Hold Me, Bat Boy

Some shows come around that really change the way musical theater is perceived, especially by those who don’t particularly care for the song-and-dance approach to conflict resolution.  I don’t blame those naysayers who find breaking out into song particularly odd, when talking has served billions of people quite well for some time now.

“Bat Boy: The Musical,” now on stage at Studio Arena Theatre, is one of those shows that can make anyone forget how ridiculous musical theater is.  This show, without selling it short or saying too much, is pure joy.  This is Studio’s first of two collaborations with local theaters this season, bridging the gap between the Actors Equity-abiding Studio Arena (which gives it the distinction as Buffalo’s only legit professional Regional Theater) and local companies like MusicalFare and Road Less Traveled Productions.

This production, produced by MusicalFare on the Studio stage, is a tour de force of cynicism and sarcasm, physical comedy and tender pathos, social commentary and family values, and let’s not forget some of the best local talent this town is lucky enough to offer.  It’s interesting, given this production’s allowances, to see actors and actresses (and directors and choreographers, and designers, et al.) whom you normally see on amateur or professional stages shine in the brighter, more expensive lights of the Studio stage.  It’s easy to forget that there is real, legitimate talent on our local stages, and whether or not they’re playing in a nationally recognized theater, they’re damn good.  More than a handful of these performers would be equally at home on a Broadway stage, and I don’t say that lightly.  There’s real star power in town, and I’m super excited that those stars will have a chance to shine a little brighter now with this collaboration.

Let’s start off with Lou Colaiacovo, who has delighted in many parts on the MusicalFare stage as a neurotic Italian Woody Allan-type.  It seems unfair, slightly offensive, to say Lou was born to play this part, though for anyone who knows Lou’s local resume, it makes perfect sense.  He both embodies the half-bat-half-boy’s humanity and animalistic tendencies thoughtfully.  It’s really a joy to see a performer you’ve come to depend on in a certain kind of role break free from those boxes.

Lorraine O’Donnell and Michele Marie Roberts are the mother and daughter who take Bat Boy into their home and hearts, mirroring the relationship Dianne Weist and Winona Ryder’s characters had with Edward Scissorhands.  (Tim Newell, as Bat Boy’s adoptive father, especially brings a real Alan Arkin sensibility to the role of “dad.") These two ladies steal the show for me, as does Marc Sacco in a wide variety of roles.  (He makes his biggest splash in a second act romp that must be seen to be believed. You can’t wait.) That most of the ensemble plays roles of the opposite gender means that nothing here can be taken too seriously or given too much thought.  It’s just fun and silly.

The show is really nothing to miss.  It runs through Nov. 11, which is hardly enough time for it to catch on with local audiences.  So see it soon and don’t walk.

For more information visit Studio Arena Theatre or call the box office at 856.5650.
Photo courtesy Studio Arena Theatre.

Posted by on 10/28 at 02:12 PM