Review: BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL at Burlington County Footlighters

I went into Bat Boy:  The Musical as a Bat Boy virgin, knowing nothing and wanting to know nothing beforehand, and after all the horrors in the recent news, came out with my spirits lifted by bat wings.  Like The Rocky Horror Show, the campy horror/comedy cleverly mixes influences, themes and archetypes from old monster movies (i.e. Superman and the Mole Men), musicals (i.e. My Fair Lady and Young Frankenstein) and literature – most especially Frankenstein -- in its tale of a fanged and elfin-eared misfit.  Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming’s book was based on an item in the tabloid Weekly World News which claimed a half-boy/half-bat creature was found in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia and in this story, three spelunkers indeed run across the pale Nosferatu-like creature who sets off fear and mistrust in the small, church-going Hope Falls community until the Parkers – doctor, wife and daughter -- take the young batboy under their wing (no pun intended). 

With a fast pace, arresting costumes and fun musical numbers, Bat Boy incorporates such a wide variety of references and ideas into its story that the interpretations could be endless.  It says a lot of things about a lot of subjects.  Anyone who has seen Universal Picture’s The Wolf Man or the above-referenced Superman and the Mole People remembers the mob railing up against that which it doesn’t understand as it does here.  It references the desperation and economic plight of ranchers or in this case, so-called hillbillies, trying to raise cattle on a mountain, and also, reminds one of wolf-dogs, dogs who are part wolf and kept as pets with sometimes disastrous results since they retain their feral natures.  Love and revenge, jealousy and betrayal are covered, along with familial skeletons in the closet – or in the cave.  And it’s all handled with copious doses of humor, particularly in the clever and witty lyrics (Bat Boy: “I’ll eat nothing but soy to have comfort and joy.”)  For a Bat Boy virgin, you may think you know where it’s all going, but the second act, which is its strongest, brings character arcs and a twist or two!

Bat Boy originally opened in New York City in March of 2001 at the Union Square Theater on East 17th Street.  When September 11 happened, lower Manhattan was shut down, as I well know, having lived in NYC at that time, and the show closed, although it would go on to win the Lucille Lortel, the Outer Critics Circle, two Richard Rodgers awards, and play around the world.  The intimacy of small, off-Broadway theaters suits this kind of show which makes it a perfect fit for the cool, cozy Burlington County Footlighters stage.  It is vibrantly directed by Tim Herman with assistant director Alex Keith and produced by Cat Baldwin.  Jim Frazier has crafted a wonderful, atmospheric set dripping with stalagmites and the lively score from Laurence O’Keefe (who would also compose for Heathers and Legally Blonde) is done justice by the orchestra pit beneath the bowels of the cave.  The music runs the gamut from tango to gospel and even rap.

As Bat Boy, Nick Olszewski gives all the pathos, humor, vulnerability and Vulcan charm that the role requires.  He manages to be believable as a freak who wants to belong.  Mark Rebilas keeps us guessing as Dr. Parker, running around with sinister hypodermic needle in hand (Trog, anyone?), while Jamie Sheffer shows how hard it is to get a decent date in Hope Falls as his daughter Shelley.  As Meredith Parker, Elizabeth Daly is arguably the most sympathetic.  She is my favorite, but is tied with the delicious Bat Ensemble (Lizi Baldwin, Finn Hutchinson, Lisa Krier, Gianna Leonen, Maria Leonen Whittle and Nick Williams) and over-the-top, hilarious Moe Copeland as Reverend Hightower, Mrs. Taylor and Roy.  (It’s clear why Copeland was Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors.)  Some actors play multiple roles, as well as swap genders.  These able chameleons include Alex Davis-Dell’Olio, Jordan Debes, and Will Reid, some familiar faces from past productions.  To open the show, Abia Johnson sets a rootin’ tootin’ tone as Sheriff Reynolds.  Aside from the actors, a shout out must also be given for the fab makeup, including Bat Boy’s and especially the red eye glitter for some members of the Bat Ensemble who reminded me of Kit Kat dancers – and er, bats.

Bat Boy does have copious amounts of blood and some furry creatures in peril, so it might not be suitable for the youngest audience members, but it’s outlandish Halloween-spirited fun for the rest of us, acknowledging that we’re all wild – or batty -- at heart.

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