(L to R) Sasha Rosenbaum, Melanie Kurstin, Hannah Seigel, Brian Ashton, Matthew Monaghan, Michael Sherman, Olivia Levin, Mel Gumina. Photo by Zoophoria Photography.
“Bat Boy: The Musical” looms large in the cooler-than-you musical theatre underworld in the neighborhood of the grittier, never-been-on-Broadway picks, like “Heathers” or “Bare.” At some point, these musicals became firmly situated in the canon, not the boundary-pushing theatre they were meant to be. Workhouse Arts Center’s production of “Bat Boy” (book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe, based on a 1992 news story) carries the burden of this shift, nearly thirty years since the show’s debut.
…nails both the satire and the camp at points… strong performances and moments…
“Bat Boy” is a marvelous satire and deserves its regular comparisons to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for its relentless pursuit of camp. This production nails both the satire and the camp at points. This is no better exemplified than by Sequoia Grace’s set design which was a never-ending series of configurations that you were always convinced you would never see again. Particularly engaging were the two moments in which the wallpapered walls of the Parkers’ living room came alive with hands of the cast pressing against them and distorting the sanctity of the very suburban space.
The musical begins with the discovery of Bat Boy in a cave by the Taylor siblings (Kyle Donovan, Olivia Levin, and Mel Gumina), who were functioning as some sort of supernatural-hunting YouTubers in this production. Matthew Monaghan’s rather ghoulish Bat Boy climbed the lighting rigging around the proscenium only to peek down from behind the stalactites and drop to center stage. Monaghan cherished his time as merely humanoid and not the much more “civilized” Edgar that was crafted by the Parkers. Monaghan’s movement score was fully developed and conveyed a scared child, threatening cryptid, and well-developed animal instincts all at once. This feat was made all the more impressive by the lack of places that Monaghan had to hide due to the fact that he was wearing nothing but a pair of nude briefs for the first quarter of the performance. His transformation into Edgar was a disappointment as the audience was ushered from Monaghan’s sweet spot of monstrosity and into a more conventional lover. The quick springs from Edgar into almost animal in the second act were joyous and a sore reminder of what the audience was missing because of Hope Falls’ desire for conformity.
The common folk and their fictional town of Hope Falls, WV were where the majority of the questions about this world resided, particularly due to the physical proximity of the theatre to the small towns of Appalachia that inspired it. This production amplified the pre-existing structural difference between the humanity of the Parker family and the town at large. The Parkers were grounded in the suburban middle class. Money seemed no object for the Parkers, but outside of their doors, everyone in the town struggled with financial survival. Michael Sherman’s Sheriff Reynolds fought for reelection. The ranchers mourned the mysterious loss of their livestock and descended on city council meeting after city council meeting, searching for answers that no one could find. While I enjoyed the raucous world of these meetings, I longed for the plight of Hope Falls’ citizens to be taken seriously rather than relying on the pursuit of more comedy at the expense of their struggle and background. It wasn’t funny because a character like Maggie (Mel Gumina) was working so hard to be the mayor of a plagued, tiny town.
Sasha Rosenbaum’s Shelley Parker was an almost ageless being and incredibly hard to pin down after her introduction via an ill-fated, near ménage à trois between herself, the boy on whom she has a crush, and Bat Boy in a cage. Rosenbaum floated through the rest of the first act but her strongest moments came once Shelley set her sights on Edgar and kept the audience rooting for the odd pair.
Melanie Kurstin had the unenviable task of playing the most straight-laced of the characters, Meredith Parker. Her first and final moments were her finest. Following the lead of her daughter, she also starts the show with another ill-fated, near ménage à trois between herself, her husband, and Bat Boy, still in a cage. This mirroring was a bold swing that floated incestuous thoughts joyfully at the top of this satire. Her final scene, involving Bat Boy’s parentage, had a similar weight as her first scene, with its daring implications.
Adian Chapman filled out the Parker household with the meatiest of their roles. Chapman’s performance was marked by an astounding amount of restraint. Dr. Parker has many opportunities to be the villain. The easy choice for an actor would be to let him become irredeemable and zany after the first murder. Chapman seemed to get lost somewhere in the parking lot at the cliff’s lookout and spent the show entertaining himself by locking and unlocking his sedan. This grounded choice made Dr. Parker one of the most magnetic characters on the stage, and this restraint made his casual murders all the more glorious. To my utter delight, Chapman provided a crazed performance in the flashback sequence near the end of the show, giving a clear image of life before Bat Boy.
Another standout of this production was Brian Ashton. From the first number, I was fixed on his version of the story. His brazen confidence, seemingly more as an actor than a character, was impossible to ignore and came to fruition in “A Joyful Noise,” which he led as Reverend Hightower. Despite the challenges of blocking that oriented the revival audience towards the audience rather than the pulpit, Ashton’s Hightower worked the stage as both a prophet and a showgirl. While the production struggled to balance plot, performance, and commentary, this performance soared, finding somehow every possible moment of camp and true religiosity.
This production of “Bat Boy” illustrated the loss of the edginess through canonization of a piece of theatre that was built for the margins. While there were some strong performances and moments, the production struggled to meaningfully connect with the countercultural spirit of the musical.
Running Time: Two hours with one 15-minute intermission.
Advisory: Contains adult humor/language and depictions of violence and sexual assault. Props weapons and minimal strobe effects are used. It is best enjoyed by older teens and adults; not intended for younger audiences.
“Bat Boy: The Musical” runs through October 25, 2026 at Workhouse Arts Center, Workhouse Arts Center, Theater in Building 3, 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, VA 22079. September performances: Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm; October performances: Saturday at 5 pm, Sunday at 2 pm (no Friday performances in October). For more information and to purchase tickets, call (703) 584-2900, email info@workhousearts.org, or go online.
