The Lost Boys: LJ Benet and Ali Louis Bourzgui – Photo: Matthew Murphy
There have been a lot of surprises so far this year: an unprovoked war initiated by the government, sticker shock at the gas pump, and a horse named Golden Tempo who clinched the Kentucky Derby after 36-1 odds of winning. Perhaps the biggest shock, at least for theater lovers, is that yet another musical about vampires — The Lost Boys — has arrived on Broadway and it’s actually quite good. In fact, it’s phenomenal.
The main stem has notoriously produced musical flops when staging blood suckers. Dance of Vampires (2002) Dracula, the Musical (2004) and Lestat (2006) all met their doom with stakes in the hearts from critics and had short-lived runs.
When news broke last year that a stage adaptation of the 1987 cult hit The Lost Boys would take shape this season, jokes started flying and critics, like Van Helsings, began to sharpen their stakes. Yet the creative team, led by two-time Tony winner Michael Arden, has proven the cynics wrong. Earlier this week, Tony nominations were announced, and The Lost Boys racked up 12 nominations. Should it walk away with top prize for best musical, it will have been well earned.
In the last few years, rising costs have frightened theater producers and many have cut corners, leaving audiences with high priced tickets minus the spectacle. The Lost Boys spares little expense, likely due to the show’s high-profile producers, including Ayesha and Steph Curry, Neil Patrick Harris, and the movie’s original star, Kiefer Sutherland.
The show opens with cinematic flair as the story’s protagonist, Michael Emerson (LJ Benet) rides onstage in a motorcycle and heads to his new home, scrupulously designed by Dane Laffrey, in Santa Carla, California. His mother Lucy (Shoshana Bean) and his younger brother, Sam (Benjamin Pajak), have all left the drunk and abusive patriarch in Phoenix, Arizona to start a new life for themselves.
“Nothin’s gonna slow us down,” the hopeful and woefully naive Lucy sings. “What could go wrong in this charming little town?” Literal signs are everywhere citing the disappearance of numerous Santa Carla residents, who have fallen victim to bad boy David (Ali Louis Bourzgui). He, along with a pack of vampires, thirst for blood when they aren’t strumming guitars and singing to the happy cheers of locals. Inevitably, folks continue to go missing and an unsuspecting Michael finds himself under the spell of David and his all-too-complicated girlfriend, Star (Maria Wirries).
The Lost Boys: LJ Benet and Ali Louis Bourzgui – Photo: Matthew Murphy
The Lost Boys doesn’t follow a particularly complex plot, nor does it reinvent the story structure of many beloved eighties movies. In fact, it is evocative of films like The Goonies and Adventures in Babysitting with sibling rivalry and mild family drama. But its joy lies in its self-awareness through costume designer Ryan Park’s neon colored shirts, acid-washed denims, and David Brian Brown’s bleached punk hair and wig designs. Even Ronald Reagan makes occasional appearances. Together, they remind us what a tacky decade we survived.
The Rescues, an indie group from Los Angeles, make their debuts as musical theater songwriters, and for an inaugural project, they have done a remarkable job creating a driving and gorgeous score that incorporates elements of punk rock, classic musical theater, and contemporary pop. It helps that this vocally astounding cast makes each song soar.
Bean nearly stops the show two different times. Bourzgui returns to the Broadway stage after having been seen in last season’s Tommy, and brings his hypnotic, commanding baritone to the action. Wirries also blows the audience away with a soaring voice that is prominent in the love duet between her and Michael, “Now, Forever.” Tony voters must have taken note, as all three have been nominated.
Even if you can’t sink your teeth into a vampire story, The Lost Boys will cast you in a spell, for its heart and focus is not solely on the supernatural but rather on the bonds we form and the lengths to which we go for loyalty to our friends, family, and ourselves. Grab your Members Only jacket and head to the box office. The Lost Boys is bloody good entertainment.
Beaches: Samantha Schwartz, Bailey Ryon, Jessica Vosk, Kelli Barrett, Emma Ogea and Zeya Grace – Photo: Marc J. Franklin
Remember Beaches, the schmaltzy but beloved 1988 tear-jerker starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey? If you loved the movie, you’ll hate the musical. Every Broadway season has a punching bag and this year, Beaches is the sand-in-your-pants dud with that honor.
A demure Little Bertie (Zeya Grace) meets a sassy Little
Cee Cee (Samantha Schwartz) on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. They become fast friends and stay in touch throughout their adult lives, navigating relationships and their careers.
Jessica Vosk as the adult Cee Cee Bloom is really the only reason to snag a ticket. Vosk is a compelling presence with a strong, glorious voice, but needs more than wind beneath her wings to carry this clunker. Kelli Barrett joins her as the adult Bertie, delivering a respectable performance. Everyone else in this cast is forgettable, sabotaged by Mike Stoller’s soggy score and Iris Rainer Dart and Thom Thomas’ excruciatingly long book.
Scenic Design? Non-existent. Costumes? Hideous. Video Design? Even worse. A sign hangs above the theater exit: “Come back and bring your bestie.” Only if you want to end that friendship.
The Lost Boys (★★★★☆) is playing at the Palace Theatre, 160 West 47th St. in New York City. Tickets are $55 to $269.50 Visit lostboysmusical.com.
Beaches (★☆☆☆☆) is playing through Sept. 6 at the Majestic Theatre, 245 West 44th St. in New York City. Tickets are $55 to $311. Visit beachesthemusical.com.
In an already storied career on stage and screen, Claybourne Elder has earned Grammy, SAG, and Drama Desk Award nominations, sung with symphony orchestras and Broadway divas, and soloed at Carnegie Hall.
Yet, the performer, known for theater roles on and off Broadway, and as the ill-fated John Adams on HBO's The Gilded Age, had never released a solo album, until now, with his sparkling debut If the Stars Were Mine. The question for some might be, if not necessarily what took so long, why now?
"I think that there have been several times I'd thought about doing it," Elder tells me during a relaxed chat over Zoom. "And I was like, 'Oh, no. I mean, who wants to listen to it?' The kind of imposter syndrome gets to you, and you're like, 'Well, I don't want to.'" There's also the challenge, he acknowledges, of working out what you might want to say over an album's worth of songs.
Sometimes, drunken nights can lead to sobering profits. That's certainly true for Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli, who came up with the idea for a parody of the 1997 global box-office hit Titanic one night after a few martinis.
It took builders nearly three years to complete construction on the real vessel. It didn't end well. It took Mindelle and Rousouli three times as long to bring their once modest show Titanique to Broadway. But, along with co-creator and director Tye Blue, they have succeeded -- and quite marvelously.
An iceberg may have thwarted plans of the original voyage but even a global pandemic couldn't stop the momentum behind this hull of hilarity, which has docked at the St. James Theatre for a "strictly limited run." Time will tell how strict it really is and whether producers will find a way to keep it open past mid-July. Judging from past audience approval and strong critical reception, the chances are good.
It can often be awkward to learn that you and your best friend once hooked up with the same guy. It's even trickier to find out that the mutually shared lover is coming back to town and wants to meet up individually with each of you. Adding even more complexity to the mix is that you're now both married.
Leave it to Noël Coward to turn such matters into a drawing-room comedy in Fallen Angels. Over a hundred years later, the rarely-seen, 1925 comedy has fluttered to New York for a Broadway revival starring Kelli O'Hara (The Gilded Age) and Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You).
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.