Bat Boy The Musical

This show has now closed, click here for a listing of current and future London shows

Opened 8 September 2004, closed 15 January 2005 at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

A delicious twist on the modern day classic musical comedy, Bat Boy The Musical has a serious bite.

Bat Boy The Musical tells the story of a half boy/half bat discovered in the caves of West Virginia. Captured, caged, mockingly branded Bat Boy, and under threat of execution by the local veterinarian's Dr Parker, he finds an ally in the vet's wife, Meredith. Re-christened Edgar, he blossoms under Meredith's tutelage and becomes the paragon of a modern gentleman - courteous, educated, sensitive and irresistible to the opposite sex - in particular, the Parker's daughter, Shelley.

But trouble is brewing, the cattle of Hope Falls are mysteriously dying and when several local townspeople are murdered in cold blood, the finger of suspicion points only one way - at Edgar.

An angry lynch mob gathers forcing him to flee. Will he effect his escape, or will darker secrets be revealed that will shake the townspeople's existence forever?

Authors Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming united with composer and lyricist Laurence O'Keefe to create the musical inspired by the capture of a live bat-child in the hills of West Virginia as reported in The Weekly World News. A story that also skyrocketed circulation for the publication, making tabloid history. The original stage production opened in 2001 Off-Broadway to public and critical acclaim, winning the Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical.

Deven May plays Bat Boy, the role that he originally created.

"Nothing in the West End quite like it" The Daily Express

"Darkly funny - curiously touching" The Times

"Riotous carnival of camp and kitsch" The London Evening Standard

"The performances are excellent... this deserves to be a hit" Time Out