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Everyone deserves to be connected. T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Our networks are coming together bringing more T Mobile coverage all over the country. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com Switch and now T Mobile is available in a US cellular store near you. Bigger network. The combination of T Mobile and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage savings versus comparable Verizon plans plus the costs of options, benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third free line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.
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Despite what the cynics on social media might tell you, the Lost Boys musical currently playing at the Palace Theater on Broadway is not an egregious and insulting affront to the sacred and holy art form of musical theater that we all know and love. However, unlike the super fans that populate a very different corner of the theatrical algorithm, it is also not an especially good musical either. What it is is a fairly run of the mill musical adaptation of a major motion picture, penned book music and lyrics by people who have never written for the theater before. At least not at this level. But the Lost Boys Saving Grace is the fact that it is perhaps inarguably the most eye poppingly impressive show you have ever had the opportunity to witness in a Broadway theater. Welcome to Broadway Radio. My name is Matt Tamnini and today I am reviewing the original Broadway production of the Lost Boys. Last week the Lost Boys tied with Schmigadoon to become the most Tony nominated show of the season with 12. The Noms are spread across nearly every aspect of their production from the big ones like best musical book score and two acting categories to the below the line elements like scenic, lighting, costume and sound design, just to name a few. The musical is based, of course, on the 1987 film of the same name that featured Jason Patrick, Corey Haim, Diane Wiest, Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman, Jamie Gertz and Richard Gilmore himself, Edward Herrmann, after leaving her abusive husband, Lucy Emerson, played on stage by three time Tony nominee Shoshana Bean, takes her sons Michael and Sam, L.J. bennett and Benjamin Pajak, respectively, to live in the fictional oceanside town of Santa Carla, California, seeking a fresh start in the house left to her by her late father. While Lucy hopes that the move will provide a safe place for her boys to grow up, it turns out that Santa Carla has recently become of According to a song early in the show, the Murder capital of the World with missing posters decorating nearly every inch of the boardwalk. As it turns out, Santa Carla is now the home of a homicidal group of teenage vampires led by the bleach blond bemolleted rock frontman David, played by Tony nominee Ollie Lewis Borski. For those of us who know our theater history, we know that vampire musicals on Broadway, from Dance of the Vampires to Dracula to Lestat, don't exactly have a very good track record for either quality or box office success. However, the Lost Boys will have a much tougher climb than its blood sucking brethren to becoming a hit as it is reportedly the second most expensive musical in Broadway history behind only the ill fated Spider Man Turn off the Dark. Fortunately, that approximately 25 million dollar budget was put to good use. Everywhere you look, the palace is awash in excess. Not only is the show set in 1987, but but in many ways it feels like a throwback to that era where opulence was the rule and mega musicals dominated Broadway. With perhaps only minute traces of hyperbole from look to complexity to functionality, director Michael Arden and his team of incredible artists have created something that is nothing short of an experiential feast for the senses in what I think will go down as the best designed Broadway show of at least the 21st century. The set by Dane Laughery is massive and with each scene reveals something new that in most shows would be the singular coup d' etre of the entire production. Yet in the Lost Boys they happen with dizzying regularity. Enhancing the impact of the gargantuan multifaceted scenic design is breathtaking lighting by Arden and Jenn Shriever. Having to delicately walk the line of its dual purpose of setting the supernatural scene while also masking the real world levers and cables making the otherworldly effects happen. The lighting is undeniably gorgeous and I would imagine that you could go see this show and be thoroughly satisfied and entertained, focusing on nothing but the lighting and ignoring everything else. While there is no barricade or chandelier to serve as the centerpiece of the show's design, the Lost Boys still thrives thanks to its very 80s philosophy of more is more. However, because the creative team is literally at the top of their game, it never feels like excess for excess's sake. Instead, what it feels like is a thoughtful, expertly crafted design built specifically to tell this unique story in the best way possible. It just so happens that this story thrives on decadence. While the visuals are extraordinary the rest of the show is more workmanlike. The book by actors turned writers David Hornsby and Chris Hockey, while not a verbatim translation of the film, relies heavily on the iconic lines from the screenplay and does little to elevate or recontextualize a story that feels ripe for a modern perspective and reexamination. The writers do insert a handful of meta winking lines about the original film in the world at large over the past 40 years, but for all intents and purposes, audiences familiar with the source material will find a rather faithful adaptation on stage at the Palace. Similarly, the score by the band the Rescues feels incredibly familiar despite not being directly pulled from another source. On the whole, the music is fairly reminiscent of the Outsiders, just without highlights that rise to the level of that Tony winner's best songs like Stay Gold, Great expectations, or even Tulsa 67. Oddly, the music eschews the heavy metal of the Hair Band era and settles instead into a more non offensive acoustic form folk rock sound, which doesn't really make sense for the setting, but also doesn't raise any alarms or take any risks either. Although the lyrics do have a tendency to be cringy and amateurish in spots. To its credit, it is the type of music that gives great voices like the ones in this cast a number of opportunities to deliver window shaking performances of beautifully belted notes that sit perfectly in their specific vocal ranges, despite the fact that you likely won't remember a single note by the time you get to the bottom of the Palace's Escalade later. Speaking of the cast, unsurprisingly, Tony nominees Bean and Borsgi are tremendous. I imagine that Bean will likely win her first Tony for this role, but it will almost certainly be more of a lifetime achievement award because her Lucy doesn't really have enough to do to warrant the honor, but what she does have as always, Bean makes the most of Borsgi is creepy and menacing as the chief teen vampire David, and his voice remains one of the most interesting on Broadway today, having seen him in very short succession as Paul in the Company tour, then as the title character in the Broadway revival of Tommy, followed by Emir in the Lazor's We Live in Cairo, Off Broadway and now in the Lost Boys. He is building a resume that proves that there is nothing that he can't do as Michael. The oldest son of Bean's Lucy, LJ Bennett gives a strong Broadway debut and in Payjack as the younger Sam, while a bit over the top at times brings a sympathetic and sometimes silly earnestness to the show. Then there is Paul Alexander Nolan as video store owner Max. For well over a decade, Nolan has been one of the most talented and charismatic performers on Broadway, and while he certainly remains so in the Lost Boys, he isn't given a tremendous amount to do. While I will never complain about having him in a show, I just wish he were on stage more, especially toward the end. While vampire musicals have their own turbulent track record on Broadway, so do horror themed shows. But while the Lost Boys does take some pleasure in the ridiculousness of its 80s setting, yes, the greased up shirtless saxophone player does make an appearance. It does a fairly good job of leaning into the terrifying aspects of the story as well. The show opens with a genuinely scary prologue and as the vamps get increasingly high hungry, there are moments where you very well might find yourself leaning forward on the edge of your seat or cowering and covering your eyes, depending on how horror averse you are. The only time that the horror fails to live up to the moment is at the end of the show. The final 7:10 minutes feel rushed and don't adequately pay off. The rest of the story's build an underwhelming fight sequence and a way too short denouement deliver what might be an unsatisfying conclusion for some audience members. And I I was one of them, but nonetheless was still brought to tears. And in what is a first for the theater, as far as I know, there is, for lack of a better term, a post credits scene to the Lost Boys. So don't rush out of the theater during the curtain call. Also, just don't do that in general. You can wait an extra minute or two, or even five to get out of the theater to thank the cast, orchestra and crew for their work. Ultimately, the Lost Boys is not a great show, but it's not an awful one either. Neither the book nor the score is offensive and at times they can each deliver momentary delights. But if you are looking for an exceptional piece of theatrical literature or musical composition, this might not be the one for you. However, if you often find yourself moved by technical and artistic mastery, by the marvels that creativity and a multi million dollar budget can create, then the chances are good that you will walk out of the Palace Theater more than pleased by the pageantry that Arden and company have presented. The Lost Boys is nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical. I will have a link in the show notes to where you can purchase tickets to see the show at the Palace Theater on Broadway. Let us know what you thought of the Lost boys via email or on social media. Thank you as always for supporting Broadway Radio. If you want more Broadway Radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio or broadwayradio.com thanks again for listening. This has been Matt Tamineni and I'll talk to you soon.
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Everyone deserves to be connected. T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Our networks are coming together bringing more T Mobile coverage all over the country. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com Switch and now T Mobile is available in a US cellular store near you bigger network. The combination of T Mobile's and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage savings versus comparable Verizon plans plus the costs of options, benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third free line free via monthly bill credits credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.