that gave them the right to be even crueler, in a funny way. The hostility is really present throughout the production. There’s somehow less fun and more war.
“We did not know what we were doing because nobody was out.”
“It was the difference of a cast who knew and lived being in the closet, being locked in. They felt surrounded by danger because it was real.”
The Boys in the Band has one more month left in its Broadway run. Don’t miss it. Get more info here.
In a very awkwardly delivered statement, Donald Trump (reading from prepared remarks) attempted to walk back some of his disastrous comments made in Helsinki yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Calling his Helsinki summit with Putin the “most successful visit” about “the most pressing issues facing humanity,” Trump falsely claimed that the U.S. relationship with Russia is now “substantially better” after the summit.
The Trumpster also asserted that he has faith in the U.S. intelligence establishment’s conclusion that Russia interfered, and then swerved back into the underbrush saying it could also be somebody else.
“I have a full faith in our intelligence agencies. Always have. I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling took place (though) it could be other people also.”
And just for good measure, or out of habit, he threw in another “There was no collusion at all.”
Trump tried to explain that at the summit he ‘misspoke’ and said “I don’t see any reason why it would be Russia” rather than “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.”
Here’s the word salad explanation: “The sentence should have been ‘I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia,’ sort of a double negative. So you can put that in and I think that probably clarifies things pretty good by itself. I have on numerous occasions noted our intelligence findings that Russians attempted to interfere in our elections.”
Watch below.
To be clear, Trump still seemed to waffle in his acceptance of U.S. intelligence: “I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place. Could be other people also. A lot of people out there.” (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/Gp4hzEbZBc
Donald just fixed everything by retroactively amending the transcript of his televised statement about election meddling to read, “I don’t see any reason why it WOULDN’T be Russia,” instead of “WOULD be Russia.” He also clarified that he likes to grab women by their puppies.
The would-wouldn’t defense is preposterous. Trump undermined IC’s Russia assessment multiple times yesterday, citing Putin’s “strong” denial, raising DNC server conspiracy theory. In fact, he has expressed same doubts for >2yrs. A missing contraction is a grammatical red herring.
Trump didn’t misspeak. But if he did, wouldn’t he have corrected himself earlier? Wouldn’t one of his press secretaries have urgently issued a statement? Wouldn’t Dan Coats have said as much? Instead, none of that happened. Officials were speechless.
In his opening monologue last night, Jimmy Kimmel could not hold back when it came to the news of the day, Donald Trump’s disastrous meeting and press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Well, I guess that settles it. There you go. If you’re wondering whether or not Vladimir Putin has an incriminating video of Donald Trump, we now know beyond a treasonable doubt he does.
“This wasn’t a good day for Donald Trump. We haven’t seen an American so owned by a Russian since Rocky IV.
“Putin’s just having fun with this now. He actually offered to have his intelligence agents investigate the hacking of our election. That’s like Papa John offering to investigate who’s been saying all the racist stuff at the company.”
As Trump exited the presser, he brought up Hillary Clinton’s emails yet again. Says Kimmel, “Always close with your biggest hits – that’s the way to go.”
The trailer for the upcoming drama, Boy Erased, which chronicles a teen’s journey through the harmful process of so-called “conversion therapy,’ has been released and it delivers on a deeply visceral level.
Directed by Joel Edgerton, the movie is based on the 2016 memoir by Garrard Conley, and stars Academy Award nominee Lucas Hedges as “Jared,” the 19-year-old son of a Baptist pastor played by Academy Award winner, Russell Crowe.
Outed to his religious parents, Jared is given the choice of attending an “ex-gay” therapy camp to be “cured” of his homosexuality, or face being shunned and disowned by his family.
“Boy Erased is the true story of one young man’s struggle to find himself while being forced to question every aspect of his identity,” reads the official synopsis.
Lucas Hedges and Théodore Pellerin in Boy Erased (2018) – image via Focus Pictures
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly this past May, Edgerton shared, “The film satisfies the dramatic and salacious stuff that interested me, but it also had an emotional resonance to it that I felt didn’t just make it a dark and nihilistic story.”
“Garrard’s story is so full of redemption,” added Edgerton. “My approach and treatment of this story was that there were no villains, that everyone thought they were doing the right thing.”
In addition to Hedges and Crowe, the film stars Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman as Jared’s mother, and Aussie out singer Troye Sivan in a supporting role.
Sivan has also contributed a new original song, “Revelation,” for the soundtrack.
“Conversion therapy” has been banned from being performed on minors in 13 states plus the District of Columbia, as well as over 30 cities and municipalities.
Over on Earth Two, Donald Trump celebrated his (widely-panned) performance at his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way – the Fake News is going Crazy!
Meanwhile, former CIA director John Brennan had a different take on Trump’s performance in Helsinki:
“What Mr. Trump did yesterday was to betray the women and men of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and others and to betray the American public. And that’s why I use the term that this was nothing short of treasonous. Because it is a betrayal of the nation.” — @JohnBrennanpic.twitter.com/qckQn71DMB
“Roger, there’s only room in this band for one hysterical queen.”
Many were surprised by the so-called “straight-washing” of Freddie Mercury’s personal life in the first trailer for the upcoming, Bohemian Rhapsody.
Those folks will be pleased that the second trailer gives us more personal insight to the legendary frontman’s audacity and bisexual authenticity.
The official synopsis:
Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury.
Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet.
The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career.
Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid. While bravely facing a recent AIDS diagnosis, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music.
Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.
As Donald Trump headed into his much-anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton tweeted congrats to the World Cup finals players as well as a question for her former presidential campaign rival.
“Do you know which team you play for?” she tweeted.
Monday evening following the summit, Clinton followed-up: “Well, now we know.”
Trump received broad criticism from Democrats and Republicans for his feckless comments about Putin and the US intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Great World Cup. Question for President Trump as he meets Putin: Do you know which team you play for?
After Donald Trump’s embarrassing performance at a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin today in Helsinki, some Congressional leaders are speaking out.
Some are more forceful than others.
We have this feckless drivel from Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan via press release:
“There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world. That is not just the finding of the American intelligence community but also the House Committee on Intelligence. The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.”
There’s this from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R) who basically sidesteps the issue of Trump:
“The Senate Intelligence Committee has reviewed the 2017 IC (intelligence community) assessment and found no reason to doubt its conclusion that President Putin ordered an influence campaign aimed at the 2016 U.S. elections with the goal of undermining faith in our democratic process. Russia has conducted a coordinated cyberattack on state election systems, and hacked critical infrastructure. They have used social media to sow chaos and discord in our society.
“They have beaten and harassed U.S. diplomats and violated anti-proliferation treaties. Any statement by Vladimir Putin contrary to these facts is a lie and should be recognized as one by the President.
“Vladimir Putin is not our friend and never has been. Nor does he want to be our friend. His regime’s actions prove it. We must make clear that the United States will not tolerate hostile Russian activities against us or our allies.”
On the other side of the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York (D) offered this:
“What could possibly cause President Trump to put the interests of Russia over those of the United States? Millions of Americans will continue to wonder if the only possible explanation for this dangerous behavior is the possibility that President Putin holds damaging information over President Trump. For the president of the United States to side with President Putin against American law enforcement, American defense officials, and American intelligence agencies is thoughtless, dangerous, and weak. The president is putting himself over our country.”
