“The Lost Boys,”
Large-scale Broadway hit prepares to take flight across America
“The Lost Boys,” a new Broadway musical that has quickly emerged as one of the season’s most talked-about productions, will launch a North American tour in the spring of 2028, beginning at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Producers said additional cities and dates will be announced in the coming months.
The show, which opened at the Palace Theatre in April, has drawn both critical acclaim and industry attention, earning 12 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. With its mix of aerial choreography, rock-inflected score, and supernatural coming-of-age story, it has been described by critics as among the most ambitious productions of the current Broadway season.
“We’re thrilled to bring this story to audiences across the country,” said producers James Carpinello, Marcus Chait, and Patrick Wilson in a joint statement, citing the production’s visual scale and emotional core. “It’s a story about family, belonging, and transformation.”
Set in a seemingly idyllic coastal town shadowed by a series of disappearances, “The Lost Boys” follows a mother, Lucy, and her two sons as they attempt to rebuild their lives. Her older son, Michael, is drawn into a mysterious subculture led by a charismatic outsider, while his younger brother begins to uncover a darker truth about the community — and about what happens after nightfall.
Directed by Michael Arden, a two-time Tony Award winner, the musical leans heavily on spectacle, including elaborate flying sequences and a multi-level set design that takes advantage of the Palace Theatre’s vertical scale. The score, by the band the Rescues, blends 1980s influences with contemporary indie rock, underscoring a narrative that explores identity and chosen family.
Critics have largely responded with enthusiasm. The Washington Post called it “the best new musical of the season,” praising its “visceral thrill” and “high-wire ambition,” while the Los Angeles Times highlighted its “emotionally resonant storytelling” alongside its technical achievements. The New York Post described the production as “breathtakingly gargantuan,” thanks to its immersive staging and visual intensity.
The cast includes L.J. Benet, Shoshana Bean, Ali Louis Bourzgui, and Benjamin Pajak, among others, with Bean’s performance earning particular attention during the show’s Broadway run.
The tour launch represents a notable booking for Cleveland’s Playhouse Square — one of the largest performing arts centers outside New York. “We know our audiences will be thrilled to be the first in the country to experience this production,” said Craig Hassall, the organization’s president and chief executive.
Adapted from the 1987 Warner Bros. film, “The Lost Boys” arrives when Broadway has increasingly embraced cinematic properties while pushing technical boundaries in live performance. Its success suggests that large-scale, effects-driven musicals — once considered a risk — may again be central to the commercial theater landscape.
Tickets for the Broadway production are currently available, with tour details expected to follow.
REVIEWS
“Sink your teeth into ‘The Lost Boys’, the best new musical of the season. This maximalist blockbuster mesmerizes at every turn. The toe-tapping, head-banging score from the Rescues layers 1980s pastiche into an appealing indie rock aesthetic. As for said stagecraft? The best coup de Théâtre on Broadway. It’s the kind of visceral thrill only musical theater can deliver. The 2025-26 Broadway season could use a must-see event and lo and behold, The Lost Boys pushes the musical form forward with its rockin’ score and high-wire ambition.” — Washington Post, Thomas Floyd
“The most ambitious new musical of the season. Michael Arden infuses his visually spectacular production of ‘The Lost Boys’ with a refreshing 21st century sensitivity. The musical champions found families and individuality over conformity, mixing spectacle with emotionally resonant storytelling about misfits. The staging is a marvel of special effects, but the most spectacular coup is the injection of emotionally resonant meaning. Anything that Shoshana Bean sings as Lucy is gold with the emotional depth she brings to the role. Ali Louis Bourzgui is electric — he commands the stage. The production, full of sensational aerial maneuvers and fog-strewn scenic thrills, is mesmerizing.” — Los Angeles Times, Charles McNulty
“‘The Lost Boys’ is the best new musical on Broadway. The Rescues’ songs have energy and attitude and contribute a brooding, heavy-eyeliner vibe. Directed by Michael Arden, ‘The Lost Boys’ is a serious and ambitious effort of spectacle and heartfelt adventure that doesn’t look or behave like any musical I have seen before. There are plenty of unbelievable sights to gasp at. The intoxicating atmosphere washes over the audience sensorily, with a three-level crypt set by Dane Laffrey that uses the Palace’s extreme height to its winning advantage and lighting by Jen Schriever and Arden that’s so gorgeous it should be billed above the title. On Broadway, bigness has been greatly missed and this show, in every aspect, goes breathtakingly gargantuan.” — New York Post, Johnny Oleksinski
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