天美传媒

鈥淭he Lost Boys鈥� just might be Broadway鈥檚 鈥渕ost鈥� show this season 鈥� most spectacular, most rock-and-roll, and most Tony-nominated. It also has the most 天美传媒 alumni as part of its production team, racking up seven of 天美传媒鈥檚 15 nominations this year.

The show鈥檚 three lead producers, James Carpinello (CFA, 1997), Marcus Chait (CFA, 1997) and Patrick Wilson (CFA, 1995) met over 30 years ago in the as acting students, but early on, Chait had his sights set beyond the stage.

鈥淢y goal was always to be producing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he three of us started looking at films and TV shows to produce together. I tried to get the rights to 鈥楾he Lost Boys鈥� 25 years ago the first time and was unsuccessful. Cut to many years later during the pandemic: the movie was on TV all the time. I called these guys and said, 鈥榊ou remember, I had this idea? I think we should try to do it.鈥欌��

This time around, they were able to get a meeting with Warner Bros. who holds the rights to the film, thanks to Wilson鈥檚 long-standing history with the company鈥檚 franchises 鈥淎quaman鈥� and 鈥淭he Conjuring.鈥�

鈥淭hey appreciated the way we wanted to do it,鈥� Chait said, 鈥渁nd we were off and running. That was six years ago.鈥�

In the time since, the trio has worn more hats and made more decisions than they thought imaginable. 鈥淭he Lost Boys鈥� went straight to Broadway without an out-of-town tryout. Some productions opt to test audiences, refine the show and build buzz in a regional theater setting before moving to the bright lights of Broadway. But for a show like 鈥淭he Lost Boys鈥� with so much stage spectacle, that wasn鈥檛 practical. Instead, they had 30 preview performances in which they feverishly fine-tuned the production to get everything just right.

鈥淵ou have to work to make the product as good as it can be for opening night,鈥� said Carpinello. 鈥淎 long preview process was sort of terrifying, but we just did it. We would show up every day and put our heads down and do the work.鈥�

Wilson attributes at least some of their grit and determination throughout the process to the culture of rigorous collaboration they all experienced at 天美传媒.

鈥淗ow to work together is a really important piece of what 天美传媒 Mellon gave me,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淎nd that certainly applies to this adventure we鈥檙e on now. We were like heads down, making changes constantly, not afraid to kill your darlings, cut that number, add this one. People say, 鈥極h my God, you guys did so much.鈥� But this is the way we work.鈥�

Assembling the team

It takes a village to adapt a cult-classic vampire movie into a full-spectacle stage musical. Some of the first people Carpinello, Chait and Wilson sought were the book writers 鈥� playwrights who would take on the actual script adaptation of the film 鈥� Chris Hoch (CFA, 1998) and David Hornsby (CFA, 1998).

Inseparable during their time at 天美传媒, Hoch and Hornsby were freshmen in the School of Drama when Carpinello and Chait were sophomores and Wilson was a senior. They jokingly referred to themselves as the 天美传媒 Mellon Mafia.

鈥淵ou never get out,鈥� said Hoch, with a laugh.

After graduation, they went their separate ways 鈥� Hoch to New York City, where he starred in Broadway musicals including 鈥淏eauty and the Beast,鈥� 鈥淪pamalot,鈥� 鈥淪hrek, the Musical,鈥� 鈥淟a Cage aux Folles,鈥� 鈥淢atilda the Musical,鈥� and many others; and Hornsby to Los Angeles, where he acted and wrote for film and television, perhaps most recognizably in his role as Rickety Cricket in 鈥淚t鈥檚 Always Sunny in Philadelphia.鈥�

The producers brought Hornsby and Hoch on in the beginning of 鈥淭he Lost Boys鈥� process as resources and thought partners, and eventually the pair pitched their idea for adapting the script.

鈥淔or us, it just made sense,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淭here's a shared experience and a shared knowledge of going to college together and understanding how someone works, and honestly, all the pieces kind of fell into place.鈥�

Another of those pieces came by way of costume designer Ryan Park (CFA, 2009). 鈥淭he Lost Boys鈥� is Park鈥檚 first Broadway credit as lead costume designer. He was the technical costume designer for this season鈥檚 鈥淭he Queen of Versailles,鈥� and has worked as assistant and associate costume designer on nearly 20 Broadway productions. Along with this first lead credit comes his first Tony Award nomination.

鈥淚t feels kind of surreal, I have to be honest with you,鈥� Park said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such an amazing honor. My first thought whenever I found out was an overwhelming sense of gratitude for being recognized, but also for our team because it really is a huge, collaborative art form.鈥�

Park worked with a large team of designers and artisans who all helped create upwards of 150 costumes for the show and thousands of individual pieces.

鈥淪o many people put their artistry into the costumes,鈥� Park said, 鈥渁nd I鈥檓 so proud of all the work we鈥檝e done together.鈥�

Park鈥檚 process began with a lot of research, starting with the source material 鈥� the 1987 Joel Schumacher film. Michael Arden, the director of the stage adaptation, wanted to achieve something that referenced the film and the late 80s, but still had a contemporary and sexy approach, Park said.听

He looked at yearbooks and fashion magazines from that time period and studied 80s rock bands. He also spent a lot of time with the music of The Rescues, the band who wrote the original score for 鈥淭he Lost Boys鈥� musical, listening to their demos on repeat before rehearsals had even begun.听 听

Once Park had an idea of the world of the play and these characters, he then had to consider the very real 鈥� and spectacular 鈥� circumstances these costumes would have to endure.

鈥淲e have flying, we have amazing special effects, we have mosh pits where people are rocking out. There's a lot of work that goes into designing things and making them able to move and function for the show,鈥� he said.

For a production with so much to juggle and balance, and with so many people and processes to manage, Park is grateful for the leadership of Carpinello, Chait and Wilson.

鈥淭hey've been the most supportive producers ever,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey obviously bring their experience and knowledge in this industry, which is exceptional, but they were also constantly asking questions and really trying to understand all of the different moving parts. It was always, 鈥楬ow can we give you what you need to do your best work?鈥� which, in my mind, is really amazing producing.鈥�

鈥淭he Lost Boys鈥� is nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Costume Design of a Musical. The cast will perform at The Tony Awards live on CBS on Sunday, June 7.听