Kateri McRae News

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre presents the lovably loopy musical comedy THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, the riotous tribute to the full spectrum of geekdom, where each eccentric contestant expounds on the trials and tribulations of being a really, really good speller through hilarious and charming candid confessionals, helmed by Award-winning director Jay Manley and with musical direction by Mark Hanson of Foothill productions The Pajama Game and My Fair Lady.

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre presents the lovably loopy musical comedy THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, the riotous tribute to the full spectrum of geekdom, where each eccentric contestant expounds on the trials and tribulations of being a really, really good speller through hilarious and charming candid confessionals, helmed by Award-winning director Jay Manley and with musical direction by Mark Hanson of Foothill productions The Pajama Game and My Fair Lady.

Acclaimed Bay Area actor Robert Brewer is donning fangs to step into the role of 'Bat Boy' in Foothill Music Theatre's production of BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL.

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre presents the hilarious Off-Broadway musical comedy hit, BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL. This campy, off-the-wall parody inspired by a supermarket tabloid story of a half-boy, half-bat keeps both tongue and fang firmly in cheek. The exuberant score mixes rock, Broadway, gospel, and country music in a smart, witty, self-aware comical confection. Award-winning director Jay Manley helms this fabulous cult hit with musical direction by Spencer Williams, and choreography by Andrew Ceglio (also the production's star). The talented cast of BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL includes Andrew Ceglio as both Bat Boy and the production choreographer (credits include Pippin at Foothill Music Theatre, Marquee Productions at Childrens Musical Theater San Jose, Theater on San Pedro, and Forever Plaid at Cabrillo Stage as director and choreographer); Kateri McRae returns to the Foothill stage as Bat Boy's young love, Shelley (previously seen as Mae in Foothill Music Theatre's The Pajama Game, other credits include Broadway By the Bay and the Palo Alto Players); Ariel Buck as Shelley's mother and Bat Boy's tutor (credits include North Shore Music Theatre, MA, Marquee Productions at CMSTSJ, and an international tour with Tokyo Disney Sea); Tim Reynolds as the veterinarian, Dr. Parker (credits include Bobby in Company at Foothill Music Theatre, and roles at TheatreWorks and Broadway By the Bay); Todd Wright returns to Foothill as the Sherriff (previous roles include Alfie Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Mr. Hasler in The Pajama Game and numerous roles with the Los Gatos Shakespeare Festival). Also featured in the cast of BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL are David Cates, RaMond Thomas, Michael Rhone, Sarah B. Griner, and Monique Hafen in rotating roles as the various citizens of Hope Falls, West Virigina.

Multi-award winning Foothill Music Theatre presents the hilarious Off-Broadway musical comedy hit, BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL. This campy, off-the-wall parody inspired by a supermarket tabloid story of a half-boy, half-bat keeps both tongue and fang firmly in cheek. The exuberant score mixes rock, Broadway, gospel, and country music in a smart, witty, self-aware comical confection. Award-winning director Jay Manley helms this fabulous cult hit with musical direction by Spencer Williams, and choreography by Andrew Ceglio (also the production's star). BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL plays February 27 (press opening February 28, 8pm & March 1, 2pm) through March 22, 2009 at the Lohman Theatre at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. For tickets ($18-26) and information, the public may visit www.foothillmusicals.com, or phone the box office at 650 949-7360. Called 'exuberant, campy fun' by the San Francisco Chronicle, BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL, ripped from the headlines of The Weekly World News tabloid, is a dark but whimsical parable on the secret desires and depravities of a small West Virginia town. While visiting the caves outside of Hope Falls, West Virginia, three young explorers find a bat-boy hiding among the caverns. The local sheriff, unsure of what to do with the dangerous captive, who could be connected to the strange illness killing off the local cows, takes the bat-boy to the veterinarian. While the townspeople clamor for his destruction, Bat Boy, who is taken in by the veterinarian and his family, learns to read, speak, and even fall in love. A wickedly slick satire that spoofs convention, BAT BOY chronicles the struggles of a boy with fangs who just wants to be loved. The show premiered at Tim Robbins' Actors Gang Theatre on October 31, 1997, and has since been produced Off-Broadway, in London's West End, at the Edinburgh Festival and in scores of productions throughout the world. The New York Times declared, 'It's remarkable what intelligent wit can accomplish, even within an outlandish frame,' of this Outer Critics Circle Award-winner for Best Off-Broadway Musical.

BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL plays February 27 (press opening February 28, 8pm & March 1, 2pm) through March 22, 2009 at the Lohman Theatre at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. For tickets ($18-26) and information, the public may visit www.foothillmusicals.com, or phone the box office at 650 949-7360.