The gay cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain is back in the limelight, this time as a very sexy musical stage adaptation.
You don’t have to look any further than the steamy photos posted by the West End's Sohoplace Theatre, where the new stage version of the beloved 2005 film is being performed, to know that lead actors Lucas Hedges and Mike Faist have chemistry that rivals the original.
In the play, Faist plays Jack Twist, who was first portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal, and Hedges plays Ennis Del Mar, who was played by the late Heath Ledger in the Oscar-winning film. The new musical version of the story was adapted by Ashley Robinson and will remain faithful to the 1997 Annie Proulx short story rather than Ang Lee's 2005 film.
“Wyoming 1963: a wild landscape where people live in extreme rural poverty in tight, insular and conservative communities,” the official synopsis of the play reads. “When Ennis and Jack take jobs on the isolated Brokeback Mountain, all their certainties of life change forever as they flounder in unexpected emotional waters of increasing depth. Dan Gillespie Sells’ beautiful Country and Western songs weave heartbreakingly through this intense tale of an irresistible and hidden love spanning twenty years and its tragic consequences.”
The playhouse posted photos from the play on social media that have us in awe of the clear chemistry between the two male leads. One shows a passionate embrace, that looks like the stars are seconds away from a kiss with the caption, “A summer of passion awaits on #BrokebackMountain.”
Another shows the lovers in bed, with Faist in his underwear, leaning against a shirtless Hedges who is covered by a sheet from the waist down. The caption under the photo reads, “Nobody’s business but ours.”
The stage adaptation of the queer western opened to stellar review and is currently in the middle of a limited season run that will end on August 12, 2023 at the Sohoplace Theatre in London. As of yet, there are no plans to bring the play to the U.S. so for now we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that they change their minds and be satisfied peeping photos of the stars on Sohoplace's socials.
