Ali Louis Bourzgui won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of vampire leader David in "The Lost Boys."
The ceremony took place at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2026.
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This marks Bourzgui's first Tony nomination and win. He previously performed on Broadway in "The Who's Tommy" and "Hadestown."
The musical adaptation of the 1987 Warner Brothers film led this year's pack with 12 total nominations, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score, according to Playbill.
Acceptance Speech Highlights
During his acceptance speech, Bourzgui expressed appreciation for his heritage and the theater community.
"This is dedicated to the beautiful tapestry of immigrant families who make this country truly special," he stated.
He expanded on his dedication backstage and online, highlighting marginalized groups and international conflicts.
"This is dedicated to the beautiful tapestry of immigrant families who make this country really special—may you one day not have to audition for the empathy that should be freely given by this country that benefits from your beauty, for the queer and trans communities who have and always will exist, no matter what people in power try to take away from them," Bourzgui passionately shared.
He concluded his speech by reflecting on life and mortality explored through his character.
"If there's one thing we can learn from vampires, it's that life is short—but that's its gift.
Find beauty in the ephemeral, and gratitude in what is not promised, and always invest in the people that want to see you blossom," he said.
Production and Creative Team
The production, directed by two-time Tony winner Michael Arden, officially opened at the Palace Theatre on April 26 after preview performances began March 27.
The creative team includes choreographers Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher "Cree" Grant, who secured their first Tony nomination for engineering the aerial sequences.
The choreographers noted that designing the flying movements required an incremental, safety-first methodology.
"You just have to break it down slowly and bit by bit, build one block and then you just keep adding so that no one’s going to get hurt or feel too chaotic.
Because gravity is going to gravity," Yalango-Grant said.
To maintain the dark, supernatural aesthetic of the original movie, the staging avoided traditional acrobatic styles.
"They have to look cool, effortless, a little bit sexy, a little dangerous, but they don’t have to try too hard because they’re vampires — they’re all powerful, right?"
Yalango-Grant said.
The production utilized specialized black-painted wires that absorb light to conceal the mechanical rigging from the audience.
"So, we worked really hard on just this effortless cool, laid-back kind of vibe, not circus-y, not a lot of tricks," Yalango-Grant added.
The choreographers personally tested the aerial equipment before sending the actors 60 feet into the air. "We’re the OG vamps," Yalango-Grant said.
Both choreographers drew upon their extensive professional background as touring dancers to master the mechanics of stage flight.
"I think, as dancers, we already have this intuitive nature of understanding how our bodies operate and move, and then just applying that in a different way to flying wasn’t that much more difficult," Grant said.
Because the cast members lacked previous aerial training, early rehearsal time provided by the producers was essential.
"It took so much fine-tuning to get to where we are," Yalango-Grant said.
The production team adjusted schedules to ensure actors had sufficient preparation time before their flying scenes.
"And I’m just so proud of the work of all of us because it took every single person to make this look how it looks now," Yalango-Grant said.
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The cast spent significant rehearsal hours practicing with custom clothing designed to hide the technical equipment. "You can rehearse all you want.
You can talk about it all you want. But until you’re in the harness in the air, you just don’t know.
So they allowed us to start training with the guys early on," Yalango-Grant said.
The actors perfected the process of unhooking themselves quickly while remaining in character on stage.
"They have to unclip with their pointer finger and their thumb and we just drilled it.
We drilled it so it became muscle memory and as easy as brushing your hair behind your ear," Yalango-Grant said.
The fast disconnection process created an illusion of seamless magic for the theater audience. "It’s like a magic trick.
It’s a sleight of hand," Yalango-Grant said.
Post-Credits Scene
Beyond the choreography, Mashable reported that the production features an unusual theatrical "tag" or post-credits scene following the final curtain call.
Director Michael Arden described the final sequence as a direct homage to classic cinematic horror tropes. "We call it a tag," Arden said.
Arden developed the concept to serve as a thematic bookend to the sudden death that opens the musical.
"But it is a post-credit[s] scene," he said.
The scene depicts the character Mrs. Vasquez discovering a bottle of vampire blood at the abandoned Coronado Bluff ironworks.
Arden explained his excitement regarding the dramatic implications of the character's final action. "The cold open of our show is a character we never meet again that's killed.
That is such a horror-specific trope. And I was like, 'Well, it feels like it wants that bookend, wouldn't it be crazy?
Do you think we could ever?'
And so I wrote a version of it, and put it on the last page of the script.
And everyone was like, 'Ha, ha, ha! Wait, could we really do that?'
And I was like, 'Why not? We make up the rules, baby!'"
Arden explained.
When questioned whether the cliffhanger ending signaled an upcoming theatrical sequel, Arden indicated that no current plans exist.
"Ashley Jenkins, who plays Mrs. Vasquez, is an actor I've worked with a bunch of times.
So the fact that she gets to end the show, and that we get that the next Big Bad bad-ass vampire might be like a fierce Black woman?
I'm obsessed with [it]," Arden said.
The creative team is currently focusing their efforts entirely on the ongoing Broadway run of the production. "Not at the moment.
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We all need a good rest," Arden responded.
