The Lost Boys (1987) starred teen idol Corey Haim (right) as Sam, a teenager trying to save his older brother (Jason Patric, left) from a pack of motorcycle-riding, leather jacket-wearing vampires. Sam is as gay as you could portray in the homophobic 1980s:he takes a bubble bath, has a poster of heartthrob Rob Lowe on his bedroom wall, wears a "Born to Shop" t-shirt, and sings that "I'm a lonely girl, ain't got a man." That's not enough for most fans, of course, who proclaim loudly, "Straight guys do that! It doesn't make him gay!"
Left: Jason Patric's butt and cock, or maybe the cock of his partner. I can't tell their gender from the photo.
A musical version of the iconic film opened on Broadway in April 2026, with the same plotline: single Mom Lucy and her two sons move to Santa Carla, the murder capital of the West Coast, where older brother Michael (LJ Benet), falls in with a crowd of rock star vampires. But 40 years have passed, and his relationship with the vampire David (Ali Louis Bourzgui) can be openly homoerotic:
Wanna get you alone / Caress your collarbone / No preacher would condone / What I would do to you, baby
And now younger brother Sam (Benjamin Pajak) can be overtly, obviously, coming-out speech gay:
Maybe I can be a hero here/ And make it cool to be queer/ Maybe that's my superpower.
Wait -- Benjamin Pajak. Wasn't he in Playdate? Paul Blart is trying to de-gay his shirt-raiser stepson Lucas (Ben) by teaching him football, when they run into Reacher and his sociallly awkward son CJ (Banks Pierce). The two boys hit it off instantly, so the dads arrange a playdate. But government agents or evil corporate clones are after CJ, and...it gets weirder and weirder, with multiple plot holes, but dang it, those boys are obviously into each other. They do everything but kiss.
That's one gay and one "an inch away from flying a Pride Flag" role. I need to do a profile of this kid.
Benjamin Pajak was born in March 2011, in Westfield, New Jersey, about 20 miles from Manhattan. The family is Jewish but not observant. The Paper Mill Theater was across the back yard, so acting and singing were an ever-present part of life.
He made his Broadway debut in The Music Man (2021): con artist Harold Hill (Wolverine Hugh Jackman, left) wooes the prim-and-proper Marian the Librarian. Her younger brother Winthrop (Ben) rejects a date request from a girl and speaks with a gay-stereotype lisp, which he overcomes with Harold's mentorship. If I was writing a scholarly article about musicals, I'd have a lot of fun queering that text.
Three gay and gay-light roles so far.
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In June 2023, Ben performed as the Young Harvey in the oratorio I am Harvey Milk, about the assassinated gay rights leader.
Four for four, Ben Baby.
He has also performed in Oliver!, Golden Rainbow, Nine, and Ragtime. His songs appear in four albums: Rails, Figaro, The Music Man, and Christmas Time in the City.
More after the break.
That last album was a livestream of a 2023 concert at the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle in New York, where Ben sang "Someday at Christmas" with gay actor Max von Essen (left, nude in Dorian):
Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime
The song is actually about "peace on Earth," but I'm going to count it as a queer code. That's five, buddy.
Let's check Ben's acting credits on the IMDB.
A short, Where It's Beautiful When It Rains (2022).
The podcast Past My Bedtime (2022).
The animated Camp Haedus (2024), with two best friends at summer camp.
The Life of Chuck (2024), told in reverse chronological order, from dying of a brain tumor at age 39 (played by Tom Hiddleston) to losing his parents in an auto accident at age 7 (Cody Flanagan). Chuck at age 11 (Ben) loses his grandmother, and has an alcoholic grandfather who disapproves of his interest in dancing. That's sort of a queer code, even though the grown-up Chuck has a wife and kids.
Playdate (2025)
And an upcoming Exorcist movie with Laurence Fishburn, John Leguizamo, and Chitiwel Ejiofur (left)
I don't think there's much doubt that the guy is gay in real life, but I checked his Instagram and Facebook anyway. A lot of guy-hugging, heads on shoulders, and one being carried in the guy's arms. Ben doesn't say who any of them are.
I recognized this one: gay organist Brody Bett.
I can't tell if this is Ben himself or a friend. The poster behind him depicts rapper ASAP Rocky, who is partnered with gay icon Rihanna.
Wait -- he tries to decide on a screen background of a cat or Sabrina Carpenter pretending to kiss the viewer. "I like this one!" he exclaims with enthusiasm. Well, she's a gay icon. Maybe he likes her...u,...singing?
Lewis Cornay: Actor/singer meets Doctor Who and a Bear, has Daddy issues, stands on his head. With nude Mormons and History Boys. Another Broadway star.
Not the Marrying Kind: Gay Burns and Allen. They try to find a girlfriend for Meredith Wilson, who wrote The Music Man
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