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Bat Boy: The Musical

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Bat Boy
The Musical
Show in Wetzlar, Germany
MusicLaurence O'Keefe
LyricsLaurence O'Keefe
BookKeythe Farley
Brian Flemming
BasisWeekly World News's Bat Boy
Productions1997 Off Broadway
2004 West End
AwardsLucille Lortel Awards
Eliot Norton Award
Richard Rodgers Development Award
Richard Rodgers Production Award
Outer Critics Circle Award

Bat Boy: The Musical is a musical with a book and lyrics by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music by Laurence O'Keefe, based on a June 23, 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat, dubbed "Bat Boy", found living in a cave.

Bat Boy premiered at Actors Gang Theatre in 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.

Production history

Bat Boy: The Musical premiered at Tim Robbins' Actors Gang Theatre on October 31, 1997. Directed by Farley, and choreography by Derick LaSalla, the cast featured Deven May as Bat Boy.[1]

The musical opened off-Broadway at the Union Square Theatre on March 21, 2001 and closed on December 2, 2001. Directed by Scott Schwartz, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli, the cast featured Deven May as Bat Boy and Kerry Butler as Shelly.[2]

The musical opened in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre on September 8, 2004 and ran through January 15, 2005 and again starred Deven May. It had previously played at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.[3][4][5]

The authors consider the London text the definitive version of Bat Boy: The Musical.[citation needed] The London revised script and score has been used for many subsequent productions around the world, including the Toronto run (2005) and the 2006 Edinburgh Festival production. The show has also proven popular in Korea and Japan.[citation needed] It was performed in Melbourne, Australia in August 2008 at the Octave Theatre, Prahran,[6]

It entered regional theatre in 2002 beginning with the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis.[7]

Background

The Weekly World News 1992 story about Bat Boy, a half-boy, half-bat found living in a cave inspired writers Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming to write a stage adaptation. They were joined by American composer/lyricist Laurence O'Keefe (no relation to the English bassist Laurence O'Keefe) and their first production premiered on Halloween, 1997.[8]

The later London production introduced significant changes to the script including one song being replaced completely. There are small lyric and dialogue changes throughout the script and score. Some are attempts to clarify cultural references for British audiences. For example, in "Show You a Thing or Two", the reference to "Larry, Curly and Moe" (the Three Stooges) was replaced with "John, Paul, George and Ringo" (the Beatles), and the authors eliminated a reference to Bat Boy being a 'CPA', as the British equivalent ('Chartered Accountant') could not fit in the melody.[citation needed]

The musical differs in a few of its plot details from the Weekly World News portrayal of Bat Boy. In the musical, Bat Boy learns to speak from his adoptive family, yearns for acceptance and tries to join society, only to face hatred and violence from a town that fears him and jealous rage from his foster father.

The book deals with serious themes (such as hypocrisy, acceptance, forgiveness, racism, revenge and scapegoating), but often punctures the most serious moments with slapstick, surreallism, camp-horror and Simpsons-style irony. The show also contains religious themes with biblical allusions, such as the quoting of Psalm 23 and Genesis 9:4 in scene 9. Act II begins with a religious revival tent meeting featuring a faith healing preacher who performs "A Joyful Noise", a song featuring references to the Prodigal son and the lion lying down with the lamb. Interestingly, the preacher Reverend Hightower is one of the only townspeople who does not fear or hate Bat Boy - a notable exception to the tendency for theatre satires to portray organized religious figures as villains or hypocrites. For the most part, religious references and scenes are used to highlight the hypocrisy and hysteria that can arise from extremism. Religious groups have objected to the show's production by high schools.[9]

The score was written to be played by a five-piece band of guitar, two keyboards, bass and drums, but the original cast album (RCA Records) contains seven extra instruments (cello, flute, clarinet, oboe, french horn, trumpet, trombone). The music covers many styles, from rock to rap to horror-movie film score and opera. The musical was written to be performed by a cast of 10, with six men and four women playing all the roles. This means many of the actors must play two to five characters, which requires many quick changes of character and costume. Bat Boy is often performed with a cast of 15-20, although it has been played by more than 30 actors. The Author's Note to the printed script notes: "There are many ways to stage this show. A cast of ten is possible, as is a cast of one hundred and ten."[10]

Synopsis

Act I

Three teenagers -- Ron, Rick and Ruthie Taylor discover a strange, humanoid creature in the cave while spelunking near Hope Falls West Virginia. The creature attacks and bites Ruthie's neck. Rick and Ron leap on him and knock him unconscious.

The company assembles onstage as a Greek chorus and begins to tell the legend of Bat Boy, instructing the audience to watch and learn from his struggle ("Hold Me, Bat Boy").

Ruthie is taken to the hospital and Bat Boy is handed over to the local lawman, Sheriff Reynolds, who takes him to the home of town veterinarian Doctor Parker. Sheriff Reynolds asks the doctor’s wife Meredith to take in the creature until Dr. Parker returns home. Meredith agrees ("Christian Charity").

Later that evening during a thunderstorm, Bat Boy is now inside a large cage in the Parkers' living room. He is terrified and hungry, yet refuses everything Meredith cooks for him. Meredith's daughter Shelley, annoyed by his shrieking, wants him gone ("Ugly Boy"), but Meredith likes him and christens him Edgar. Rick Taylor arrives to see Shelley, who is his girlfriend. Rick flips out upon seeing Edgar still alive; he taunts him but Shelley tries to distract him ("Whatcha Wanna Do?"). Rick and Shelley make out until Edgar starts imitating their noises. Rick confronts Edgar, who tries to bite him. Rick takes out a knife and threatens to kill him. Meredith interrupts and throws him out of the house.

The storm hits and the power fails; Meredith sends Shelley to bed. Alone with Edgar, Meredith sings softly to him, telling him that she hopes her house can be "A Home for You". He responds and vocalizes in harmony with her song, but spits out the stew she tries to give him.

In the Hope Falls Slaughterhouse, Mayor Maggie calls a special meeting of the Town Council. She announces that the Reverend Billy Hightower will be bringing his Tent Revival Meeting and Barbecue to Hope Falls in the spring. Then Maggie demands an explanation for the lack of meat in the slaughterhouse. The ranchers admit their cows are too malnourished to be slaughtered, and several have died for no clear reason. The ranchers and townsfolk argue with each other and express their fears that "Another Dead Cow" may destroy the town. It is suggested that the cows may be dying because of the Bat Boy. They predict that Doctor Parker will kill it.

At the Parker house, Doctor Parker returns from hunting, carrying some dead geese slung over his shoulder. He has been drinking. Parker sees Edgar in the cage and is horrified. He prepares to give him a lethal injection but Meredith interrupts. She begs him not to kill Edgar, and agrees to resume marital relations with him if he saves the bat child from starvation. Doctor Parker asks that it be tonight, but she is reluctant. He reminds her of their happier times together ("Dance With Me, Darling"). Meredith agrees to his terms, and after she leaves Doctor Parker slices open the neck of one of the geese and feeds Bat Boy the blood. A ghostly chorus of Voices in His Head appear onstage and sing with him.

At the local hospital, a doctor tends to the delirious and terrified Ruthie. Ruthie’s mother and brothers try to reassure her ("Mrs. Taylor's Lullaby"), promising her that the Sheriff will kill the Bat Boy.

The next day at the Parker house, Meredith tries to teach Edgar how to behave like a human being. Whenever Edgar's progress stalls, Doctor Parker secretly feeds him blood ("Show You a Thing or Two"). In a musical montage spanning several weeks, we see Edgar evolve from a gibbering, crouching creature to a confident, eloquent man-about-town with a high school equivalency diploma.

Mayor Maggie convenes the Town Council to discuss the upcoming revival meeting. The Sheriff, urged on by the townsfolk, tells Parker that Edgar cannot attend. Doctor Parker tries to convince the townsfolk that Edgar is not a danger, but the townsfolk threaten to kill the Bat Boy if he is not taken away. Doctor Parker gives them his word of honor that Edgar will not come ("Christian Charity (Reprise)").

At the Parker house, Shelley teaches Edgar to dance. As they have tea, Edgar mentions he's heard about the upcoming Revival and asks to attend. Doctor Parker tries to persuade him to go camping instead. Edgar argues that he wants to see the world and join society ("A Home for You (Reprise)"). Parker refuses, but Meredith changes her mind and says she will take Edgar to the revival. In anger, Doctor Parker grabs Meredith’s arm and Edgar instinctively attacks him. Meredith stops him, then comforts Edgar - instead of Parker. Parker realizes Bat Boy has taken over his place in Meredith's heart ("Parker's Epiphany"). Parker's mind snaps, but he smiles and agrees to let Edgar attend the revival.

Meredith leaves Doctor Parker to give Edgar his "medication". Edgar is hungry, but hates himself for his bloodthirst. He says he thinks he can change, but Parker, in a cruel taunt, pulls a live rabbit out of his doctor's bag and places it in front of Edgar, telling him to resist it. As Edgar fights his hunger, Doctor Parker argues with the Voices in His Head and devises a plan to destroy Edgar and win Meredith back ("Comfort and Joy"). All the other residents of Hope Falls, including Meredith, Shelley, Maggie and the ranchers, sing of their plans for the revival the next day.

Edgar sings a prayer to God, asking Him to cure his bloody nature. Bat Boy masters his hunger and hugs the rabbit, but Doctor Parker takes it from him and kills it. Edgar, horrified but unable to control his hunger, picks up the rabbit and drinks its blood. Doctor Parker goes to Ruthie Taylor’s hospital room and administers a lethal injection. She convulses and dies.

Act II

At the Revival Meeting, Reverend Billy Hightower tries raise the spirits of the townspeople ("A Joyful Noise"). He offers faith healing and asks for a volunteer with sins on his soul. Meredith, Shelley and Edgar arrive, and Edgar asks for healing, but the townspeoples' fear of Bat Boy seems to spoil Hightower's efforts.

Edgar asks the townspeople to "Let Me Walk Among You," promising he can be a civilized member of the community. They are won over and embrace him ("A Joyful Noise (Reprise)").

Doctor Parker arrives and claims Ruthie Taylor has died in the night from an infection caused by Edgar's bite, adding that he has called the Institute in Wheeling and they are on their way to remove him. All are horrified at the news as the town (and even Edgar) believes the lie. Rick Taylor runs in with his brother and mother and aims a gun at Edgar ("Whatcha Wanna Do (Reprise)"), but Shelley steps in front of the gun. Rick shoves her aside violently and Edgar attacks Rick, biting his neck. Edgar runs away. Doctor Parker pretends to administer an antidote to Rick but instead gives him a lethal injection. Rick convulses and dies. The townspeople search the forest for Edgar ("Stop the Bat Boy!").

Meredith and Shelley also hunt for Edgar in the woods, resolving to flee town with him and start again elsewhere ("Three Bedroom House"). Shelley tells Meredith she is in love with Edgar. Meredith is horrified. Shelley, horrified in turn, runs away into the woods. She finds Edgar, and they comfort each other, then realize they're in love. The Greek God of nature Pan, appearing as a satyr, arrives to preside over the union of Edgar and Shelley ("Children, Children"), accompanied by a chorus of various animals. The celebration culminates in a huge interspecies sex orgy.

Elsewhere Ron Taylor, the lone surviving Taylor kid, hunts Edgar. He runs into the slaughterhouse, concluding the Bat Boy would satisfy his blood-lust there. Ron makes a terrible racket while looking for him. Townsperson Daisy hears the noise and tells the Sheriff the Bat Boy is inside. Mrs. Taylor overhears and tries to kill Bat Boy by setting fire to the building with the torch. The slaughterhouse burns and the townsfolk arrive to watch the blaze. Ron is killed in the fire. Sheriff Reynolds asks Doctor Parker to calm the terrified townspeople, but Parker instead tells them the Bat Boy is on a rampage and whips them up into a murderous mob ("More Blood/Kill The Bat Boy!").

In the clearing in the woods, Shelley and Edgar are curled together. Edgar realizes he is hungry and tries to leave to protect Shelley, but she reveals that she knows he eats blood. She offers her arm to Edgar to save him from starving and he reluctantly agrees ("Inside Your Heart"). Just as Edgar is about to bite her, Meredith finds the pair and stops them by revealing that she is Edgar's mother. Overcome with grief and shame, Edgar runs off.

Edgar decapitates a cow and confesses his despair to the severed head ("Apology to a Cow"). He laments his lost life in the cave and rages against his parents. He declares he will murder his mother and father as revenge for abandoning him and for denying him love with Shelley.

The Townsfolk, Doctor Parker and the Sheriff arrive and corner Edgar. Edgar calls Parker "Father" but Parker tells Edgar "you're wrong". Edgar prepare to kill Parker and the mob prepares to kill Edgar but Meredith arrives and stops them. She forces Parker to tell the true story of how Edgar came to be ("Revelations").

They reveal that when Doctor Parker was a young veterinarian and Meredith was his assistant and fiancé, he spilled his experimental pheromone onto her. It drove him mad with animal lust and he raped her. Stumbling home, Meredith was raped again by a swarm of bats. Doctor Parker cared for Meredith afterward, hoping for forgiveness. Pregnant, Meredith agreed to marry him and they moved to Hope Falls. She gave birth to twins: human Shelley and mutant Edgar. Seeing the bat baby she screamed "Kill it! Kill it!", but Parker, unable to kill Meredith's child, left Edgar at the mouth of a cave, where his true fathers (the bats) gently carried him down into the caves to raise him as one of their own.

The townspeople still demand revenge. They blame Edgar for the cow plague, but Meredith tells them it's raising cows on the side of a mountain that's killing them, not Edgar. Still, Edgar has already decided he wants to die ("Finale: I Imagine You're Upset"). He demands that Doctor Parker kill him, but Parker can't do it, so Edgar reveals that he slept with Shelley and that she offered him her blood. Mad with rage and grief, Doctor Parker raises his knife to kill Bat Boy but Meredith stops him. Parker apologizes for all he's done. Meredith forgives him and asks to start over.

But Parker, unable to forgive himself, lifts his knife, cries "Edgar, are you hungry?", and slits his own throat open. Edgar, unable to resist the blood, leaps upon Parker and drinks from his neck. Doctor Parker stabs Edgar in the back, and as he raises his knife to stab again, Meredith runs forward to save Edgar, and she too is stabbed in the back. The three fall to the ground, dying. Edgar dies in Shelley’s lap, declaring he is an animal. ("Finale: I Am Not a Boy").

As the townsfolk stand stunned, the Institute Man arrives, too late. He asks what happened, and Shelley stands up and tells the story of the Bat Boy ("Hold Me, Bat Boy (Reprise)"). The cast, living and dead, address the audience, delivering the final message of the show. Bat Boy rises up and the show ends as the company tells the audience "don't deny your beast inside."

Characters

Songs

(As they appear in the Piano/Conductor Score)

* Appear on the Original Cast Recording.

Note that "More Blood/Kill the Bat Boy!" is included on the Original London Cast Recording. Also, on the London Recording, "Inside Your Heart" is replaced with the song "Mine, All Mine", and "Ugly Boy"/"Whatcha Wanna Do?" are replaced by a song called "Hey Freak". Additionally, this recording begins with the end portion of dialogue before (and segues into) "Hold Me, Bat Boy". It is underscored by a portion of the song "The Cave". The track is titled "Dude! What is It?".[11]

Awards and critical reception

Bat Boy: The Musical won the awards for best Off-Broadway musical including both the Lucille Lortel Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award in 2001.[2] Regional productions of Bat Boy have been nominated for and won awards including the 2003 Elliot Norton Award (New England).[12] and the 1998 Ovation Awards (Los Angeles).[13]

The off-Broadway production received very positive reviews. The New York Times review stated, "It's remarkable what [this show's] intelligent wit can accomplish".[14] John Lahr of The New Yorker called it "a giggling cult hit" and "the only play in the history of the theatre whose hero ends Act I with a rabbit in his mouth, and who moves on in Act II to an entire cow's head."[15] Curtain-Up praised : "Laurence O'Keefe's peppy and melodic pop-rock score... played by a five piece combo".[16]

The West End reviews were less positive. The Curtain Up review notes: "...unless Bat Boy The Musical gathers a cult audience, I fear it will not linger. The newspaper critics do sometimes get it wrong, ...but they have been less kind to Bat Boy than the West Virginians portrayed in the musical."[3] [4]

References

  1. ^ "Bat Boy" listing at the archives theactorsgang.com, accessed February 26, 2009
  2. ^ a b Lortel Off-Broadway database listing, Bat Boy, 2001
  3. ^ a b Archive page for Bat Boy albemarle-london.com, accessed on February 26, 2009
  4. ^ a b Loveridge, Lizzie. "Bat Boy, A CurtainUp Review", curtainup.com, September 8, 2004
  5. ^ Hanks, Robert. "A batty musical with bite, 3 stars", The Independent, 13 September 2004
  6. ^ Woodhead, Cameron. The Age (Melbourne, Australia), "A little batty, but it's on song", p. 14, August 22, 2008
  7. ^ Phoenix Theatre history, 2002phoenixtheatre.org, accessed February 25, 2009
  8. ^ Rosati, Nancy. "An Interview with Laurence O'Keefe", talkinbroadway.com April 22, 2001
  9. ^ Information from LibertyPost.org
  10. ^ Bat Boy scriptbooks.google.com, p. 4, accessed February 25, 2009
  11. ^ London cast recording
  12. ^ "21ST Elliot Norton Awards: 2003, Outstanding Musical Production", stagesource.org, accessed February 25, 2009
  13. ^ "Ovation Awards nominations, 1998, Musical/smaller, Writing of a world premiere, Leading actor/musical, Leading actress/musical allbusiness.com, November 12, 1998
  14. ^ Weber, Bruce. "Who's the Guy Who Ordered the Bloody Mary on the Rocks?"' The New York Times, March 22, 2001
  15. ^ Lahr, John. "Bloodsuckers Ball:Camp, cult, and Complicite", The New Yorker, April 21, 2001
  16. ^ Sommer, Elyse. Review of Batboy, based on 3/22/01 performance, curtainup.com, accessed June 9, 2009
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