By Matthew Wexler
A cautionary tale has arrived at New York City Center, but what Bat Boy The Musical is warning us about, I’m not exactly sure: Don’t take in a stray bat, even if it looks human(ish)? Your veterinarian may have alternative motives? Even an empathetic pastor can’t control an overzealous congregation? If none of that matters, Bat Boy delivers a kooky, convoluted night at the theater, thanks to its namesake winged mammal.
Is it weird to say that Taylor Trench, coming off a Tony-nominated performance in Floyd Collins, has landed in a role he was born to play? Trench’s bat expletives and gravity-defying physicality evolve as Bat Boy, later named Edgar, becomes a proper houseguest thanks to BBC language tapes.
The grotesque outlier has long served as inspiration for musical theater, from The Phantom of the Opera, now reimagined as the immersive Masquerade, to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Here, creators Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming (story and book), and Laurence O’Keefe (music and lyrics) find their inspiration from the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News, which concocted the story in the early 90s. But sustaining an entire musical is a different task than titillating those in a checkout line, even with Suki Tsujimoto’s terrific makeup design.
Within this exaggerated world of religious fanatics, Edgar finds solace in the Parker family, including mother Meredith (Kerry Butler) and daughter Shelley (Gabi Carrubba). But patriarch Dr. Parker (Christopher Sieber) isn’t so keen on a new bat-boy-man in the house. And might there be a familial resemblance?
O’Keefe’s song stylings run the gamut, with fun nods to rock opera a la Jesus Christ Superstar and 70s flute-driven love ballads. The composer, who previously brought dark humor to high school with Heathers, clearly understands camp.
Scenic designer David Korins (Ragtime) amps up the production value, and a rousing supporting cast, including Andrew Durrand (Dead Outlaw) and Alex Newell as The God Pan, helps Bat Boy take flight, even when its wacky plot threatens to strand you in a dark cave without a flashlight.
Fast facts: ‘Bat Boy The Musical’
Tony nominee Taylor Trensch meets his match in Bat Boy, but the musical’s wacky plot may leave you in a dark cave.
- New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street, New York City
- Two hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission
- Performances through November 9
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