THE LOST BOYS Reviews- Page 4

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 12:36am

When the race in this category is as close as it seems to be, I’ll simply lean towards originality for the win. (SUFFS, for one, would beg to disagree, but I digress.)

Unless one of its competitors forges ahead as a late favorite, I still have TWO STRANGERS bringing home best musical this year. 

Updated On: 4/27/26 at 12:36 AM

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 12:43am

GirlFromOz68 said: "Kad said: "Reviews are only one aspect of what determines Tony winners. There are 800-odd voters and critics make up a statistically irrelevant part of that body and frankly reviews a whole don’t matter much unless there is overwhelming consensus in either direction, positive or negative. Plenty of very well-reviewed shows and performances havegone home empty handed; plenty of shows with adequate reviews have taken home big prizes."

Agreed. I've seen shows which the critics have been mixed to meh about which people in the industry love and they are the ones making up the majority of votes."

Can you give me an example of a Tony Award winner for Best Musical in the past ten years where critics were actually "meh" about the winner? 

[Ptero2]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 12:46am

blaxx said: "
Can you give me an example of a Tony Award winner for Best Musical in the past ten years where critics were actually "meh" about the winner?"

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/the-outsiders/

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 12:47am

Kad said: "Reviews are only one aspect of what determines Tony winners. There are 800-odd voters and critics make up a statistically irrelevant part of that body and frankly reviews a whole don’t matter much unless there is overwhelming consensus in either direction, positive or negative. Plenty of very well-reviewed shows and performances havegone home empty handed; plenty of shows with adequate reviews have taken home big prizes."

I disagree. Moulin Rouge as a pandemic exception, most if not all Best Musical Tony winners in recent years have been critic darlings.

It's extremely hard to find a winner that didn't have heavy influence from its great reviews, obviously voters do notice.

[Theatrefan2]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 1:09am

The other issue The Lost Boys seems to have is a lack of interest early on from the nostalgia audience. Although ive always thought The Lost Boys more niche than something like Back To The Future, im assuming producers thought differently.  But it doesnt seem to be front loaded with sales to fans of the film who wouldnt wait for, or care about, reviews. Unlike Back to the Future which did well early on. This suggests a lack of already built in audience that movie adaptions tend to rely on.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 2:49am

Did They Like It
 

SCHMIGADOON - 16 reviews used

11 positive

4 mixed

1 negative

TITANIQUE - 17 reviews used

9 positive

6 mixed

2 negative"

LOST BOYS - 16 reviews used

7 positive

8 mixed

1 negative

TWO STRANGERS - 13 reviews used.

6 positive

5 mixed

2 negative

[bear882]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 2:50am

blaxx said: "Kad said: "Reviews are only one aspect of what determines Tony winners. There are 800-odd voters and critics make up a statistically irrelevant part of that body and frankly reviews a whole don’t matter much unless there is overwhelming consensus in either direction, positive or negative. Plenty of very well-reviewed shows and performances havegone home empty handed; plenty of shows with adequate reviews have taken home big prizes."

I disagree. Moulin Rouge as a pandemic exception, most if not all Best Musical Tony winners in recent years have been critic darlings.

It's extremely hard to find a winner that didn't have heavy influence from its great reviews, obviously voters do notice."

I agree with your general point, blaxx, but this doesn’t seem like a year with a consensus critical darling. It’s easier to find reasons why shows won’t win than why one will. 

[Voter]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 4:35am

Would anyone be so kind as to share a gift link to the NYtimes review please? Thank you so much in advance

[Owen22]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 4:38am

malcs98 said: "But the question even though Titaníque is at the top of the leaderboard, does that mean it will win Best Musical come TONY night?"

Yes but do we really care that much this year about the Best Musical Tony race? Even on this thread, the enthusiasm of those that are happy The Lost Boys got better reviews than expected seem somewhat muted. It feels, with most of the season's new shows, we're enthused out of habit, not excitement.

[Sytwix]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 5:29am

Voter said: "Would anyone be so kind as to share a gift link to the NYtimes review please? Thank you so much in advance"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/theater/the-lost-boys-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eFA.499k.HyvB-yMVZLF_&smid=nytcore-ios-share

[trentsketch]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 6:13am

These reviews are about what I expected. The tonal shift in Act II was a stumbling block for a lot of the mixed to negative reviews. I can't disagree, but I still liked it. Horror often gets a bit silly in that third act, but that's going to feel a lot different as a live performance with high ticket prices. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 6:49am

This show will benefit from what will surely be a high number of nominations, see a boost during awards season and then the grosses will start to fall, likely over the summer given it’s not a family-friendly show without all out raves or any meaningfully strong word of mouth. 

Now with everything open and the air of mediocrity around the entire season, I don’t understand why what seems to be a majority think Two Strangers is going to take the top prize. It got middling reviews, word of mouth isn’t strong and it feels like defaulting to “well it has the best chance at recouping.” My money is on Schmigadoon. For having much stronger reviews than others and for being a love letter to the form.

In any case, this season is a dud. And lack of overall enthusiasm in any direction is indicative of that.

[RW3]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 6:50am

trentsketch said: "These reviews are about what I expected. The tonal shift in Act II was a stumbling block for a lot of the mixed to negative reviews. I can't disagree, but I still liked it. Horror often gets a bit silly in that third act, but that's going to feel a lot different as a live performance with high ticket prices."

I hope the creative team takes what was said about the tonal shift and uses it as constructive criticism and applies it when reexamining the show for other productions (national tour, West End, etc). 

[theatrekid3302]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 7:28am

The scenic and lighting design alone make it by far the best musical of the season.

“When the music didn’t grab me, the special effects did: Watching Michael fall back from the train tracks high above the stage into the empty air during his first flight gave me the absolute chills.”

https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-lost-boys-review-stage-show-breaks-the-curse-of-the-vampire-musical-on-broadway_1719522/

[Seafarer2]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 7:28am

Jordan Catalano said: "Kind of amazing that for a vampire musical, there have (so far) been no negative reviews. Some mixed yes, but no pans. I think that alone is a MAJOR win for this production."

How The Lost Boys Breaks the Vampire Musical Curse

https://davidcote1.substack.com/p/how-the-lost-boys-breaks-the-vampire

[macklemore1]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 7:28am

blaxx said: "malcs98 said: "CoffeeBreak said: "malcs98 said:
Idk, honestly this might be one of the toughest best musical races I've ever witnessed..."

not really."

well, what do you think its gonna be? if you had to rank the musicals this season"

Schmigadoon and Titanique have a much easier path at this point than Lost Boys. Not impossible, but they would have a very tough battle."

Please dear god - titanique and Schmigadoon cannot win best musical this year. At least this show has some real energy and creativity thrown into it. I still have it at two strangers and this as the top two originals for best musical this year. My ears hurt when I hear people go gaga for Schmigadoon - imho, it is SO mid (just like shucked was). (To be clear, these are both not terrible shows, just not worthy of Broadway, or not of best-musical-on-Broadway conversations). 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 9:03am

Hardest to gauge: the coveted target audience for Lost Boys, beyond the fingers-crossed expectation that it's large and diverse. Another show with a brand title: I would've thought Gatsby had maybe 6-9 months; the reviews were abysmal and it had zero participation at the Tonys. Yet here it is, still playing. It is only intermittently on TDF. 

The Lost Boys is a curiosity in terms of definitive demographics: those who saw it in the cinema are all cresting over 60 now, some over 70 (a good thing; they buy tickets to Broadway with disposable income). Yet the show is pitched to a Gen Z crowd, presuming that its classic characterization is tethered to a long life on DVD and streaming. Maybe that's the case, and maybe the title alone and log line give it a timeless vibe. 

What's the nut? Apologies if it's posted in the other thread; haven't seen it. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 9:34am

scripps said: "Bourzgui’s got more than a little Lady Stardust in him. As an irresistible rock-and-roll vampire named David, he certainly sings a song full of darkness and disgrace.""

Gotta love a classic Bowie nod.

I'm a bit surprised how many critics praised the aerial stunts, as I'd gotten the impression from earlier reports on this board that the flying was not particularly effective.

 

[jazzicat]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 9:37am

I honestly think the middle aged moms (and dads?) are going to be the biggest unexpected audience for this and they are going “Wild” for it. So anyone born 77-84 ish … Many have tweens who can’t go alone  - so don’t discount this for that 10-14 age and then teens of course.
 

I actually see “Wild” charting as some kind of mid-life female Anthem. They better release a single soon or the Santa Clarita sessions will chart.

So that means Xennials, Millennials, Gen Z and yes Gen Alpha are all key audiences. 

I saw the movie after I went and was reminded that I actually saw the movie as a “kid” and totally adored Kiefer Sutherland. 
 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 9:53am

I’m 36 and Lost Boys simply was never a major movie touchstone for me, but I grew up with parents who generally did not embrace the horror genre (even softer horror like Lost Boys) so those films were just never played in my house. But I have many peers for whom Lost Boys was a seminal childhood film. 

I will say, though, when I saw the musical in an early preview last month, I was surrounded by people my age and younger who were dressed up for it and were keyed up for the major moments and lines. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 9:56am

bear882 said: "blaxx said: "Kad said: "Reviews are only one aspect of what determines Tony winners. There are 800-odd voters and critics make up a statistically irrelevant part of that body and frankly reviews a whole don’t matter much unless there is overwhelming consensus in either direction, positive or negative. Plenty of very well-reviewed shows and performances havegone home empty handed; plenty of shows with adequate reviews have taken home big prizes."

I disagree. Moulin Rouge as a pandemic exception, most if not all Best Musical Tony winners in recent years have been critic darlings.

It's extremely hard to find a winner that didn't have heavy influence from its great reviews, obviously voters do notice."

I agree with your general point, blaxx, but this doesn’t seem like a year with a consensus critical darling. It’s easier to find reasons why shows won’t win than why onewill."

Just saying, the past couple decades have shifted to reward the most critically praised shows, instead of the most commercial, which was a trend pre-millenium.

But I agree, what a mediocre season for musicals, just depressing. Generic, bland and unoriginal.

Wish some years could be deemed unworthy of a winner and move on.

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 9:57am

It's me! Born in 83 and going back with my 10 and 12 year olds...

jazzicat said: "I honestly think the middle aged moms (and dads?) are going to be the biggest unexpected audience for this and they are going “Wild” for it. So anyone born 77-84 ish … Many have tweens who can’t go alone - so don’t discount this for that 10-14 age and then teensof course.


I actually see “Wild” charting as some kind of mid-life female Anthem. They better release a single soon or the Santa Clarita sessions will chart.

So that means Xennials, Millennials, Gen Z and yes Gen Alpha are all key audiences.

I saw the movie after I went and was reminded that I actually saw the movie as a “kid” and totally adored Kiefer Sutherland.


"

 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 11:16am

CoffeeBreak said: "Yes. #4 out of the 6new musicals this season."

This is true, but the top four are very much in a tight bunch, with only a 1.9-point spread among the four of them. (And thank you, honestly, for compiling them.)

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 11:20am

kdogg36 said: "CoffeeBreak said: "Yes. #4 out of the 6new musicals this season."

This is true, but the top four are very much in a tight bunch, with only a 1.9-point spread among the four of them. (And thank you, honestly, for compiling them.)"

It's interesting.  You're welcome.  :)   

[kdogg36]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 11:20am

blaxx said: "I'll believe it when a single vampire musical makes a singlepenny back. Until now, I'm sadly sure the curse continues."

With such a small sample size, it's not really possible to infer any meaningful pattern. If you picked three or four musicals at random from the entirety of Broadway history, there's a pretty decent chance all of them would be flops. I'm skeptical that The Lost Boys (which is my favorite new musical of the season) will end up making a profit, but I'm even more skeptical that it will have anything to do with the fact that it's about vampires.