With the opening of the musical “Bat Boy” this Friday at the University theater, audience members are promised three things: rock music, stage blood and a lot of surprises.
Based on a famous article printed in the tabloid “World Weekly News,” this musical tells the story of a half-boy, half-bat who is found in a West Virginia cave and then brought into a nearby town to live. Many of the townspeople react to him in varying ways because of his differences from them — largely that he must feed on blood to survive — and are perplexed at the number of their cattle that are dying.@@The dude kills cows. I wouldn’t chill with him either@@
“It’s a very strange plot. Nobody is expected to believe in it. But that’s kind of what makes its charm,” said John Schmor, director of the musical and head of the University’s Department of Theatre Arts.”There are a lot of surprises along the way.”@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=John+Schmor@@
Stage manager Sophie Kruip, a senior theater major at the University, agreed.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Sophie+Kruip@@
“It’s a very traditional musical in a lot of ways; there’s a lot of chorus numbers and a lot of the kind of dancing that you’d think of in musicals, but also pretty dark and edgy and strange,” Kruip said.
Although it features traditional elements found in musicals, “Bat Boy” is considered somewhat of a parody of musicals by members of the cast and crew, leading to the creation of other musical parodies such as “Spamalot” and “Avenue Q.”
“I think it’s more self-aware that it’s a musical, a little more campy,” said Thomas Varga, a sophomore theater and English major who plays three chorus roles in the musical.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Thomas+Varga@@
“Bat Boy” is backed not by an orchestra, but rather by electric guitar, bass, drums and amplifiers to give it more of a pop or rock sound. Some of the songs include “Hold Me Bat Boy,” “Let Me Walk Among You” and “Apology To A Cow.”@@http://www.newlinetheatre.com/batboychapter.html@@
“I think it’s a great score; it’s a mishmash of all different kinds of theater traditions, and it’s kind of pop/rock in some places but in some places it’s really traditional,” Schmor said.
The musical features 16 student cast members, but has involved approximately 100 people in the overall production, Schmor estimated. Over the past six weeks, the cast has learned soft-shoe choreography, complicated vocal harmonies and have practiced climbing on and around the set to prepare for their respective roles. More than half of the cast plays two or more different roles throughout the performance, which makes up the townspeople.
“I think even for people who don’t like musicals, they’re still going to enjoy it because you don’t have to be a musical fan,” Varga said, admitting that “Bat Boy” has changed his perception of musicals for the better. “Even though it’s campy and goofy at points, I think that the message of it is still pretty poignant, too — about how to react to differences and to your animal nature.”
“Don’t come in expecting anything, because you’ll be wrong,” Kruip said.
“Bat Boy” opens in the Robinson Theatre on Friday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. and runs Thursday through Saturday until Nov. 19, with an additional Sunday showing on Nov. 13. Tickets are free to all University students who come with a student I.D. card to get their hand stamped between 7:00 and 7:30 the night of the show, and are $14 for general admission and $12 for seniors.
University Theatre promises surprises with ‘Bat Boy’
Daily Emerald
November 1, 2011
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