Bat Boy: The Musical
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bat Boy: The Musical | |
 |
|
| 1997 poster | |
|---|---|
| Music | Laurence O'Keefe |
| Lyrics | Laurence O'Keefe |
| Book | Keith Farley
Brian Flemming |
| Based upon | Weekly World News Tabloid |
| Productions | 1997 Off-Broadway |
| Awards | 2001 Lucille Lortel Award
2001 Outer Critics Circle Award |
Bat Boy: The Musical is an Off-Broadway musical based on the character of Bat Boy, whose antics regularly appear in the Weekly World News tabloid. The story about a half-boy, half bat found living in a cave inspired bookwriters Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming to write a stage adaptation. They were joined by composer/lyricist Laurence O'Keefe (an American who is no apparent relation to the English bassist Laurence O'Keefe) and their first production premiered on Halloween 1997.
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. Although full of blood, violence, incest and interspecies sex, Bat Boy: The Musical has won several awards and rave reviews and is regarded as one of the funniest and most imaginative musicals in years. John Lahr of The New Yorker observes "this is 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."
This musical premiered at Tim Robbins' Actors' Gang Theatre on Halloween, 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. The musical was awarded best Off-Broadway musical by both the Lucille Lortel Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award in the year 2001. Regional productions of Bat Boy have been nominated for and won dozens of awards, including the Norton awards (New England's equivalent of the Tony) and Ovation awards (Los Angeles' equivalent). It entered regional theatre in 2002 beginning with the Phoenix Theatre. The show has also proven quite popular in Korea and Japan.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] ACT I
Act one begins with three teenage spelunkers abseiling deep into a forgotten cave just outside of their ex-mining, mountain-side hometown Hope Falls, West Virginia. They are Ron, Rick and Ruthie, children of Mrs. Taylor. Whilst there, they light up a bong and start smoking some dope. Suddenly, they notice there is a strange, humanoid creature in the cave with them. They cannot see him too well in the gloom but identify him as the legendary, feral "Bat Boy" who has haunted the local tales of Hope Falls for many years now. At first excited by the thought of having a new "pet", Ruthie Taylor offers him some Fritos (or Doritos, in the London version), the 'Bat Boy' rejects the Fritos and instead chooses to take a nice bite out of Ruthie's neck. Immediately, Rick and Ron leap upon the "Bat Boy," knock him unconscious, and put him in a bag. As Ruthie is taken to hospital, Rick and Ron hand the Bat Boy over to the incompetent local Sheriff, Sheriff Reynolds, who promptly decides to take him across town to the house of Doctor Parker, the local veterinarian to have the animal "taken care of." As he takes it through town, the Sheriff is constantly badgered by the townsfolk, who at first accept the existence of such a Bat Boy, then scream when they see his face. During this time, the company has assembled onstage as a sort of Greek Chorus and asks to HOLD ME, BAT BOY, telling the audience to watch and learn from such a tale.
At the home of Doctor Parker, his wife Meredith and daughter Shelley are cleaning and discussing boys. It is revealed that Rick Taylor is Shelley's boyfriend. Just as the conversation gets tense, Sheriff Reynolds arrives with the Bat Boy (his head covered in a sack with the warning "BITES" written on it), looking for Doctor Parker. Meredith informs him that the Doctor is not at home, he is out hunting. Reynolds begs Meredith to take the "Bat Boy" and put him in one of Doctor Parker's spare cages. The Sheriff reveals he is coming up for re-election and cannot afford not to do something responsible with the matter. Both Meredith and Sheriff Reynold's wish they could solve the matter a different way but they can't seem to rid themselves of their CHRISTIAN CHARITY. Shelley finally convinces Meredith to keep him, and the Sheriff thanks them and leaves.
Later on in the evening a storm is brewing, and at the Parker residence Meredith has moved a large cage inside the living room and put the "Bat Boy" inside it. He is hungry and howling for food, yet everything Meredith makes for him he refuses to the point of screaming at it until it is taken away. Shelley, no longer entertained by the thought of keeping a "Bat Boy," is annoyed by his constant shrieking and makes fun of him, calling him an UGLY BOY. Meredith does her best to ignore Shelley's rudeness. They decide to give the Bat Boy a name. She christens him Edgar and then goes into the kitchen to prepare a stew for him. Rick Taylor arrives to see Shelley, asking her "WATCHA WANNA DO?" but flips out when he sees Edgar. He decides to ignore him and make-out with Shelley, but Edgar interrupts their make-out session by imitating their moans repeatedly and very loudly. Rick, perturbed, goes over to the cage to kill Edgar, but Meredith interrupts and sends him on his way (NOTE: Both UGLY BOY and WATCHA WANNA DO? were replaced in the London Version by the song HEY FREAK.)
Meredith sends Shelley, now fueled with a disgust for Rick and other boys after seeing Rick threaten to kill Edgar, to bed. Now alone, she sings softly to Edgar, telling him that she hopes her house can be A HOME FOR YOU. She offers him a stew, and even though he rejects the stew, he does join in her song in his own way.
In the Hope Falls Slaughterhous, the "Honorable" Mayor of Hope Falls, Maggie, has called a meeting of the Town Council. First, they have confirmation that the Reverend Billy Hightower will be bringing his Tent Revival Meeting and Barbecue to Hope Falls in the spring (NOTE: In the London Version, this doesn't happen until the second meeting of the Town Council). Secondly, Mayor Maggie draws attention to the fact that the meat hooks are devoid of any meat. The ranchers guiltily confess that their cows are too malnourished to be slaughtered and some have been dying for no apparent reason. As the meeting draws to a close, they wonder if ANOTHER DEAD COW has been caused by the newly-arrived "Bat Boy."
Back at the Parker residence, Doctor Parker arrives home from hunting. He is drunk and carries some dead geese slung over his shoulder. He does a double-take when he notices Edgar in the gloom, but is too drunk to properly react. He pulls out a flask and has a quick drink, then pulls out a hand-held tape recorder and does a quick analyzation of Edgar. He decides to put "one of us out of our misery" and is about to give him a lethal injection when Meredith interrupts. She begs him not to kill Edgar, and they both seem to know more about the "Bat Boy" than they let on. Meredith, desperate, offers to sleep with her husband if he doesn't kill Edgar. Doctor Parker takes the bait and seems to forget that Edgar is in the room, asking his wife to DANCE WITH ME, DARLING. As soon as Meredith leaves (with his syringe), Parker sings to Edgar about how he's "prayed this day would arrive; when she'd return to his arms," and realizes that Bat Boy is his ticket to Meredith. He slices open the neck of one of the geese, revealing Edgar only has a hunger for blood. As Edgar drinks the blood, the chorus of "Voices in His Head" come onstage to sing with him.
At the local hospital, a doctor assures Mrs. Taylor that, even though they are having difficulties healing the wounds, Ruthie will be okay. At this point Ruthie convulses into a nightmare about "Bat Monsters." MRS. TAYLOR'S LULLABY calms her, promising that if the Sheriff wants to stay in office he will kill the Bat Boy.
The next day, back at the Parker residence, Meredith begins to teach the feral Edgar how to behave like a proper human. It takes some persuasion to get him interested, but after being taught how to say "Hello" and "Boy," Edgar tries hard to learn to be civil. Over the course of several weeks, we see Edgar evolve from mistaking Disneyland as the Wailing Wall, to graduating with high school level education. This comes about after secret feedings of blood to Edgar from Doctor Parker. However, in the end, Edgar does SHOW YOU A THING OR TWO.
In town, Mayor Maggie has called for a special meeting of the Town Council, to "discuss the safety issues as they relate to this weekend's Revival Meeting." Doctor Parker is the guest of honor, and the Sheriff, urged on by his constituents, tells Parker to take Edgar out of town. Doctor Parker tries to convince the townsfolk that Edgar is not a danger, but they threaten to kill the Bat Boy if he does not take him out of town. Doctor Parker has no choice and tells everyone that, despite how hard it will be on Meredith to keep Edgar from going, he will not attend. The townsfolk shake hands with Doctor Parker and take his word of honor (CHRISTIAN CHARITY REPRISE).
Back at the Parker residence, Shelley is teaching Edgar how to dance while Doctor Parker convinces Meredith that the pact he made is for the better. They all sit for tea, served by a now very proper Edgar (who, thanks to some BBC Language Tapes, speaks with a upper-class English accent). As they talk, Edgar expresses his desire to go to the Revival, and Doctor Parker tries to persuade him to go camping with the family this weekend instead. Edgar makes the case that it would be a nice coming out for him, since the residents haven't seen the civilized Edgar yet. Shelley lets slip that people are talking badly behind Edgar's back and Doctor Parker lets slip that they are very cruel things. Edgar sings that he doesn't want to harm them, but rather to learn and get to know the citizens (A HOME FOR YOU REPRISE).
After more refusal to go, Shelley gets mad with Meredith and asks to be excused from the table. Meredith excuses her and Doctor Parker tries to convince Edgar that it's alright not to go to the Revival. He is cut off by Edgar, however, telling them that he was watching TV and saw a medical program, where he was astonished to find that his having a navel means he may be human. At this, Doctor Parker gets angry and forcefully tells Edgar that he will not attend the Revival. After Edgar breaks down and falls to the floor begging, Meredith changes her mind and tries to convince Doctor Parker that the boy's going to the Revival will be all right.
Doctor Parker is astonished that his wife is standing up to him, but quickly regains his composure and firmly sticks to his word of honor. Meredith tells Edgar that, even if Doctor Parker doesn't go, Shelley and her will accompany him to the Revival, ignoring Doctor Parker's noncompliance. After Parker attacks Meredith in a rage, Edgar attacks Parker and almost bites him. After realizing that Meredith is no longer paying attention to him, Doctor Parker has an epiphany (PARKER'S EPIPHANY): Meredith never came back to his arms, and she never will. Doctor Parker pretends to change his mind and tells Meredith to tell Shelley the "good news" while he gives Edgar his "medication."
Meredith then goes upstairs, leaving Doctor Parker alone with Edgar. After having a rather brief conversation with Edgar, the now-furious Doctor Parker attempts to devise a plan to slay Edgar, and in turn bring Meredith – his COMFORT AND JOY – back to him. The company, similarly, sings of their plans for the revival the next day.
Act I ends with Edgar singing of overcoming his pains – though Doctor Parker foils such plans by killing a live rabbit in front of the hungry boy, overcoming his resistance to his own nature.
[edit] ACT II
The second act opens at the Revival Meeting, where Reverend Billy Hightower is trying desperately to raise the hopes of the Hope Falls residents by urging them to make A JOYFUL NOISE. As he prepares to "heal" the sins of any congregation member wishing to volunteer, Meredith, Shelley and Edgar arrive. The townsfolk freak out, but the Reverend decides to give Edgar a chance. Edgar begs them to LET ME WALK AMONG YOU and promises he can be a good, civilized member of the community.
Just as it seems that the townsfolk have decide to hang up their prejudices (A JOYFUL NOISE REPRISE), Doctor Parker arrives and reveals that Ruthie Taylor has died in the night as a result of Edgar's saliva which is deadly both to humans and cattle (in reality, Doctor Parker had stolen into the hospital and given her a lethal injection). He also tells them that he has called the Institute in Wheeling and they are coming to take him off their hands. The whole town turns against the shocked and guilt-ridden Bat Boy as Rick Taylor runs in with his siblings and mother. In the confusion, Rick pulls out a pistol and fires two shots into the air, silencing everyone. He then aims the gun at Edgar, but the Sheriff, true to his duty, aims a gun at Rick. He is about to shoot at Edgar when Shelley steps in front of the gun, defending him. Rick shoves her aside violently and Edgar flips out, attacking him and biting his neck. He then runs off during the confusion, with Shelley and Meredith hot on his heels. Doctor Parker goes over to examine Rick and gives him a lethal injection, under the pretense of giving him an antidote. Rick convulses exactly like Ruthie and dies. Doctor Parker declares that the antidote came too late and the only thing left to do was to hunt the Bat Boy (STOP THE BAT BOY!).
In the woods, as Meredith and Shelley hunt for Edgar, they decide that once they have found him they will leave town, change their names and buy a THREE BEDROOM HOUSE far away from anyone, including Doctor Parker. In the excitement of the moment Shelley tells Meredith she is in love with Edgar. Meredith freaks out and tells her that the thought of that is "hideous." Shelley, not knowing her mother's reasons, believes she is just as ignorant as the other townsfolk and runs off deeper into the woods, while Meredith yells out for her not to go.
In a clearing in the woods Shelley finds Edgar and confesses her love for him. He too confesses he loves her and, as things get more intimate between them, the forest god Pan arrives with some woodland animals and coaxes Edgar and Shelley to sleep together with the help of an orgy (CHILDREN, CHILDREN).
Ron, out looking for Edgar, vows vengeance for his dead siblings, and deduces that he would be most likely satisfy his blood-lust in the slaughterhouse. With this in mind he charges in, making a ruckus of finding him. Daisy, carrying a torch, tells the Sheriff over a walkie-talkie that she may have the Bat Boy cornered in the slaughterhouse. Mrs. Taylor overhears this and arrives to the noise in the slaughterhouse. Assuming it is Bat Boy, Mrs. Taylor sets fire to it, using Maggie's torch. While the slaughterhouse burns, the townsfolk arrive and watch the blaze. Ron then bursts out on fire, and the Sheriff tackles him, trying to douse the flame so that he is still alive when the van arrives -- but he falls nevertheless. The townsfolk get angrier and angrier. Doctor Parker tries to calm them by telling them that the Bat Boy is on a rampage. Doctor Parker lets slip that he (Doctor Parker) will kill again, but plays it off and the townsfolk disregard the comment and follow the doctor as he leads them on a hunt for Edgar.
Back in the clearing in the woods, Shelley and Edgar cuddle post-coitally. Edgar then realizes that he is hungry and tries to protect Shelley, who reveals that she know he eats blood and that she is not afraid. After an argument, Shelley convinces Edgar that she should provide Edgar with his meal, so she can live INSIDE YOUR HEART (NOTE: In the London version, the song MINE ALL MINE replaces Inside Your Heart. In this song Shelley awakes to see that Edgar is trying to leave her without explaining why. The bulk of this song consists of Shelley demanding that Edgar stay or at least explain his change of heart. Only fairly late in this version does Edgar reveal his hunger for blood, after which Shelley offers him her arm and they complete the song in accord). Just as Edgar is about to bite her, Meredith finds the pair and stops them, revealing her deepest, darkest secret... She is Edgar's mother. This makes Shelley his sister. Ashamed, angered, and disgusted with himself, Edgar runs off. Shelley, also ashamed, angered, and disgusted, backs away from Meredith and tries to scream: Instead, we hear the sound of a cow being decapitated.
Outside the cave he was found in, Bat Boy has beheaded a cow and is drinking deeply from it. He sings an APOLOGY TO A COW, saying that he lives in a dog-eat-dog world, and he is ashamed of it. He believes his parents are the real beasts, for tearing him from his content life in a cave and teaching him about anger and hate, and for locking up their child inside a cage and condemning his love for Shelley when they could've lived in wonderful bliss. He makes a promise to himself that his face will be the last they ever see.
Ned and Roy, headed by Doctor Parker, enter the scene. Bat Boy makes a move on him, but the Ned won't let Edgar get close to him. The Sheriff tries to calm the them as the rest of the townsfolk enter, but they won't do it. Just then, Meredith arrives with Shelley. Meredith begs the ranchers not to kill him, because he is her son. She convinces Doctor Parker to tell them his story in an attempt to calm the ranchers -- once, Doctor Parker was a cattle doctor and she was his assistant. One day, he was working on a liquid pheromones which would increase the cattle population by arousing male cattle. However, he accidentally injects it into her, and, overcome with passion, he impregnates her. Walking home alone afterwards, Meredith is raped by bats, also attracted by the pheromones. Later she reveals she is pregnant with Doctor Parker's child, and they get married. 9 months later, Shelley is born, but, to everyone's horror, a second child is born--Edgar, Meredith's son by the bats. Parker, told to take the baby out into the woods and kill him, cannot bring himself to do it for all his horrid conscience, and leaves the infant there to be discovered by the bats, his true father(s).
Instead of placating the townsfolk, however, the story angers them further. The townsfolk vocally blame Edgar for the cow plague, but Meredith responds angrily, "There is no plague! You've been raising cows on the side of a MOUNTAIN!", and the townsfolk are stunned into sheepish silence. Edgar himself has already decided he wants to die, but he does not want to die at the hands of the townsfolk or the police. He takes the hunting knife from Doctor Parker's belt and hands it to Doctor Parker begging him to give him peace. Doctor Parker cannot do it, so Bat Boy resorts to telling him and the townsfolk what happened between him and Shelley during the night. Infuriated, Doctor Parker grabs Bat Boy and holds the knife to his neck, but Meredith pulls him off, begging him to rethink what he is about to do. Doctor Parker and her sing together, Doctor Parker apologizing for everything he's done. Realizing there is no other solution, he slits his throat open with the knife. Edgar, attracted by the sight and smell of blood, leaps upon Doctor Parker and begins to drink his blood. As he does Doctor Parker stabs him in the back, as he raises his knife to stab him again, Meredith runs forward and tries to pull him off; thus she too is stabbed in the back. Meredith and Doctor Parker die first, and Bat Boy, in Shelly's arms, tells her that he is not a boy, but an animal. He also dies (FINALE:I IMAGINE YOU'RE UPSET/FINALE: I AM NOT A BOY").
As the townsfolk realize what has just happened and regard each other, ashamed, the institute men rush in, ready to carry Bat Boy away. As they take in the carnage, Shelley stands up and begins delivering the final messages of the show (two of which, apparently, are "the mountain is no place for raising cows" and "don't kill Mrs. Taylor's kids"). She is joined in by the townsfolk , the institute men, Rick, Ron, and Ruthie, and, finally, Meredith and Parker as they all revert to the sort of Greek Chorus from the opening number (HOLD ME, BAT BOY REPRISE). The show ends as they tell the audience not to "deny [their] beast inside".
[edit] Controversy
The musical production contains depictions of violence, gore, incest, and rape which has roused some debate. In 2005, a California high school attempted to perform Bat Boy: The Musical for the school's spring play, but several parents objected to the play's content saying that it "was not age-appropriate". Many within the school defended their right to perform it. National radio program Focus on the Family discussed the story, expressing some criticism towards the play. However, Independence High School of San Jose, California finished its closing night production of Bat Boy on March 25, 2006, though the production became very close to being shut down by several disgruntled parents, as well as the school board. However there have been schools that have been able to tone down the themes of the play to turn it into a successful high school musical. Scotts Valley High School in California, for instance, influenced the play with Kabuki themes to make it less bloody, sexual, and controversial.
[edit] Adaptations
Bat Boy will be filmed in 2006, directed by John Landis, director of Animal House, The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London. [1]
