Around 200 people filed into the CSU East Bay Theater on March 8 to witness the opening night of “Bat Boy: The Musical.” As students, parents, friends and more began taking their seats, many were unprepared for what was to come.
The comedy takes place in West Virginia and is centered on the personal growth of a half-boy, half-bat creature, Bat Boy, played by Jacob Ben-Shmuel.
In the play, Bat Boy, also known as Edgar, evolves from a wordless, lurking creature to an intelligent, caring young man who speaks with an English accent and longs for acceptance.
After being found in a cave, the creature is taken in by the veterinarian’s family, who help him learn to be human. Once Bat Boy starts to get a grip on this new culture, his next task is getting the town of Hope Falls to accept him as well, which is not as easy as Edgar might think.
Just when Edgar starts to get the townspeople to open up, his world is turned upside down when catastrophe strikes and he has to deal with the results.
“He’s really hopeful that everything is going to be okay,” said Ben-Shmuel, regarding his character. “He’s got this childlike naivety about him and always thinks, it may be bad now but maybe people will like me later, maybe it will all get better. And in the end, when it doesn’t, he really just bursts out into rage and it’s just a wonderful thing to embody.”
“Horrificsterical” was the word director Marc Jacobs used to describe the play and it was exactly that. The uncomfortably awkward situations that the characters found themselves in and the overwhelming obliviousness of the townspeople, gave the play a comedic aspect.
In addition, the play featured a variety of sex-crazed characters and animals, as displayed in one scene.
“I just thought it was a really good show for this school,” says Jacobs. “It’s edgy, it’s a mix of a lot of different genres, it worked for some of the people we had here. It’s not a musical that people are overly familiar with.”
One of the highlights of the play is when Edgar is overcome with rage and leaps onto Dr. Parker taking him down to the ground with the intention to bite him but midway, realizes the wrong he is doing. While straddling Dr. Parker ready to bite, Edgar stops and in his polite accent exclaims, “Oh, sorry!” and then helps him up, which left the audience close to tears.
In addition to the wide range of jokes, including a reference to the Kardashians, the musical elements were icing on the cake. The catchy melodies, specifically, “Hold Me, Bat Boy” and “Children, Children” had me humming their tunes the entire night.
It was remarkable how vocally talented the cast of Bat Boy was. In particular, Elizabeth Curtis, who plays the role of Meredith Parker, was nearly flawless in her performance and her ability to hold notes for an extended period of time was breathtaking.
Catherine Williamson, who plays the role of Shelley, stole the spotlight with her beauty and musical talent. Williamson says she enjoyed the challenge of playing Shelley because of Shelley’s character development and style evolution, which Williamson channeled to perfection.
Although Jacobs, the cast and crew did everything they could with graphics, sounds and lights, the play could have thrived with a little more decoration.
Bat Boy, which originally premiered off-Broadway in 2001, has been showcased at a variety of different theatres throughout the years.
Unfortunately, the University Theatre is not as equipped as other stages and the set design was not as appealing as it has been in other productions of Bat Boy in the past.
For those interested in seeing Bat Boy, the musical will be performed at the University Theatre on March 15, 16 and 17. The prices are $20 for General, $15 for Discount and $10 for students. Reservations can be made at 510-885-3118.
