Alumnus Wins Tony Award for "The Boys in the Band"


Brian Hutchison '89 and the cast of The Boys in the Band won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

The show premiered on Broadway in 2018 and tells the story of a group of gay men who convene in a New York City apartment for a friend’s birthday party. As the evening continues, the cracks beneath their friendships begin to show, bringing to light self-inflicted heartache and identity crisis.

The show ended several months ago, and the entire cast was able to reunite for the evening. “It was a thrill to win and celebrate together the rest of the night. It’s the first time we’d all seen each other since we closed, so there was a lot of laughter and catching up,” Brian said.

And, if winning a Tony isn’t exciting enough, Brian and the entire original cast will reprise their roles for a new film version this summer produced by Ryan Murphy and Netflix! “I’m looking forward to filming in Los Angeles and New York City this summer and to bring this story to a whole new audience. It’s a funny, dark, bracing, and brutal script written 50 years ago about a group of gay men in New York City. The original production in 1968 was such a curiosity because it was the first play ever written about gay people and what their lives were like. They risked everything by living openly – the loss of friends, family, jobs, social standing – let alone the constant real fear of harassment, violence, or being arrested – all of which is addressed in The Boys in the Band,” he said.

“The Broadway production was a blast and a wonderful memory, but theater is just that – it is ephemeral so we are just left with a memory of what we saw or, for me, what my experience was doing it,” Brian reflected. “It’s a great opportunity to share this story on film now and celebrate how far we’ve come and also how much work there is still to do in this country and around the world in terms of acceptance and inclusion and empathy.”

Congratulations, Brian!

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