Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The opening show of Providence College’s Blackfriar’s Theatre is “Bat Boy:The Musical” based on a tabloid story in The Weekly World News. It is a musical reminiscent of “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Rocky Horror Show” done in a campy manner, lots of blood and gore depicted by lighting. A half boy/half bat creature is a discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia in 1953. The local Sheriff brings Bat Boy to the home of the veterinarian, Dr. Parker, where he is eventually accepted as a member of the family and taught to act “normal.” They teach him how to speak and he yearns for acceptance eventually falling in love with Shelly, the daughter of the family incurring the wrath of his foster father. Bat Boy is happy with his new life but when he naively tries to fit in with the narrow-minded people of Hope Falls, they turn on him.
Director Jimmy Caltri brings this 1997 musical to life, gives it the heart and soul it needs to rise above the violence and gore it could have been in another’s hands. It also has wonderful musical direction by Lila Kane who plays piano and conducts a six piece orchestra. The high energy choreography by Jennifer Hopkins is astounding and mesmerizes the crowd. They create a treat for Halloween with this campy musical. The 22 roles are played by a smaller cast playing multiple roles including gender bending ones. It also reveals how hysteria can be ramped up for all the wrong reasons. It seems to be a foreshadowing of current events in this country these days. The performance of Daniel Jameson and his talented fellow performers win them a standing ovation at curtain call.
The musical contains many types of musical styles including rock, pop and gospel numbers. Some of the music is reminiscent of “Sweeney Todd”, “Urinetown” and “Gypsy” to name a few. The Taylor siblings find Edgar, the Batboy in the cave and bring him to town. The coal mines have dried up and now there’s a bunch of cows that have been killed under mysterious circumstances. Dr. Parker is upset because his wife is more interested in saving the life of Batboy then being in love with her husband. This man is revealed to be more villainous then you expect. There are many twists and turns in this storyline.
These college students do a terrific job with the singing and dance numbers. The Company numbers include “Hold Me Bat Boy”, “Another Dead Cow”, “Comfort and Joy”, “A Joyful Noise”, a rousing dancing Gospel number which opens Act 2, “Stop the Bat Boy” and “More Blood/Kill the Bat Boy” which are rewarded with thunderous applause. Also very impressive is the Pan dance in Act 2 during “Children, Children” where the explicit scene has been toned down to Titania and her fairies dancing around encouraging the youngsters to make love to each other.
Leading the cast as Edgar is Daniel Jameson who is phenomenal in this role. He gives a tour-de-force performance as Edgar and enthralls the audience with his dramatic moments where you feel empathy for the character, giving it the heart and soul the show needs. When he’s first found he’s unable to speak and the Sheriff and others taunt him but Meredith Parker teaches him how to do these things and in “Show You a Thing or Two”, a soft shoe number where Edgar finally learns how to behave, learns how to talk, learns proper etiquette and gets a high school diploma. Daniel makes a terrific transition from animalistic behavior to polite adult excellently. I last reviewed him as Chip in “Spelling Bee” last year.
Beautiful, Emily Clark plays Shelly who at first is repelled by Edgar’s looks but eventually becomes infatuated with him which leads to serious consequences near the end of the show. She sings “Christian Charity” and “Ugly Boy” when she first meets Edgar. One of their prettier duets is “Inside Your Heart” where she offers to help him with his lust for blood.
Deirdre Lahiff shines as Meredith Parker who takes a maternal interest in Edgar, teaching him how to talk and saving his life from her crazed husband at their first meeting. The most poignant songs sung by Deirdre as Meredith, the mother are “Home for You” where she comforts Edgar after he’s mistreated and “Three Bedroom House” where she yearns to escape this awful town to save Edgar’s life. Dr. Parker is well played by Thomas Edwards. Is he good or evil? He sings “Dance with Me Darling” where he wants to make up with his estranged wife and “Parker’s Epiphany” where he decides the fate of some of his patients. Parker indulges and encourages Edgar’s lust for blood with a rabbit and then a cow. His and Meredith’s revelation scene in Act 2 leads to a stunning and astounding occurrence which explains the events of the past. The set by Trevor Eliot is astounding and his animation of what happens with the revelation scene is brilliantly done.
The biggest scene stealer is Will Oser as Mrs. Taylor done in drag and also plays Reverend Hightower who sings “A Joyful Noise” a powerhouse number that stops the show. His powerful voice soars out to the audience during it. Playing Mrs. Taylor’s children are Steven Sawan as Rick, the jock boyfriend of Shelly’s, Caprial Harris as Ruthie as well as the Mayor and Pan where she displays her voice in “Children, Children” and Alex Cannon as Ron, the younger brother. Kudos to the entire cast for this high energy musical. So for a dynamic musical in time for the spookiness of Halloween, be sure to catch this very well done musical at Blackfriars Theatre before Batboy flies out of town for good.
BATBOY:THE MUSICAL (24 October to 4 November)
Providence College, Blackfriars Theatre, 61 Eaton Street, Providence, RI
1(401)865-2218 or www.providence.edu/theatre
