Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, Jim Parsons to star in 'Boys in the Band'

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer and Zachary Quinto are to head up the star-studded Broadway debut of Mart Crowley's 1968 comic drama The Boys in the Band.

The ensemble also will include Andrew Rannells, Robin de Jesus, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington and Tuc Watkins.

Joe Mantello is to direct the strictly limited, 15-week engagement, which is scheduled to play April 30 through Aug. 12.

Ryan Murphy and David Stone are producing the play which "centers on a group of gay men who gather in a [New York City] apartment for a friend's birthday party," a press release noted. "After the drinks are poured and the music turned up, the evening slowly exposes the fault-lines beneath their friendships and the self-inflicted heartache that threatens their solidarity."

"The significance of The Boys in the Band cannot be underestimated. In 1968, Mart Crowley made theatrical history by giving voice to gay men onstage, in this uncompromising, blisteringly honest, and wickedly funny play," Murphy said in a statement Wednesday. "The play was groundbreaking in its exploration of how gay men treated each other and how they were made to feel about themselves. And while some attitudes have thankfully shifted, it's important to be reminded of what we have overcome and how much further we still have to go."