One of the most impressive feats of stagecraft flew into New York this Broadway season. Winning 4 Tony Awards, The Lost Boys brings to life the movie that popularized vampires in mainstream pop culture as a stage production that is nothing short of fascinating.
While this type of musical arrives on the heels of box office bestsellers like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Stranger Things: The First Shadow, its legacy as a cult classic as opposed to a mainstream mega franchise lends itself to creative deviations from the source material (which, admittedly, I have not seen yet). The first seconds of the show position it as distinctly cinematic. The opening feels like a movie cold open; there is a first-of-its-kind post-credits scene that has garnered internet attention as the “Marvel move of Broadway,” and yet even the scenes in between find ways to surprise the audience right up to the last 10 minutes of the show.
The Lost Boys is successful at world-building in a way few other musicals have attempted in recent years. The three-story set by Dane Laffrey is the epitome of a modern mega musical, complemented well by aerial design by Gwyneth Larsen and Bill Mulholland, as well as special effects design by Marcus Maurette. If you’ve seen any of the teasers, you’ll have seen that the vampires fly. However, the flight in the show is so much more impressive than any aerial work I’ve seen before. There are pyrotechnic effects, body doubles, climbing sequences, and the perfect amount of fake blood. Beyond the more physical pieces, the Tony Award-winning lighting design by Jen Schriever and Michael Arden adds an extra layer of texture to the storytelling, nearly becoming interactive in certain scenes.
Despite being a feast for the eyes, the book and score were not on the same level as the design. The story attempts to make some bold (and somewhat relevant) socio-political statements, but they get muddled in delivery, as the audience receives cheap one-off reactables instead of the slow-burn build-up about broader culture and how it permeates youth social development. This is one of the rare occasions when I felt the second act was stronger than the first, as it had a more defined tone and perspective that balanced the dark comedy with the over-the-top action, which felt appropriately larger-than-life. While the first act had both comedy and action, the more serious delivery fell flat, with the special effects and vocal talents being the most memorable moments. Similarly, the score’s mixes somehow felt more thrilling in the second act, with the reprises of “Secret Comes Out” and “Have to Have You” feeling more heart-pumping than the original renditions.
If you’re planning on attending The Lost Boys, the knockout cast will steal your attention from any production weak spots. Tony Award winner Ali Louis Bourzgui becomes the star every time his character, cunning vampire David, enters the stage, despite only being a featured actor. Broadway legend Shoshana Bean earned her first Tony Award for her featured performance as Lucy Emerson, the fierce former hippie and mother to Michael and Sam, delivering memorable vocals and a commanding stage presence. Bean is expertly paired against Paul Alexander Nolan, a generally underrated actor who nailed the off-putting energy his character, Max, demands.
The Lost Boys may not be the wittiest screen-to-stage adaptation, but it is undeniably entertaining and pushes the boundary of what’s possible in theatrical storytelling. Whether you’re a fan of the movie or going in blind, you’ll find yourself marveling at some of the greatest talents currently in the industry. The world they built together? Completely unreal.
