How Ali Louis Bourzgui Transforms Into a Vampire Rock Star in Broadway’s ‘The Lost Boys’
Categoria: Musica
The Tony-nominated actor flies and draws on Bowie energy as he strives not to "make the vampire of it all cliché or cheesy."
Por Billboard | 27/05/2026
As the title character of The Who’s Tommy in its 2024 Broadway revival, Ali Louis Bourzgui sang the show’s most famous refrain: “See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.” That production ran for a too-short four months, but Bourzgui’s haunting voice and magnetic presence left a lasting impression. And two years later, those words he sang as Tommy encapsulate oddly well the ethos — both spoken and not — of his latest role. As David — the vampire rock star of The Lost Boys , the new musical based on the ‘80s cult-favorite movie of the same name — Bourzgui has to believably telegraph both seductive danger and deep hurt, while often flying high above the stage (and rocking one of the more memorable wigs ever seen on Broadway). The role was made famous in the film by a young Kiefer Sutherland, but Bourzgui imbues it fully with his own charisma — a performance that earned him a Tony nomination for best featured actor in a musical. Related ‘The Lost Boys’ & ‘Schmigadoon!’ Top 2026 Tony Nominations: Full List ‘The Lost Boys’ Musical Star Talks Teaming With Slash for ‘Have to Have You’ Single: ‘Absolutely Insane Solo’ Yoonchae Says She 'Forgot' How to Speak Korean When KATSEYE Met BTS: 'My Brain Was Blank' “You get auditions sent to you, and most of them, you’re kind of like, ‘This is cool, I can’t really get a grasp of the vibe of this show, but I’ll audition.’ And every once in a while, something comes through where you just feel it tangibly, even through an email,” Bourzgui recalls of first hearing about The Lost Boys . “I saw this initial packet, and I got so excited — like more excited than I’ve been for an audition maybe ever.” Much of that had to do with meeting Tony-winning director Michael Arden and hearing demos by The Rescues, the Los Angeles indie band who wrote music and lyrics for the Lost Boys (“I was like oh, these songs are f—ing cool”). But the character of David himself was, Bourzugui says, “so well-written from the start.” Overall, he was struck by how The Lost Boys , despite its big show intentions (and budget), felt like something more intimate, built from the ground up — a feeling that the production ultimately preserves even in the uniquely cavernous space of Broadway’s Palace Theater. With traces of glitter still on his face from the day’s matinee, Bourzgui (who is himself a singer/songwriter) spoke to Billboard from his dressing room before a much-needed physical therapy session about how to play a non-cliché vampire, his rock star inspirations, and embracing his own unique voice. Movie-to-musical adaptations are popular these days, but it’s rare that they actually work well — and this is one of those rare ones that feels natural onstage. Did you get that sense from the beginning? Yeah, and I also don’t think I necessarily would have sprung for it if it felt like a generic movie remake, because that&#