The production The Boys in the Band is a lesson in gay history. Set in 1968, a party is held for a group of friends where one of them is having a birthday. A game of truth or dare, at the party, goes off the rails and issues hit the fan that will leave the group forever changed.
Following a Broadway revival, this play returns to Chicago after 20 years in an immersive performance at Windy City Playhouse with 40 partygoers per show. Audience members will enjoy passed beverages and snacks, along with the freedom to move around and sit in the living room of the party.
Jordan Dell Harris makes his Windy City Playhouse debut in the show. His resume includes Wonderful Town, for Goodman Theatre; Homos, Or Everyone in America, for Pride Films and Plays Chicago; and A Little Night Music, for BoHo Theatre.
Windy City Times: You are from Georgia?
Jordan Dell Harris: I lived in Georgia for 25 years, then moved to Atlanta after school.
WCT: What brought you to Chicago?
JDH: I had a few friends that lived here. I never lived more than an hour and a half from home before Chicago. Chicago seemed approachable and affordable.
WCT: You are out?
JDH: Yes, I am gay. My partner understudies the show, so we get to work together, [which] reminds us how lucky we are. His name is Paul Michael Thomson. He's on this weekend for Emory.
WCT: Did you know about The Boys in the Band before being cast?
JDH: Yes. I took class at The University of Georgia called Queer Theatre and Film. We spent a whole week on The Boys in the Band. We read it and watched the movie. I followed the revival and have always been interested in it.
I auditioned for this production in October of 2018, so I had a contract for all of 2019 to sit on. I read as much material as I could. There are a lot of thoughts from people about Boys in the Band, queer people especially.
WCT: The movie is full of such angst.
JDH: Yes. The movie is the original Broadway cast. We are doing a period piece, but they weren't. They had done it in 1968 together.
One of my favorite professors and the reason I am here taught that class in school, so this was a bucket list item to be in the show.
WCT: What have you found to be different from the movie to the play?
JDH: I think the way film acting was happening at the time had different aesthetics and styles. It's very campy of course with the material, but I think with the nature of our production, the immersion and the audience being so close, it has to be more natural. We don't have the luxury to be false. Our version is a little more relaxed and less hyped than what people see in the movie.
WCT: Describe your character in The Boys in the Band.
JDH: I play Donald. The protagonist in the story is Michael. Donald is Michael's former lover and best friend. It's abstract in the text about their relationship. They are very close friends, but not a couple.
The birthday party begins and all the guys show up. This is Michael's group of friends and Donald is not part of this group. He has beef with the birthday boy Harold and there's tension there.
Donald has left New York City and the gay scene. He has moved back in with his parents in The Hamptons. He likes the quiet and talks about his anxiety. He has an inability to deal with Manhattan. He has a line about being too itchy when he's in Manhattan too long.
He hangs out with Michael every Saturday and, then, the birthday party happens.
WCT: How was creating chemistry with this ensemble cast?
JDH: The first time we were all together was a photo shoot. We were lucky to be on the set from the first rehearsal. We were in that beautiful space with the script together. They are a remarkable group of people that really get along in a special way. We all wanted to do the story justice while having a good time.
WCT: Is everyone gay in the cast?
JDH: There is one straight man playing the straight man Alan. He's a great ally to all of us.
WCT: Do you think it was important to the producers to have a gay cast?
JDH: I think so. What is happening with casting now is that representation matters and if the show is about queer men, then those are the people we want to see in those roles. It's the same idea as not having a white Maria in West Side Story anymore.
I think that's important and has mattered in our telling of the story.
WCT: Has there been any mishaps with an audience that can go to the bathroom at any time or move around the room freely during the show?
JDH: It's been interesting to have people this close. People spill drinks and we spill drinks, but no big horror stories so far. People have tapped on us on the shoulder to say they have spilled a drink, but that's about it.
Either zero people get up to go to the bathroom or when one person does it, then more people do it. It's either zero or seven!
Windy City Playhouse regulars who are used to the immersive shows are more comfortable moving around than new people. The Boys in the Band gets tense later and no one moves much after that happens.
WCT: Was being in your underwear onstage awkward?
JDH: I've been in various states of undress a few times, but never two feet from everyone. It is what it is and the robe is fabulous!
WCT: Talk about some of your past roles. How was playing straight in Evil Dead: The Musical for Black Button Eyes?
JDH: It was one of the strangest theatrical experiences ever. Those audiences were zero percent theater people and one hundred percent Evil Dead bros. It was BYOB. It was fun to play a macho zombie killer.
Since then, I went down to my hometown to do Falsettos at one of my favorite theater called Actor's Express.
Last year, I did a show at Raven Theatre called Sundown Yellow Moon. It was a lovely, quiet little play unlike anything I've ever done. I learned guitar for that one.
WCT: You are a multitalented guy. You sing and paint…
JDH: I've had a busy year with theater and not had much time to paint. I'm working on it and gearing up for some stuff.
WCT: Do you want to move into TV or movies?
JDH: I love theater and always want it to be my bread and butter. I have a great agent and get to go on all kinds of auditions. I have taken lots of classes about film and TV in Chicago. I just shot my first network TV thing a few weeks ago.
The Boys in the Band through Sunday, May 17, at Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park Rd. Tickets and information can be obtained at WindyCityPlayhouse.com .
Please check with the event organizers after April 30 to see if the production is still running.
Stay tuned for the upcoming Netflix movie version of The Boys in the Band with the 2018 Broadway revival cast planned for release sometime this year.
