A Day in the Life of a Vampire
Ali Louis Bourzgui: Calm by day; a mullet-rocking vampire by night
Photos and Essay by Nick Burchard
IF YOU HAVE HAD THE THRILLING EXPERIENCE of seeing the four-time Tony® Award-winning Broadway musical The Lost Boys, you may be surprised to know that the high-flying, blood-spitting vampire known as David (portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland in the hit 1980s film of the same name) is actually played by Ali Louis Bourzgui—a friendly actor and songwriter raised in Pittsfield. Ali and I met in 2012, performing in Berkshire Theatre Group’s production of Oliver! at The Colonial Theatre, and we have been good pals ever since. Ten years after Oliver!, I had the honor of directing Ali as the heartbroken ghost, Esper, in my short film, The Ghost Light. Since then, Ali has become a Broadway favorite. Following acclaimed runs in The Who’s Tommy and Hadestown, he won the 2026 Tony® Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Lost Boys.
In August, I spent my birthday with Ali in the city, taking photos of him in his natural element. We went about his daily routine, starting in Ali’s apartment, where he has mulled over finding a proper place to put his new Tony® Award.“I don’t want the award to intimidate me or anyone who comes to the house. I’m blown away and grateful to have won, but the actual displaying of it is tough for me,” Ali shared with me. I found the Tony® nestled on the windowsill next to a tower of cacti and Ali’s record player.
A connoisseur of all things coffee, Ali drinks an average of three cups a day. He starts his morning with a home-brewed espresso out on his balcony, overlooking the neighborhood he’s called home for four years. “I forced myself to like coffee in college, because I kept falling asleep in my day classes while doing theater at night. Now I love it. It’s the best; I’m a big fan of black coffee!”
He also spends his mornings warming up his voice by playing guitar. We walked down five flights of stairs and onto the streets of NYC.
Ali’s favorite breakfast spot is Salt’s Cure, where, he tells me, they make “oatmeal pancakes without syrup!” A New Englander through and through, Ali understands the strangeness of pancakes without syrup but sells me on it regardless. “Trust me, it’s great! You’ll love it.” (It was, in fact, great.)
Ali and I head to Washington Square Park and listen to the bands. He spends a lot of his day reading in the parks around New York City. I ask him if he’s homesick for the mountains of the Berkshires. “Every day.
I miss the trees.”
Our hangout includes record shopping ... and buying more coffee beans!
It was time for Ali to become a blood-thirsty creature of the night, and time for me to become a loyal fan in the audience.
The show is a spectacle in every sense of the word: flight, motorcycles, rock bands, romance, horror, and some of the most jaw-dropping stunts and effects I’ve ever seen live. Ali’s warm and friendly energy dissolves into an unrecognizable, fierce, sinister, and wickedly calculated vampire that dares us all to join him in the darkness.
It’s no surprise that, upon curtain call, the massive audience gathers at the stage door gates to meet their favorite vampire. Luckily for them, Ali emerges as friendly as ever, taking time to sign playbills and take selfies with each fan. Observing my childhood friend laugh with the crowd is just another example of Ali being the same grounded guy from the Berkshires I met all those years ago.
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is playing on Broadway at the Palace Theatre. Tickets are on sale through July 3, 2027. Go to lostboysmusical.com to purchase tickets.
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