The Lost Boys review: Vampire spectacle is best new musical on Broadway

Two hours and 40 minutes, with one intermission.At the Palace Theatre, 160 W.

47th Street.At long last, a vampire musical that doesn’t suck.A captivating and moody rock show about teenage fangst, “The Lost Boys,” flew open Sunday night at the Palace Theatre and brought an end to the decades-old curse unleashed by a string of unfortunate aughts Broadway mega-flops: “Dracula,” “Dance of the Vampires” and “Lestat.”That tacky trilogy of terror has been the target of mockery for so long that simply walking into a new entry in the singin’ undead genre is scarier than anything Count Orlok does in “Nosferatu.”Even more frightening, lousy “Lestat” also played the Palace.Eeeek!But once the lights dim and a striking opening scene commences — in which a cop is violently killed midair by a group of rocking vamps — it becomes immediately clear that there is nothing here to ridicule this time.

There are plenty of unbelievable sights to gasp at, though.Directed by comeback kid Michael Arden, “The Lost Boys” is a serious and ambitious effort of spectacle and heartfelt adventure that doesn’t look or behave like any musical I have seen before. Without actually being immersive, the intoxicating 1980s arcade atmosphere washes over the audience sensorily, with a three-level crypt set by Dane Laffrey that uses the Palace’s extreme height to its winning advantage and lighting by Jen Schriever and Arden that’s so gorgeous it should be billed above the title.And the magical aerial stunts — used for everything from high-flying music solos to vampiric sneak attacks — would make Sandy Duncan green with envy.This show, in every aspect, goes breathtakingly gargantuan. Good. Suffice it to say, “City Center Encores presents ‘The Lost Boys'” wouldn’t go over so well.But on Broadway, bigness has been greatly missed.Much like the 1987 movie the musical is based on wrestled the undead into the present long before “Twilight�...