Bat Boy, The Musical

Based on a tabloid report that a half-boy/half-bat was found in a remote cave in 1992, the comedy Bat Boy, The Musical is best described as Doctor Moreau-meets-Medea, punctuated by moments of hilarity and accompanied by an '80s glam soundtrack. Finding black, black humor in the absurdity of the situation, Bat Boy (played by newcomer Josh Tobin) is a humanoid with bat-like tendencies (translation: He has long, sharp teeth and drinks blood). After he's found living in a cave, he's taken in by a doctor and his wife, who try to civilize him. (He gets his GED, which we're sure is going to come in real handy.) Despite his attempts to become normal - insert overtones of Pinocchio here - the boy is a source of fear and anger for the townsfolk. They blame him for every misfortune that befalls them. A cow dies, Bat Boy did it. A girl is killed, Bat Boy did it. Several people, including the doctor who is sheltering him, connive to make Bat Boy look guilty even when he isn't so as to run him out of town. When, at last, he discovers how he came to be part bat, part human (it involves a group of bats gang-raping a woman) - as well as who left him out in the cave to be raised by his bloodsucking relatives - Bat Boy goes bat shit, and dead bodies start falling in heaps. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Through July 18. Rice University, 6100 Main. For information, call 832-326-1045. $10 to $40.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: July 8. Continues through July 18, 2010