Review: BAT BOY THE MUSICAL at Carrollwood Cultural Center

Bat Boy: The Musical at the Carrollwood Cultural Center didn’t just open. It detonated. Based on a infamous tabloid legend, the story follows a half-boy, half-bat creature discovered in a cave near the small town of Hope Falls, West Virginia. He is taken in by the local veterinarian’s family, who try to teach him to speak, dress, and fit in with suspicious neighbors. Director Danny Dunderman has given us something truly weird to sink our teeth into: a tabloid fever dream that leapt off the stage with wild abandon. The first act was a full-tilt sprint into chaos, and the audience applauded, hooted, and hollered after nearly every scene on opening night. The second act seemed to calm down for a moment, offering a breath that felt almost suspicious, and then it snapped back into full insanity, reminding us that this story thrives on surprise.

Simon DuPriest, as Bat Boy/Edgar, delivered a performance that felt both feral and heartbreakingly human. His vocals tore out of him with a dangerous edge, as if they had been locked away too long. Every note carried the ache of a creature desperate to belong, a confession wrapped in sound.

Melissa Doell, as Meredith Parker, filled the room with trembling warmth. Her voice had a clarity that cut through the madness, shimmering with heartbreak, hope, and quiet strength. When she opened up about a horrific event in her young life, the entire theatre seemed to lean in with her.

Jillian Koehn, as Shelly Parker, brought a bright, biting energy to every moment. Her voice danced, teased, and then soared, revealing longing beneath the humor. She lit up the stage with a youthful electricity that made her scenes pulse with life.

Luis Graham, as Dr. Thomas Parker, brought sharp comedic timing and a sly theatricality that grounded the absurdity in something strangely familiar. His presence added a delicious tension to the family dynamic, and his vocals carried both swagger and satire.

Kelsey Lopez, as Rev. Hightower and Pan, became a spectacle all her own. She unleashed a voice so commanding it seemed to shake the air. When she held those impossibly long notes, the audience froze. I truly thought she might pass out, yet she kept going, stretching the moment until it snapped into applause. She turned vocal endurance into theatre, and the crowd adored her for it.

The rest of the cast was just as exceptional. They moved like a single organism, shifting from comedy to chaos with razor-sharp precision. Gabriela Fotopoulos’s choreography sliced through the space with intention, bodies colliding, swirling, collapsing, and resurrecting. It was movement as storytelling, movement as madness, movement as pure theatrical electricity.

The live music elevated everything. Under the musical direction of Latoya McCormick, with Kristen Gaus conducting and commanding the keyboards, Dan Mockensturm on guitar, Alex Braman on bass, and Chris Bracco on drums, the band became the heartbeat of the show. Their sound wrapped the performers in a sonic world that felt both mischievous and mythic.

The lights and sound became characters in their own right. Josh Eberhart’s lighting washed the stage in eerie reds and ecstatic hues, and blinding flashlights pointed directly at the audience made you feel like part of the story. Daniel Gentry’s sound design pulsed beneath every moment, whispering, roaring, and provoking. Quentin Parkes’s set design framed the madness with clever touches that made the world feel both familiar and fantastical. The fire the team created onstage was pure magic.

At intermission, I overheard several senior citizens trading opinions. “At first, I was like, but why? But now I just love it.” “Me too!” came the reply, and that seemed to be the consensus that they couldn't wait to see what happened next.

By the final moments, the audience had been through something wild, bloody, and unforgettable. This production didn’t merely entertain. It devoured expectations and feasted on them. It delivered a night of theatre that was bold, beautifully executed, and unlike anything I have ever witnessed, or probably ever will again.

Bat Boy: The Musical runs through October 25 at the Carrollwood Cultural Center.

More on Carrollwood Cultural Center

Upcoming Shows

Bat Boy: The Musical

10/16 - 10/25/2026