We wish we could quit you looking at these new pics from the London production of Brokeback Mountain. While these aren’t the first images we’ve gotten to see from the buzz-worthy musical adaptation, they are perhaps the steamiest.
Based on Annie Proulx’s short story and the 2005 Oscar Award-winning film, the show stars Boy Erased‘s Lucas Hedges as Ennis Del Mar and Mike Faist (of West Side Story fame) as Jack Twist.
At a time when being gay was a death sentence, the two Wyoming cowboys meet and find themselves overtaken by passion while herding sheep… on none other than Brokeback Mountain. Though they end up marrying women, neither can quite get over their forbidden romance, despite feeling that a future together is impossible.
While it’s not the kind of bombastic story that’s inspired musicals like The Prom or Wicked, their vulnerable journey and raw moments of intimacy provide fertile ground for a genuinely moving show that’s pushed along by powerful and moody country-flavored tunes. You can check out Queerty’s review here for our full breakdown.
Billed as “A play with music,” the production has garnered rave reviews from the likes of The Guardian and the Evening Standard. The script was written by playwright Ashley Robinson, who understood how much Brokeback means to the LGBTQ+ community and took care in adapting it for the stage.
“Brokeback Mountain was certainly the first time I identified with anything as a queer man,” he recently told Brooklyn. “I’d never seen a rural gay love story. So it was really the first time I recognized myself, which is why I fell in love with it, tragic as it is.”
The new production stills further emphasize the softness behind the two men’s love story despite their sad circumstances. Hedges and Faist are photographed in a shirtless embrace in bed, though their physical closeness does little to ease expressions of desperation and regret.
Another photo showcases a moment of confusion and hurt from actress Emily Fairn, who portrays Ennis’ wife Alma, while the final pic offers a moment of levity for Faist’s character, who is photographed grinning from ear to ear in his cowboy getup.
Although the musical’s limited run in London is soon coming to a close, Robinson is hopeful that a New York production is in the cards. “There’s lots of interest and conversations happening,” he told Brooklyn. “And, you know, the right producer and the right theater will find us.”
Check out the images below.
Lucas Hedges and Mike Faist in ‘Brokeback Mountain.’ Credit: Johan Persson
Lucas Hedges and Mike Faist in ‘Brokeback Mountain.’ Credit: Johan Persson
Mike Faist in ‘Brokeback Mountain.’ Credit: Johan Persson
Emily Fairn in ‘Brokeback Mountain.’ Credit: Manuel Harlan
Fingers crossed that we get to see Brokeback Mountain on a Broadway stage sooner rather than later! Until then, check out the trailer below for the West End production, which runs at @sohoplace in London through August 12.
