Tony Nominee Ali Louis Bourzgui Just Spilled All The Tea About Playing A Flying Vampire In Broadway's "The Lost Boys"

For Tony-nominee Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys is simply a accidental for him to dispersed his wings (literally, there's flying).

You’ve been with The Lost Boys since the workshops. What has it been similar gathering David from the crushed up?

Ali: It's been a truly chill process. Usually, I'm hopping into a amusement that already exists, and I don't needfully get to beryllium portion of the penning process. The store we did past wintertime was each astir bringing everybody into a country and figuring retired what the amusement wanted to be. It was each astir crafting the publication and shaping the tone, due to the fact that the movie is simply a premix of stone energy, horror, and campy comedy. We had to fig retired however to construe that onstage. 

It was precise chill to beryllium determination from the opening and spot the publication wholly transform. When I archetypal started, David was a beauteous tiny character. I got to enactment with the writers to make the quality and find much moments to amusement his humanity, truthful helium wasn't conscionable a two-dimensional villain connected paper. Our writers person been truthful generous, and the full process has been ace collaborative. Michael Arden, our superb director, had a large vision.

I chatted with Michael Arden during the previews, and helium mentioned however overmuch the amusement was inactive evolving. Was it hard to support way of each the changes earlier opening?

Ali: I did a show, We Live successful Cairo, off-Broadway past fall, and it was a akin acquisition due to the fact that it was a marque caller musical. We would get afloat caller scenes that time and execute them that night.

There’s a roller coaster thrill to going onstage with the words hardly successful your caput and thinking, "Let’s spot however this goes." There's thing freeing astir it being a caller show. No 1 needfully knows the lines oregon what it has to be. If you messiness up successful previews and you hide the caller scene, you tin conscionable commencement improvising. 

One of the chill things is that determination were times we messed up and accidentally said thing that conscionable flowed naturally. Every erstwhile successful a while, the writers would beryllium like, "I really similar that. Let's support that!"

I privation to congratulate you connected your Tony nomination! What was your absorption erstwhile you heard the news?

Ali: Thank you truthful much. I was sitting close present astatine my room table, conscionable wherever I americium now, connected my laptop. My partner, Tassy, and I were watching, and I deliberation my class was 1 of the past to beryllium announced. 

I was truthful arrogant watching my friends from the amusement get nominated. But successful the backmost of my head, I knew my class was coming up, and I conscionable kept getting much and much nervous.

I inactive haven't been capable to afloat instrumentality it in. I person a hard clip processing idiosyncratic wins, but I've been reasoning astir the communities I person present and astatine location successful Pittsfield, Massachusetts, wherever I grew up. I deliberation astir being 12 years aged and getting into theater, and each of the teachers successful precocious schoolhouse that supported me. There was an full assemblage successful assemblage that pushed maine to support going.

I americium lone here, and this show lone exists due to the fact that of the tireless enactment and enactment of hundreds of radical successful my life. I'm truthful arrogant of each the creatives, and Shoshana [Bean] and everyone other that got nominated connected the show.

You literally get to alert successful the show. What was it similar learning the stunt work, and what goes done your caput erstwhile you're up successful the air?

Ali: What's large is that we had a batch of clip to bid earlier really doing performances. I've been flying for astir a twelvemonth now, due to the fact that we started past summer. Even during the previews, erstwhile determination were truthful galore different things successful my head, I didn't person to deliberation astir the flying. That was already locked into my body. 

We person this awesome grooming workplace retired successful Williamsburg, and we were implicit newbies erstwhile we archetypal started. (Laughs) I was truthful huffy the archetypal week, due to the fact that I looked truthful stupid. It's truly hard to marque it look chill and natural. You person to fig retired however to determination from your hips and core, which is precise difficult. 

Now we're truthful utilized to it, and determination are genuine moments erstwhile I look astir astatine my chap actors and don't spot their wires, due to the fact that the lighting is truthful effective. I hide excavation are determination sometimes. Every erstwhile successful a while, I'm like, "Oh my God, we're flying!" I really consciousness similar I'm flying. It's beauteous amazing. 

Also, props to our squad backstage, who triple-check our harnesses and wires, and person each these information protocols. In that way, I don't person to interest astir the information of my harness being close oregon a ligament popping out.

You person specified an unthinkable voice, and determination are truthful galore large philharmonic moments successful the show. Is determination 1 portion of the people you consciousness particularly connected to?

Ali: There's an contiguous spot I deliberation of. It's astatine the extremity of the archetypal act, and it's an a cappella anthem. I sing this opus that starts with, "This world's a acold place, isn't it? It chills you to the bone..." 

It's 1 of the precise fewer moments wherever David is conscionable being brutally honorable and really opening up that helium is truthful insanely lonely. He's telling Michael, "You tin articulation us, and we volition beryllium honorable with you from present connected out," which we cognize is not true. 

The euphony is truthful haunting, and it feels similar there's thing past astir it. It has this astir vampiric power, and The Rescues orchestrated this immense sweeping drawstring section. 

The formed is besides singing backstage on with america done the monitors. Even though they’re not onstage, everyone stops to sing unneurotic successful 1 voice.

I deliberation 1 of the reasons the amusement works truthful good is the chemistry, particularly betwixt you and L.J. Benet. What was it similar gathering that dynamic together?

Ali: This is specified a large radical of people, truthful that earthy chemistry was not hard to build. When it comes to L.J., Maria [Wirries], who plays Star, and I were called successful to ticker his last callback. I retrieve helium walked into the country with this amazing confidence. 

L.J. did his scenes and sang "Belong to Someone." The full time, Maria and I were conscionable looking astatine each other, thinking, "I can't judge this feline is real." He's a once-in-a-lifetime talent. He's my bud. We truly get on offstage. Our dressing rooms are close adjacent to each other, too.

The different Lost Boys and I besides get on truthful well. We've gotten to bent retired for a agelong clip due to the fact that we were each successful the store together. So I've known them for a while, and I've had them implicit astatine my apartment. We're champion friends.

Shoshana [Bean] is straight crossed the mode from our dressing rooms, and she's ever checking successful connected me. She got maine an full banana breadstuff the different week. Paul Alexander Nolan is my hero, truthful moving with him has been the best. Maria is conscionable the sweetest idiosyncratic ever, and the astir insane dependable connected Broadway. Benjamin Pajak, Miguel Gil, and Jennifer Duka are amazing. It's a truly bully group.

Finally, David is specified a layered and analyzable character. What bash you anticipation audiences instrumentality distant from your performance?

Ali: In galore ways, David represents the radical of the satellite who committedness you a spot to beryllium and instrumentality vantage of the loneliness successful our civilization close now. With phones, societal media, and COVID, we person each these things that benignant of isolate us, particularly the younger generation. There are a batch of radical retired determination trying to instrumentality vantage of that. 

David besides represents the oppressors of the satellite and the radical that privation to instrumentality distant your spark oregon individualism. He's a informing that if you're going to marque a chosen household and you're going to find a spot to belong, marque definite that spot accepts you for precisely who you are. 

At the aforesaid time, he's a unfortunate of this. He's truthful lonely — helium besides wants a household and to beryllium to someone. He has truthful overmuch trauma, and alternatively of allowing himself to beryllium loved, he's gonna manipulate radical and unit an thought of household astir him, until helium realizes that isn't possible.

(Laughs) I consciousness for the guy, but helium is simply a psychopath and a murderer, truthful you can't springiness him excessively overmuch forgiveness.

Want to larn much astir The Lost Boys?

- Director Michael Arden connected bringing the amusement to life.