PICT Announces A Mostly Homegrown Cast for ‘The Boys in the Band’ in June
By Sharon Eberson, OnStage Pittsburgh
Originally Published 4/8/2022
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It’s not your typical PICT Classic Theatre offering, The Boys in the Band. Still, as a play that has been heralded as “a true theatrical game-changer,” it certainly fits the mold of a contemporary classic.
On Friday, PICT announced the mostly home-grown cast of the play coming to its Fred Rogers Studio home in Oakland, June 16-July 9, 2022. One of the busiest men in Pittsburgh show biz, City Theatre co-artistic director Monteze Freeland, will direct.
Jason Shavers, seen recently in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Slow Food, leads the way as Michael, the host, and catalyst for most of the drama of the play. He is joined by Nick Cearley (of rock duo The Skivvies) as Larry, Ken Bolden (Netflix’s The Chair, Archive 81) as Hank, Dylan Marquis Meyers (PICT’s As You Like it, Romeo & Juliet) as Donald, Jerreme Rodriguez (most recently Quantum’s Plano) as Emory, along with Jahir Christian as Bernard, Tony Lorich II as Cowboy, Jordon Ross Weinhold as Harold and Allen Law as Alan.
The Boys in the Band opened off-Broadway in 1968 as a groundbreaking portrait of gay lives. It begins as an intimate birthday party among seven friends. But, as the evening wears on – fueled by drugs and alcohol – bitter, unresolved resentments among the guests come to light when a game of “Truth” goes terribly wrong.
The play by Mart Crowley has inspired two movie versions, most recently with an all-star cast led by Jim Parsons as Michael, with Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, and Matt Bomer, in 2020.
PICT is currently prepping Samuel Beckett’s Endgame with Bolden, Martin Giles, James FitzGerald, and Karen Baum for a May-14-29 run at the Fred Rogers Studio at WQED.
Alan Stanford directs Endgame, about four characters stuck together in a single room while sheltering from an impending catastrophe.
For tickets and information on upcoming shows, visit www.picttheatre.org or call 412-561-6000 ext. 207.