"Bat Boy" takes camp, satire, comedy and poignancy to the ultimate level with sensitivity covered up with raucous pop rock, country, gospel and a little rap thrown in. It reaches into the gut of what it's like to live as a reject on the fringe of society. A tongue-in-cheek Gothic morality tale that spoofs just about every standard hit on Broadway with a tad of the Bible thrown in for good measure. Bits of "My Fair Lady," "The Lion King," "The Phantom" and a smidgen of "Beauty and the Beast" are threaded into the wild, unimaginable, imaginative plot.The story is taken from a supermarket tabloid article about a half-human, half-bat boy that is apprehended in a cave in rural farm community in West Virginia. He is taken by the small town sheriff to the veterinarian's house to be put down. Bat Boy - with pointed ears and a pair of incisors - superbly and energetically played by Robert Brewer, is put in a cage. The vet's wife (for hidden reasons of her own) decides to tame and educate him.
He is bright and over time manages to learn to read and to speak with a British accent, picked up from listening to BBC broadcasts. He learns impeccable manners with - for the most part - a sweet disposition that make him lovable, while innocent. His one distracting quality is his diet of only ingesting blood. Don't quit now, it gets better. Meanwhile the small-minded town folk blame him for everything negative that happens in this boring, good-ol' boy mentality burg. I know! I know! What kind of weird plot is this and how can it work? And a musical yet! Well trust me, it does and in spades.
Foothill Music Theatre successfully trods the edge and while a challenge, director Jay Manley deftly took the venture and created this outrageous lesson in morality and the pressures of good and evil, while shocking the senses with music and incredulous humor on a dark road of emotions and sometimes revulsion.
The music fits and is so well-handled by a super fine cast that most hysterically play multi-parts. (Bat-boys are not supposed to be funny or have love returned or have kinky secrets about their derivation.)
Just about every musical currently running somewhere has a moment in the story line. Watch closely or you might miss some of the inferences. I might have missed one or two somewhere.
The production strength comes from its foolishness played with complete seriousness that could only be pulled off by a dedicated cast. This is a romp to definitely be experienced and enjoyed. And by the way, it's not kid-friendly.
***
Bat Boy
Where: Lohman Theatre - Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills
Through: March 22
Details: (650) 949-7360 or www.foothillmusicals.com.
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Camille Bounds
Camille Bounds is the Theatre and Arts Editor for Sunrise Publications.
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