When The Lost Boys arrived in theaters in 1987, it reinvented vampires. Gone were the capes and castles and in their place were motorcycles, leather jackets, boardwalk neon and a seductive promise of eternal youth. Nearly four decades later, that same mix of danger, desire and outsider longing is preparing to take center stage as The Lost Boys roars onto Broadway.
Performances of the long-gestating musical adaptation begin March 27, with an official opening night set for April 26 at the Palace Theatre. And while the medium is changing, the core appeal of The Lost Boys remains very much intact: vampires as rebels, family as emotional grounding and adolescence as a battleground between belonging and identity.
A Movie That Changed the Vampire Playbook
Directed by the late Joel Schumacher, The Lost Boys arrived at a moment when vampires were largely stuck in either gothic tradition or outright parody. Schumacher’s film fused horror, comedy, romance and MTV-era style into something audiences hadn’t quite seen before — a horror-comedy vampire thriller that felt contemporary, youthful and unapologetically sexy.
Set in the fictional California beach town of Santa Carla, infamously dubbed “the murder capital of the world,” the story followed brothers Michael and Sam Emerson as they moved west with their recently divorced mother Lucy. While Sam quickly discovers that Santa Carla’s nightlife hides a literal nest of bloodsuckers, Michael is drawn into their orbit — seduced by the freedom and confidence offered by the vampire gang led by the charismatic David.
That tension — between family and freedom, safety and seduction — is precisely what allowed The Lost Boys to endure. It wasn’t just a vampire movie. It was a story about adolescence, temptation and the price of belonging.
Translating the Myth to the Stage
For Broadway director Michael Arden, that emotional foundation is what makes The Lost Boys such a natural fit for musical theater. Arden has spoken openly about his reverence for Schumacher’s film, describing it as visually striking, tonally daring and genre-defying. In his view, musical theater offers a new lens through which to explore what the movie only hinted at — the inner lives of its characters. Songs allow moments to pause, emotions to deepen and conflicts to be expressed in ways film never quite permitted.
That philosophy carries into the casting as well. LJ Benet, stepping into the role of Michael Emerson, has emphasized that the musical honors the original film while expanding on what was happening behind the characters’ eyes. It’s not a reinvention so much as an emotional excavation.
One of the musical’s most notable updates is its reimagining of David and his vampire gang as a rock band — a choice that feels less like a departure and more like an amplification of what was already there. Music was always part of The Lost Boys’ DNA, from its pulsing soundtrack to its concert-like beach sequences. On stage, that energy becomes literal.
The score is written by The Rescues — Kyler England, Adrianne “AG” Gonzalez, and Gabriel Mann — an indie rock trio whose emotionally driven songs live comfortably between pop album and theatrical storytelling. For Arden, their music bridges eras: grounded in the late-1980s aesthetic while still speaking fluently to modern audiences.
Shoshana Bean, who plays Lucy Emerson, has described the score as both cohesive and theatrical — pop-rock that honors the time period while embracing the heightened emotionality of the stage. It’s music designed to feel like a concert one moment and a character confession the next.
A Family Story at Its Core
Despite its fangs and motorcycles, The Lost Boys has always been a family story — something producer Patrick Wilson has been quick to emphasize. Having worked with Schumacher on The Phantom of the Opera, Wilson saw early on that the film “sang” emotionally, even before it became a literal musical.
At its heart is Lucy Emerson, a single mother trying to rebuild her family after upheaval, and two sons responding very differently to that instability. Sam clings to connection and truth; Michael searches for belonging elsewhere, even if it costs him his humanity.
That emotional spine remains central to the musical. Bean’s Lucy isn’t just reacting to chaos — she’s actively fighting to hold her family together, grounding the supernatural spectacle in recognizable human stakes.
The cast blends Broadway veterans with younger performers stepping into iconic roles. Benjamin Pajak, just 14, takes on Sam Emerson, embracing the unique thrill of a show that combines rock concert energy, vampire combat and musical theater bravado. His enthusiasm mirrors the appeal that made The Lost Boys resonate with generations of fans — the fantasy of fighting monsters while still being very much a kid.
Visually, early costume reveals spotlight Ali Louis Bourzgui as David, Maria Wirries as Star and Benet as Michael — each channeling the spirit of their film counterparts without imitation. It’s homage, not cosplay.
Why The Lost Boys Still Resonates
Nearly 40 years after its release, The Lost Boys remains a cultural touchstone because it understands something fundamental about vampires — and about adolescence. Vampires aren’t just monsters. They’re metaphors for freedom without responsibility, power without consequence and identity without roots.