Is the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ play heading to the US? Here’s what we know so far

A Brokeback Mountain play is currently playing a strictly limited run in London’s West End. It stars Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased) and Mike Faist (West Side Story) as ill-fated lovers Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist.

The production, which features a band and country-flavored songs, has earned positive reviews. The Guardian called it “perfectly pitched” and gave it 4/5, while the Evening Standard praised its “potent, subtle… dramatic alchemy.”

Check out the Queerty Brokeback Mountain review here.

The question on many people’s lips now is: Will it transfer to the US?

The man responsible for taking Annie Proulx’s much-loved novella and transforming it for the stage responded to that very question in a recent interview.

Ashley Robinson spoke to Brooklyn about the production. Asked if there were plans to bring it to New York (where Robinson lives), he said, “We’re exploring many avenues to bring it to New York. There’s lots of interest and conversations happening. And, you know, the right producer and the right theater will find us.”

Sounds hopeful, right?

Faithful to novella

Robinson revealed he sent a cold-call email to Proulx, outlining what he wanted to do with the story and asking her permission. To his surprise, she responded within hours and gave her blessing. She had turned down previous requests from other playwrights. This is Robinson’s first fully-produced play (he has other productions currently in the workshop stage).

“She’s a wonderful woman and very grateful for this adaptation, I think because we really took it back to her story,” Robinson said of Proulx.

“She says people try to rewrite the ending as fan fiction. I think that’s because this story is so personal for so many people who have never felt seen. It was and is a cultural phenomenon. ‘Brokeback Mountain’ was certainly the first time I identified with anything as a queer man. 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.”

Personal connection

Robinson, who also acts, also revealed a very personal connection to the play. He was asked if he read the story before seeing the 2005 movie starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

“I read it with Joshua Park, my first love [and fellow actor], who I really made this adaptation for. We saw the ‘Brokeback’ movie together in 2005 when I was in Chicago doing ‘Wicked.’

“Afterward, we immediately walked across Clark Street to the Borders bookstore, bought the book, went home, and read it out loud to each other.

“He died very suddenly in 2015 at the age of 38, almost the exact same age as Jack Twist when he dies in the story. On Josh’s birthday that year, I wondered if I had that old copy of the story from Chicago, and I do … it’s right here.

“On the first day of rehearsal this year, [the cast] read the story out loud to each other and I thought, ‘Oh my god, full circle.’ It’s all been so serendipitous how it’s come together this way.”

Brokeback Mountain continues at Soho Place in London until August 12th.

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