With the arrival of the Halloween Season, an abundance of vampire-themed productions are now being featured on Los Angeles stages. I recently attended the musical-comedy-horror show Bat Boy: The Musical, based on a story in The Weekly World News about a half boy/half bat creature who is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia. It’s campy to the max, where, according to the show’s director/choreographer Meghan Ripchik, “Musical theatre at its best finds the balance between entertainment and providing perspective. I cannot think of a more important time to tell this story than election season, one that allows us to reflect inwardly on our own intolerance, and think about the influences political and religious powers can hold over our judgement.”
The spooky experience begins when you walk into the darkened Morgan-Wixson Theatre and are guided to your seat by a hooded character who seems more interested in escorting you to the underworld, while other hooded spirits walk across the stage over which hangs a bloody corpse. The campy musical then begins when the three Taylor siblings (Ashton Bianchi, Diana Cabell, and Jack Colyer) discover a half boy/half bat creature living in the depths of a local cave near a bible-belt town where the close-knot population of 500 is held together by their faith and belief in revival meetings.
The siblings capture the creature and take it to the local sheriff (Lorne), who brings “Bat Boy” to the home of the town veterinarian, Dr. Parker (Connor Tyler Gray), where he is eventually accepted as a member of the family and taught to act like a “normal” boy by the veterinarian’s wife, Meredith (Lauren Josephs), and teenage daughter, Shelley (Cassandra Caruso). Now named Edgar, the bat-eared creature (Aaron Ellis who gives a tour-de-force performance filled with emotion and lots of blood) is happy with his new life. But when he naively tries to fit in with the narrow-minded people of Hope Falls, West Virginia, they turn on him, prodded by the machinations of Dr. Parker, who secretly despises Edgar.
Shelley and Edgar, who have fallen in love, run away together from the ignorant townsfolk and have a somewhat awkward coupling in the woods while dressed as Adam and Eve. But their happiness is shattered when Meredith arrives and reveals a secret that tears them apart. Soon the entire town arrives and hears the shocking story of Edgar’s unholy origin. A few townspeople of comedic note are Tommi Jo Mongold as the outspoken “welfare mother” Mrs. Taylor andJohnathon O’Neal as the Reverend.
Please be advised that this production contains mature themes and includes depictions and mentions of rape, incest, suicide, gun violence, partial nudity, and animal harm. It also uses fake blood, weapons, fog and haze and is definitely NOT for children!
But the biggest problem in this production is the overly loud score which drowns out the cast, thus making the songs’ lyrics not understandable. If the Morgan-Wixson plans to continue presenting loud rock musicals, they really need to invest in head mics for the cast if they want audiences to follow what is revealed during the songs. And with such very relevant themes expressed in such a campy way, not being able to understand what is being sung defeated the purpose in its presentation.
Quirky dance numbers are fun to watch, even if their purpose is lost in the noise level, and scenic design by Martin Del Orbe includes a full stage fold-out creation of the Parker family’s home with lighting effects by Russell Chow adding colorful mood enhancements from start to finish.
Bat Boy: The Musical, written by Keythe Farley & Brian Flemming, with music & lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe, directed and choreographed by Meghan Ripchik with music direction by Eden Evans, continues through October 13 on Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica 90404. Tickets run $27-$34, available by calling the box office at (310) 828-7519 or online at https://ci.ovationtix.com/1221. Late Night Show on Friday, October 11 at 10pm (plus costume contest), and Special Saturday Matinee on October 5.
For a listing of Halloween events, family outings, and theatre productions in the Los Angeles area, visit http://new.hollywoodgothique.com/halloween-events/halloween-theatre/