By JACK GIROUX
Jennifer Duka and Miguel Gil keep the spirit of the vampire-hunting Frog Brothers alive and well in THE LOST BOYS musical. On Broadway, Duka and Gil bring an infectious energy to the roles made famous by Corey Haim and Corey Feldman in Joel Schumacher’s horror classic. Duka, playing Alan, and Gil, playing Edgar, nail the bravado of the scrappy stake-wielding heroes.
Chris Hoch and David Hornsby adapted The Lost Boys for the stage, featuring music from The Rescues and direction by Michael Arden.
There is plenty of technical wizardry in the show with all the wirework, rotating sets – including the Santa Carla boardwalk – and vampire shenanigans. But there’s just as much personality from the cast, including Duka and Gil. Vampire killers are rarely this charming. Recently, the duo spoke with RUE MORGUE about their experience playing the Frog Brothers on stage, from channeling Rambo and Jack Burton to singing about vamps.
When you first landed the roles of the Frog Brothers, where did your work begin?
Jennifer Duka: First and foremost, the source material of the movie was the first thing that I went to, and then I proceeded to watch some of the Rambo movies.
Really?
JD: I took a lot of inspiration from there. I was like, “Okay, this is their vibe.” But I also thought it was cool that in the movie, Alan is played by a guy and I am a girl. So, how can I still bring myself to the character, but still honor the dynamic that they shared from the movie? I don’t think I was trying to put on a certain front or anything, but where can I, Jennifer, meet Alan and this character in this story, and how do those become one?
Miguel, you developed the role of Edgar in the workshop phase for the show. How has the character evolved?
Miguel Gil: I’ve played with so many versions of Edgar and so many ideas of the character. But the first thing is really similar to Jennifer. Obviously, I watched a bunch of movies and tried to draw inspiration from them. I had to think about how much I wanted it to be exactly like the movie and how much I wanted it to be me, and how I can find the balance between those things.
I think Rambo was instilled in our script, so that’s something that I researched, too. I watched ’80s action flicks. A big one for me, especially one that I keep going back to, is Big Trouble in Little China. Also, Kurt Russell in Escape from New York. I try to find Edgar somewhere in the middle of those two characters, where one is so action, action, action. And the other one is a little bit earnest, clueless, but somehow found himself in this situation as well.
You can see some Jack Burton in the performance. You two drew from some great action classics for these roles.
JD: It is a big part of Alan Frog and the dynamic of the Frog Brothers. They’re so serious and genuine about everything. Through the process, our fight coordinators had me look at Ip Man just for the fight scene. Also, I watched the Kill Bill movies for the first time during the rehearsal process. It was also a good reference – a badass Uma Thurman.
When audiences don’t see the Frog Brothers on stage, did you both think about what they might be up to in their spare time?
MG: These are kids who are making things happen, and they’re actively trying to save Santa Carla, so they’re busy kids. They’re on bikes, patrolling, trying to put pieces together. From the jump, they already know that there are vampires, and they’re surveying Sam when he walks in. They’re keeping an eye out, scoping out people.
JD: I like to imagine that we’re patrolling the boardwalk constantly, too. We have people who work at certain stands who are friends with us [and] other people who find us really annoying. I remember there was a part of the process where I was like, “Oh my God, are we going to be able to bike around on stage on our own?” Me, Edgar and Sam have our own little bikes. That was cool to think about, but it didn’t happen.
You two do excellent work with the number, “Murder Capital of the World.” When you’re performing a song like that, what are the character and story beats you really want to emphasize?
MG: I feel like it’s such a fun number because it balances so many things. We want Sam to be on our team. We also want to spook him a little bit because this is how it is. This is a reality that he’s walked into. The number went through so many iterations. There used to be a whole ensemble in that number. I think the bones of that remain in the sense that we get lost in our imaginations a little bit within the song – of the horrors of Santa Carla. It’s such a fun intro for the Frog Brothers.
JD: During that preview process, the song was changing so much. A verse out here and then putting it back in another night, or taking the ensemble out, putting them back in. But it was really cool finding what version best introduced the Frog Brothers to the audience and made it so that they were getting a clear understanding of who our characters were, what purpose they would serve in the story. It’s so fun to perform every single night – the first moment that me and Miguel get to lock in. It’s also really comforting having Miguel with me the first time on stage because I still get nervous and stuff, too. We have each other to pick each other back up and send each other the energy that we need, depending on the day.
How does a bond like that of the Frog Brothers develop, on stage and off?
MG: We both agreed from the jump that we wanted to be friends, that this is such a cool experience that we get to share together. I know we both really respect each other’s processes and ways of finding things, whether it’s funny or truthful.
It just worked out that we both have similar strengths, but they’re also so different, and it makes it so that the three of us, including Sam, balance each other out excellently. We’ve tried so many things throughout various shows and rehearsals. I think we are all super go-with-the-flow, which also helps each other feel safe to do those things and figure it out together.
JD: Miguel was the first friend I had in the process of going into it, the person that I knew. I know from the workshops you already knew some of the people in the cast going into it. So, it was nerve-wracking for me being new, but it was nice knowing Miguel was going into it.
As he said, both he and Benjamin [Pajak], we’ve created a dynamic and a friendship with each other that made it comfortable to bounce ideas off one another, knowing that it’d be safe if we fell flat on our faces because we knew that we’d be there to pick each other up and try something new again. It’s also the offstage moments where we’re just chatting and getting to know each other better. The relationship and friendship, the stronger that gets, the easier our dynamic is on stage.
On stage, there is a lot of technical wizardry, some real “How did they do that?” moments. For both of you, whether with the wirework or the scale of the sets being rotated, did you want to investigate how the crew was pulling it all off?
MG: It’s tricky because I don’t know how many secrets we can give away, but there are certain moments where, of course, the flying is happening, and it’s really blurred as to when they even receive a harness, when they get clipped in, how they get clipped in. It was something that I was curious about. There are still parts of the show where there’s one guy backstage who’s making sure that’s happening, and sometimes, he’s on stage and you would never even know. And so, that specific job I feel like is so important and also scary. He’s just working in the dark and making this happen – and that is theater magic.
JD: It’s also the lighting brilliance of Michael Arden and Jen Schriever. I mean, they got their amazing Tony win, but truly they’re able to use the space in such a unique way and make the audience feel like there’s more space or more happening even beyond the set. It’s their brilliant lighting that makes those special moments, the flying and what Miguel was talking about, about a crew person literally on stage that you wouldn’t even see because of their lighting.
The set design is something that still blows my mind every single day. I just feel like it’s a big, awesome playground. Every time we get to ride a lift or something, I’m like, “Oh my God, this is so cool.” Our show would not function without all of our amazing crew members because there are so many set changes and things that have to happen in such a precise and time-sensitive way.
Another big musical number with both of you and Benjamin is “My Brother is A…” How does a number like that continue to evolve once it’s on a Broadway stage?
MG: I’m glad you asked about that one specifically because that one used to be way longer. It used to have a whole section of Sam’s mom making spaghetti with clams for dinner. So there was a whole section of that song where we would go, “With clams.” There was a whole jazzy clams moment.
With that number, we just started with what’s happening. We’re discovering that his brother’s a vampire. How do we react to that? Where do we go from there? I think right away they get into game mode. They go to action real quick, like, “This is what we’re going to do.”
JD: Yes. The number is so much fun and a really great way to kick-start the second act and also remind the audience, like, “Hey, Frog Brothers, we’re here, and we’re about to get this plot going. It’s about to get exciting.” When Sam gives us that information, we’re so eager to hop on it and be like, “Okay, it’s go time. This is what we’ve been waiting for. Let’s use all of our knowledge and all of our powers to finally hunt some vampires.”
But again, it’s the seriousness and the intensity and the genuine honesty in that, though, because the Frog Brothers truly believe in this. They truly want to help Sam. I think it’s exciting too that they’re recruiting a new member of their little friendship and group.
MG: At that point in the show, the comedy changes a little bit too, where we’re no longer trying to scare him. We’re friends with him now. The dynamic shifts, and I think it’s a little lighter, even though it’s in very high stakes.
Camo pants, bandanas, boots and Chuck Taylors: How’d you and costume designer Ryan Park want to define the Frog Brothers through their battle armor?
MG: Something really cool that we talked about was, Ryan thinks about what are the lives of these characters, not just what are these characters going to wear? For our characters specifically, we don’t necessarily change costumes a whole lot throughout the show. We were thinking these kids don’t have a very vast closet. What they’re wearing is mostly purposeful. I wear a graphic tee, but then I wear this overcoat with two big pockets where I put a lot of stuff. Jennifer has a bunch of pockets all over her ‘fit.
JD: I think one of my favorite pieces that I get to wear is the army vest. That was really, really cool. Also, Ryan is so specific in the details of his costumes as well. We have all of these pins and decorations on our costumes, so I was kind of thinking there’s a Boy Scouts background.
Another really special thing about my costume is I wear this cross necklace – me personally – and I never take it off. It was something that I shared with Ryan, and he thought that it worked really well with the character. Now, it’s just a part of Alan Frog’s costume, and it’s in all of the official costume design books. It feels really special that I get a real piece of me that gets to carry on for as long as the life of this character gets to live on Broadway and other places around the world.
