When looking for a night filled with farcical melodrama and a heart-warming story of a winning outsider, look no further than Studio Arena Theatre's production of Bat Boy: The Musical.
The production opened on Oct. 27, starring Louis Colaiacovo as Bat Boy alongside Tim Newell as Dr. Parker and Loraine O'Donnell as Meredith. Directed by Randall Kramer, this dark, unconventional night of theater encompasses all the simultaneous highs and lows of creepy comedy set to the music of Laurence O'Keefe.
The musical, which ran as an off-Broadway hit in 2001, follows World Weekly News reports of the half-bat, half-boy creature living in the mountains of West Virginia.
The stage adaptation takes the tale a bit further, inviting the bat boy into the lives of a small, rural community where the creature is discovered by a group of teenagers who decide to go spelunking in the nearby caves.
The pointy-eared creature is then captured and brought to the home of the Parker family who takes pity on the boy, adopting him as one of their own and teaching him proper manners and language skills by use of flashcards and BBC audiotapes.
Things take a turn for the worse, however, as superstition rises and the townspeople begin to blame the bat boy for their shortage of cows, as well as the deaths of a few local teenagers.
Conceived and written by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, the plot takes the audience on a theatrical roller coaster, incorporating camp comedy with satire, leading them from a science fiction thriller to romantic comedy and back again.
"It plays a range of all stereotypes," said season-ticket subscriber Douglas Charles. "It's different and well done."
Composer/lyricist O'Keefe combines traditional musical theater with the styles of rock and gospel. The lyrics are as over the top as the nocturnal creatures lurking above, making up outrageous songs, such as "Hold Me, Bat Boy" and "Christian Charity."
However, as absurd as the show presents itself, it hints to very real, moral issues.
"Bat Boy's story speaks to the outsider in all of us," Kramer said in a note to the audience. "It also deals with our inner beast, that primitive part of us that lashes out when we are afraid, threatened or struggling for control."
Conceptually, Kramer does an exceptional job at creating the world in which these characters live. A jagged cutout outlining the proscenium and railroad tracks along the perimeter of the stage make the audience feel as though they are always at the mouth of the cave.
Unfortunately, the concept gets lost in the second act as gargoyles on sticks are placed along the edge of the stage with seemingly no connection with the action on stage.
Despite the distractions, the actors make up the production's downfalls. O'Donnell gives an outstanding performance as Meredith Parker, with the vocal and acting chops to show.
Colaiacovo impresses in the leading role while Newell performs well in his role as Dr. Parker, yet does not have the vocal ability to carry the part. Overall, the ensemble works well together to create a worthwhile and highly entertaining production.
Though Bat Boy may have been a risky decision on the sides of production company MusicalFare and the Studio Arena Theatre, it proved to be a wise one in terms of artistic integrity.
Bat Boy is an inventive and hilarious musical that pushes the boundaries of theater during a time when the industry has been plagued by franchise shows like Legally Blonde and Tarzan.
Bat Boy provides hope that there is still a future for the intelligent, small-scale musical in today's society.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
