'I Want to Make Theater for the Millions'

"Michael Arden has had, undoubtedly, the most interesting past 12 months of anyone in the theater industry. In June 2025, he won his second Tony Award for Best Director in three years for his work on Maybe Happy Ending, which crowned him as one of the great young talents in an industry that desperately needs young talent. By late summer, Maybe Happy Ending's narrative had curdled. The show came under intense criticism from fans and Broadway actors for casting a white actor, Andrew Barth Feldman, in a role that was originally played by Darren Criss."

"By the time Versailles had closed in December, Arden was already in the process of putting together his next project: a musical adaptation of Joel Schumacher's 1987 teen-vampire flick The Lost Boys. The musical, which was the last show to open this season, is a spectacle with a scope unseen on Broadway in recent years. Harkening back to the Cameron Mackintosh-produced projects of the '80s ( Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, etc.), nearly every number includes a major set piece of some kind."

"The story follows a mother named Lucy Emerson (Shoshana Bean) and her two boys, the despondent elder brother Michael (L.J. Benet) and the younger, quirkier Sam (Benjamin Pajak), who move to a fictional town called Santa Carla to escape their abusive father. It turns out the town is crawling with vampires, led by David (Ali Louis Bourzgui), who attempt to recruit Michael. The vampires fly with shocking a"

Michael Arden won a second Tony Award for directing Maybe Happy Ending, but the show later faced intense criticism over casting. After Queen of Versailles opened and closed as a major flop, Arden moved quickly into his next project. He is directing a musical adaptation of The Lost Boys, which opened last in the season. The production features large set pieces and a scope reminiscent of major 1980s Broadway spectacles. The story centers on Lucy Emerson and her two sons, Michael and Sam, who relocate to Santa Carla to escape an abusive father. The town is overrun by vampires led by David, who try to recruit Michael.

Read at Vulture