LJ Benet Found Where He Belongs in Broadway’s The Lost Boys

LJ Benet didn't think there was a place for his voice on Broadway. Now, he's originating a leading role in a musical that's making room for artists like him. Before being cast as Michael Emerson in The Lost Boys, Benet went through an extremely dark period. A child actor, he stepped away from performing after realizing he was no longer doing it for himself. Traditional musical theater roles felt out of reach for his unconventional indie-rock sound. His life now looks completely different, but he carries with him the lessons he learned at his lowest. These days, he's flying high—literally—60 feet above the Palace Theatre stage.

Speaking to Broadway.com in his dressing room, surrounded by fan art, handwritten notes from his co-stars and one very important reminder on his mirror ("you are enough"), he reflects on the whirlwind six months since making his Broadway debut. Benet opens up about channeling his personal insecurities into his performance as Michael, finding a home for his unique sound on Broadway and turning to music when he needed it most.

You've spoken about relating to Michael, especially his "desperation to feel like he belongs to something." What helped you connect with him?
A year and a half prior to getting the audition, I had to move back in with my parents and I was going through a lot of insecurity about where I was at in life. The idea of not being seen, of being taken for granted, of somebody not choosing you was very prevalent in my life. When I first heard "Belong to Someone," I immediately understood what this song was. Obviously, Michael's feeling that from his family, feeling like he's not seen by his parents. I've been there growing up as a child actor. You start work at a really young age and you learn to say yes to a lot of things. Sometimes you feel like you should say no, but you say yes because it's the thing you're told to do, to keep going. There was a lot of stuff from my childhood, especially when it came to the family dynamic, that I was able to relate to Michael on. I think just how fresh I'd felt with those ideas, I didn't have to do a ton of work the way I know some people might have to do for characters. I was really grateful for that, because this was my first one and I didn't know if I was going to have the capacity to be able to handle a role on Broadway, let alone a freaking leading role on Broadway. But having Shoshana Bean, Paul Alexander Nolan, Ben Crawford, Ali Louis Bourzgui—all these vets carrying me and encouraging me throughout that process is what got me through.

How has your performance changed or deepened as you’ve settled into the run?
I'm more comfortable on stage for sure. There's so many technical things with our show that I have to keep certain things technical or else I will fall through the floor. [Laughs] I have to clip in when I get on the bridge, or I'm falling off and it's a whole thing. But there are certain parts where I'll bring some of the insecurity or imposter syndrome I felt throughout this process into Michael, because that's where he's at as well with trying to figure out where he belongs.

How long did it take to get used to the flying in the show?
Not crazy long. We did a week of training in Upstate New York with 5th Wall Studio. It was incredible. They taught us a lot of the basics and then we did a week of training here before we got into tech. The tech process throughout made everything comfortable. To be able to get up and go do it and have that routine of putting your harness on, getting up 60 feet in the air and then just sitting there for a second while they adjust lights, it makes things a little bit more casual rather than, "I think I'm going to fall to my death." But now, I'm up there and thinking about what I'm having for lunch in between shows.

It's a very physical show. Has your workout routine changed?
That's so funny. I have not worked out since the show started. I feel like I'm doing a marathon every single night. I'm sweating bullets when I come off at the end of the first act. I'm eating so much, but I'm not gaining any weight, because of how extensive what I have to do every night is, twice a day sometimes. I'm eating more food than I've ever eaten in my entire life. It's crazy. I haven't had much time to go and do workouts just because I have to rest.

How do you practice self-care outside of the theater?
I spend time with [my dog] Boston; we go on walks around our neighborhood. Honestly, I try and stay in most of the time. I'm not a big going out person. There's no crazy routine that I do. Get a massage maybe, if I absolutely need to. But we have great PT here.

I have to ask—what does the J in LJ stand for?
Junior. Lorenzo Junior. I love talking about my name. I'm the 24th of my name. Lorenzo Peter Benet is the name that's been passed down for generations. My grandpa passed last year so I'm technically the junior, but I've always been LJ. We've all had our own nicknames.

How has writing and recording your own music served as an outlet for you, both creatively and in terms of your mental health?
It's huge. I have a bunch of songs that I'm going to release about the time that I went through before I got to The Lost Boys and why I relate so much to Michael. But there was a period in my life where I hadn't written in a very long time. Even when I was writing and recording music, it wasn't for myself. It was just, "What's going to work on TikTok?" I had a team around me that was like, "We need something that's going to pop," and it just wasn't for myself. So I took a break from that. In the midst of the acting break I took for eight years, I took a break from music for two years right before The Lost Boys and didn't really pick up writing again until I went through something where I absolutely needed to pick up a pen and write it down. My friends told me to, and I thank God for that, because it really helped me channel a lot of the anger I was feeling during that period and a lot of the bad thoughts I was having. I've shared some of that music with my close friends and they're like, "We understand this music." The same way I understood "Belong to Someone," a lot of my friends were reaching out and being like, "Hey, I've been here too. I know exactly what you're saying. You should release this." Art is such an outlet for creativity, especially when you're going through those moments. I think that's one of the reasons art is here in the first place in life. It exists so you can actually channel those things.

Have you written anything since the show opened?
Honestly, no, I haven't. I'm just so enveloped in The Lost Boys right now that I really haven't had the space to do that. But also, I write so much more when I'm down in the trenches. For me, it's harder to write when things are good. That probably says more about me psychologically, but I'll figure it out.

Who are some of your musical inspirations or dream collaborators?
I listened to Marcus Mumford and Mumford & Sons growing up, so that's such a giant influence. In the last couple of years, Chris Stapleton. I think everyone watched his rendition of the national anthem and was like, "Is this how it's always supposed to have been sung?" Noah Kahan; I listen to him every day before I go out to do The Lost Boys. I just feel like that's the music Michael would listen to.

How do you think The Lost Boys has changed the idea of what a Broadway musical can look and sound like?
It's great for Broadway. Personally, no matter what I'm in, I'm always trying to see what line I can cross, which sounds absolutely terrible. But it was hard for me to audition years ago when I was doing musical theater. Even a lot of the musical theater I would do in L.A. was more what you would classify as off-Broadway, experimental work where rock was incorporated into it. So I think it's a great thing for Broadway. It changes the scene a little bit and brings new voices in. I'm happy I get to be that face and that bridge hopefully for people to come in. My buddy Spencer Sutherland is taking over for Romeo in & Juliet right now. He and I were neighbors when I lived in Studio City a couple years ago. We both were doing music and we both grew up acting, but the idea of Broadway for us was so far-fetched because our voices were so different than what you would hear. But now he's here and I'm here, so I feel like our voices are being accepted in this space. People want new voices and want something different. So I'm happy that that's happening.

Talk to me about Shoshana Bean.
She's been everything to me this entire run. She's pushed me when I needed it. She encouraged me when I felt so much doubt. There were a lot of times in our rehearsal process where I felt like I wasn't enough or I wasn't doing enough or I wasn't right for this or the show would have done better if I wasn't the lead. There are so many things that go through your head when you're filled with doubt. She took that doubt and poured encouragement, so much so that that doubt spilled out. It reminded me I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, this part was made for me and I had to start believing that. And so I did start believing that. But she's been everything. She's been mom. One thing I haven't really shared, but it's just a testament to her character—I wasn't supposed to be at the Tonys. I didn't have a ticket to it and she bought my ticket so that I could be right next to her. I will never forget that for the rest of my life. She's always a voice memo away from telling me how much I matter to her, and vice versa. I could not have done this without her. It's really been transcendent and I've learned so much from her about how to be a rock in a performance and a leader in a show so massive. You have to move in a way where it feels small, or else the big things feel too big. You want to move in a way where everything feels human. I think that's what she does. She brings everything back to humanity, rather than, "I'm up here and you're down here." She's like, "No, I'm right here with you."

It’s been said before, but this cast really does feel like a family. Does that closeness affect your performance?
Probably a little too much. We're all trying to break each other now on stage because we know each other way too well. We know what's going to make each other laugh. But yes, every day we're all finding something new. I think that's just because we know each other so intimately. We were in the trenches for a month and a half in this tech process and you really get to know people. We've been doing the show for the last six months, together every single day. We spend more time with each other than we do our significant others or our families. You have to love each other even when it's inconvenient, but we find convenience.

How have your parents been supporting you?
I'm trying to get them to get offline and stop talking to random people on TikTok. They're answering people and spilling things about my childhood on the internet and it's a problem. [Laughs] We had our intervention with them and told them to get offline, but they're still online and liking things and re-posting things. They're happy for me, you know what I mean? I was living with them two years ago. They miss me. I was there for a year and a half, so they're happy I'm doing well.

Do you see yourself returning to acting for the screen?
I didn't expect any of this. So if it comes, it comes. It's not like I'm looking to do that right now. If Spielberg calls me, OK. I'm not saying no. I mean, Patrick Wilson called me and I was just like, "You're Phantom. Hell yeah, I'm going to say yes to The Lost Boys."

What are some other dream roles? Phantom?
I mean that's always going to be a dream. Either Raoul or Phantom. If I could do either of those, I would die happy. Other dream roles, I love Hadestown so much. Orpheus is definitely something I would love to try. I don't know if I could do it. Maybe I could because there's a lot of falsetto, but we'll see. But it would be really cool just because the music in that is really unbelievable. Moritz, Spring Awakening. I remember seeing a touring production of that in Los Angeles years ago. I was probably way too young to be watching it. It was unbelievable. I had never heard music like that before. Talking about nontraditional musical theater, that was really revolutionary for its time. I watched that and I was like, "Maybe I can do musical theater. This could be something for me."

And you did originate a role, so you could do that again if you wanted.
Yeah, dream role? The one I'm doing! [Laughs] Which is still so crazy to me.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far in this new chapter?
Do the hard things first. You get to count the cost of what you want your life to look like. Obviously, you can't plan for tragedy, but you get to choose how you respond to it. I do my best to live like that now, but I'm still human. I still make mistakes.

Still knocking over chairs sometimes.
Never not going to be knocking over chairs. That's a part of me I will never lose.

Is there anything you want to add?
Lost Boys forever.

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