Bat Boy The Musical Soon to Dazzle

Wright’s theatre department will soon be showing “Bat Boy The Musical," a comedic horror rock musical with one absurd thing happening after the next that follows the discovery of a Bat Boy in a local cave who seeks to find acceptance in the midst of prejudice.

Batboy's Tech Manager Patrick Ham talked about a central theme of Batboy. “It's like this idea of acceptance, you know, that when you see a person and you judge them based upon the way they look they’re a Bat Boy–you are not understanding who they are as a person,” Ham said.

Joselyn Rodriguez, president of Stage Wright who is performing as Shelley, said, “In all honesty, this is the darkest show I've ever done, personally.” Batboy is viewer discretion advised and includes a list of trigger warnings with mature themes such as homicide, accidental incest, and sexual assault. Rodriguez added, “From a dark show we’re able to make some light of it and have fun even with the dark themes of it.” 

Daniel Blair, who is performing as Batboy, said, “It’s challenging because there's a lot of comedic bits that you have to make sure you take your time with so that the audience can process it and potentially have a laugh.” Matthew "Gibby" Gibson-Pometta, who is performing as Dr. Parker, said about Batboy, "I watched it and immediately fell in love with it, like I had to be in this.”

On the topic of how enjoyable the play is, Director Thomas Murdock said, “Eight out of ten times, those who have never seen a college production or even a show are always amazed at what we do.” Murdock added, “You will be pleasantly surprised at the level of work that you’re going to see in this play. Guaranteed." 

Carson Starcevic, now in her fourth production here at Wright and performing as Meredith Parker, talked about the message that the audience can take away from Batboy. “I hope they take away that it's okay to be a bit of a freak. It's ok to be different and be quirky and be yourself and be unique. And that it doesn't matter what other people say or what they think about you, it's just about what's inside your heart.” 

Free student matinees for "Batboy" are on Nov. 6 and 13 at 2 p.m. and night performances are Nov. 7, 8, 14 and 15 in the events building theater at 7 p.m., where tickets, which are cash only, will be $5 for students and $10 for the general public.

Alexis Sandoval contributed to this story.

Flier Advertising Showtimes for Batboy. Photo Credit: Kyle Chmielowski