The Boys in the Band is a searing and deeply emotional film about the complicated lives and friendships of a group of gay men who gather together for a birthday party. What starts out as a joyous celebration soon starts to turn sour, as each of the men reveals something about themselves and about the resentments they hold toward each other. The brilliance of the film is that it allows each of the characters their chance to shine and, as a result, the viewer understands each of them in his own way.
Looking at them through the lens of the zodiac allows for a more nuanced and layered appreciation of how unique they truly are.
Aries: Harold
Harold is the young man whose birthday party it is (and he's superbly portrayed by Zachary Quinto). From the moment he steps through the door, he shows himself to be a captivating figure (a typical fire sign trait). What’s more, he’s clearly a determined sort of fellow, confident in his own persona as an aesthete and also comfortable with his own flaws. However, it’s clear that, like other Aries, he can be a bit moody and impatient with what he sees as the flaws of others.
Taurus: Hank
Hank is one of the few characters in the film who comes across as a genuinely nice guy. In fact, he seems quite comfortable in his own skin (no small thing, since he’s just left his wife to life with Larry). He has all of the traits of a Taurus, most notably his sensible and stable nature. However, one gets the feeling that he can also be a little stubborn, which is always to be expected from the bull.
Gemini: Michael
Jim Parsons deserves a great deal of credit for bringing Michael to brilliant life. It’s very clear that Michael has two personas, one of which is a charismatic and friendly guy who has a bit of an acid tongue. The other, however, is an embittered and cruel young man, the type who will lash out at anyone who crosses him. These two competing impulses are very much in keeping with the Gemini persona, and they get him into a lot of trouble.
Cancer: Emory
One of the hallmarks of the Cancer is their rather goofy sense of humor, and Emory definitely has that. In fact, he’s one of the most exuberant personalities in the entire film, and it’s absolutely impossible not to love him.
As with many other Cancers, he is also clearly a loving sort, and he seems to have a lot of affection for his friends, even if they can be a bit cruel and dismissive toward him.
Leo: Larry
The Leo is one of those signs in the zodiac that seems to want all of the attention. While this isn’t always explicitly clear with Larry, one gets the sense that his desire for an open relationship (which creates conflict with Hank) is driven in part by his desire to be the center of attention, and he certainly continues to make a spectacle of himself through most of the film. Like all Leos, he also is a bit too free with the claws at times,
Virgo: Hank
Given that Hank is said to be a math teacher, it would make sense that he would exhibit many of the signs of that most earthy of all earth signs, the Virgo. Hank is a very sensible sort of guy, and this helps to explain why it is that he would look for a stable relationship instead of the open option that Larry desires. What’s more, his Virgo nature also leads him to develop strong attachments to those that he decides to love.
Libra: Donald
Libras, as everyone knows, are born mediators. They are the kind of people who like to have balance in all aspects of their life, and so this suits them to this particular occupation. Matt Bomer’s Donald is that type of person. He not only tries to keep a lid on the tempers of everyone at the party; he tries to do it for Michael as well, particularly at the end of the film. Alone among the characters, he really does seem to care for his bitter friend and does what he can to help him navigate his turbulent emotions.
Scorpio: Michael
In addition to his Gemini traits, in many ways Michael is also a Scorpio. Anyone who has ever known a scorpion knows that they tend to have a bit of darkness in their nature, and they have an unfortunate habit of wanting to hurt others. As Michael shows again and again throughout the film, he has both of these tendencies in abundance, and his malicious game with the telephone is the best example.
Sagittarius: Donald
The Sagittarius has many traits, but one of their most prominent is that they enjoy knowledge and getting to learn new things. Though this isn’t a huge emphasis in the play, at several points it’s demonstrated that Donald (played by the great Matt Bomer) has a love of reading and books.
This suggests that, like the Sagittarius, he has a strong connection to the life of the mind and to the betterment of his intellect.
Capricorn: Alan
Alan is, of course, Michael’s former friend from college, and almost at once he demonstrates that he’s painfully straight. As a result, he has all of the familiar traits of the Capricorn, up to and including a discomfort with emotion. In fact, time and again throughout the film he demonstrates that he doesn’t like to demonstrate his feelings openly (with some notable exceptions). This reticence tends to make him look like a bit of a jerk. He's also very stubborn, as can be seen by the fact that he sticks around even after he fights with Emory.
Aquarius: Cowboy
Anyone who knows an Aquarius knows that they can be a bit out there. As an air sign, they seem to live in their own little world at times, and this can make people mistake them for being not all there. That is certainly a good way to describe Cowboy, the prostitute that Emory hires to entertain Harold on his birthday. Though he often appears as rather unintelligent, there are some moments when, like an Aquarius, he reveals that there’s more going on in that mind than he lets on.
Pisces: Bernard
There’s something incredibly sweet and daydreamy about Bernard, and that makes him very much someone in the Pisces mold. Like the Pisces, he seems to live in a bit of a dream world that’s unconnected to what’s going on around him, and this is especially true of his feelings for one of the crushes of his youth. He is also deeply emotional (and very in touch with those emotions), both of which are also very typical aspects of the Pisces personality.