Yes, things have changed.  To underline the point, Joel Grey talks about his struggle with being gay in his new memoir, Master of Ceremonies.  He recently discussed how fame actually pushed him further into the closet.  “Living in the society that I was living in at the time, being gay was not an option.  If you were gay, you had to be terribly, terribly discreet.”  And yet, we all knew – but that’s another story.  One of the bon mots in his memoir is that director Bob Fosse was very much against casting Grey in Cabaret.  Who did he want to play the part?  Ruth Gordon!  Yes, Ruth Harold and Maude Gordon!  Why?  Fosse didn’t want anyone in the film associated with the Broadway show – he wanted to create his film from scratch.  Also, Gordon had just scored big in Rosemary’s Baby, so he thought she would be a curiosity.  To say the least!