On June 7, several musicals will compete for Broadway’s biggest honor: a Tony Award. But of those that are nominated, only one is based on a cult-classic 1987 vampire film that starred Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Jason Patric, and Edward Herrmann. We’re talking, of course, about the stage adaptation of Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys, which recently received 12 Tony nominations, including one for Best Musical. It’s a fantastic show that takes the iconic vibe and story of the original film and gives it more depth and passion. The soundtrack by The Rescues is filled with certified bangers, and the scope and scale of the show is as big as anything you’ll see on Broadway. At the center of all that is LJ Benet.
Benet plays Michael Emerson, the older brother of the Emerson family who moves to the Murder Capital of the World and gets entangled with its vampires. Jason Patric originated the role, but here, in the musical, Benet takes it to another level. This is a much fuller, more complex Michael. He’s got the weight of the show on his shoulders. Recently, io9 spoke with Benet over video chat to geek out about the show, talking about what he drew from the movie, the show’s many iterations, and the legacy of the brand. The show’s soundtrack goes up for pre-order on May 29, ahead of the Tonys on June 7.
Germain Lussier, io9: I live in LA, but I flew to New York just to see The Lost Boys because I am such a big fan. When this first came on your radar, what was your experience with The Lost Boys?
LJ Benet: No, I hadn't watched the movie, but any actor who prepares correctly watches the source material. So I watched the movie, and you're like, "Oh shit." You realize why it's such a classic. It's Brat Pack, but it's hot and sexy and cool.
io9: And did you audition specifically for Michael, or was it more general for the show?
Benet: You know what’s so funny? I think originally, before they had released anything, I went back into my Dropbox. I think I’d put a tape on for David. But this was like two and a half years ago. I think they were just doing Zoom sessions at this point, and none of the music had been released. I put another tape on for the workshop... and that's how it started.
[AgentUpdate Depth Analysis] LJ Benet’s dynamic adaptation of a classic character in "The Lost Boys" provides profound inspiration for the AI Agent ecosystem, particularly in the realm of "Dynamic Persona Realization." In modern AI architecture, designing an Agent with a consistent yet adaptive Persona is highly analogous to method acting on a live stage. Static system prompts often yield rigid behaviors, akin to a pre-recorded film. In contrast, next-generation AI Agents must operate like stage actors—orchestrating complex, real-time interactions within multi-agent environments. The iterative "workshops" Benet underwent parallel the fine-tuning and reinforcement learning (RLHF) cycles required to optimize Agent performance. As we move toward highly interactive, consumer-facing AI, the ability of Agents to dynamically adjust their cognitive architecture while preserving core narrative alignment will define the next frontier of immersive digital experiences.
