Hold Me Bat Boy

Saturday night I had a date. A very handsome man asked me to the theatre. OK it wasn’t a real date, but I had a great time going to see Bat Boy: The Musical with Chris. There was a lot of draw for this play since a) I love reading about Bat Boy in the Weekly World News, b) our friend Darryl was in it as Farmer Ned, and c) I was getting to go with Chris.

After a day of trying on clothes at the Naked Lady Party, it seemed only appropriate in my weird world to go see an off-beat musical. I was looking forward to it since Darryl told me about his part in the play. An actor at heart, as well as teacher, writer, comedian and all-round fun guy, Darryl has taken to the acting bug and this is was the first time I have ever seen him act …. On stage.

It was housed in the auditorium at the Cuban Club in Ybor City, one of my favorite places with Escher-esque floor tiles and an air of old-world charm. You can almost smell the old cigars wafting their perfumed tobacco odor around the room. We got there just in time and took our seats with Rusty and CF (another CF than from the one previously mentioned in the Naked Lady blog).

Overall the play was good. Not Phantom or even Rent, but fun. I have been a fan of Bat Boy since the mid 90s and followed his career from car thief, to freedom fighter, to interstellar superstar. With everything that he has done, I was a bit disappointed that this tale only covered his early years. Found in a cave in Virginia and taken in by a vet and his wife, the Bat Boy learns etiquette from watching BBC America and develops a strong religious tendency. That is all I will give away.

The music was cool, but the sound was a bit rough so I didn’t catch all the words. The actor portraying said Boy was magnificent and even I wanted to take him in. Darryl stole the show a couple times as Farmer Ned with his drawl and backwoods charm. Maybe it was the proximity to my trip to North Carolina, but in a way these simple townsfolk really broke through my sensibilities. Guns and God!

This evening out sparked something in me though. Chris loves plays as much as I do, a culture hound he is, so I suggested we make this a habit with no real timetable. St. Pete, Tampa and Sarasota all have great theatres and The American Stage has had some wonderful productions. I’ll keep tabs to let you know what I think and you can share your thoughts as well. For now, I will try to get the “Hold Me Bat Boy” song out of my head.