Devotees of songwriter Jim Steinman’s style of grandiose rock music probably will enjoy a fine time seeing and hearing Bat Out of Hell—The Musical. Cultivated by Steinman over the last several decades, this musical epic incorporates many among his hit songs such as “Making Love Out of Nothing at All”
Others are not so likely to be enthused about the overripe charms of the thunderous attraction, which made its local debut on Thursday at the New York City Center for a limited sojourn.
Some 20 or so Steinman songs are embedded into an elaborate storyline that presents more plots than Green-Wood Cemetery. Let’s try to describe these doings as simply as possible:
Set in a wrecked metropolis in a dystopian near future, there exists a tribe known as “The Lost,” peopled by cute 18-year-olds mutated in a chemical accident that has freezed their age forever. They ride motorcycles, spread graffiti, and are in ceaseless conflict with Falco, a cruel mogul who dominates the city.
[Read Elysa Gardner’s ★★ review here.]
Raven, Falco’s misunderstood teen daughter, falls in love from afar with Strat, the heroic leader of The Lost, who steals into her room to whisper sweet nothings such as “On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?”
Eventually the smitten Raven and Strat roar off into the darkness on his motorcycle. A possibly fatal crash concludes the musical’s first act.
During the busy second part of this 2:40 saga, one character returns to life, another dies, Falco’s wife/Raven’s mom Sloane splits her troubled marriage, and among other events, festive or tragic, there is a wedding, a betrayal, a funeral, not one but two reconciliations, and even a transfiguration.
Steinman himself composed the magniloquent libretto, which remains faithful to the style of his score’s often purple lyrics. (My favorite couplet here, from “I’d Do Anything for Love,” is the more plebeian “Will you cater to ev’ry fantasy I’ve got / Will you hose me down with holy water if I get too hot?”) A few of the story’s melodramatics tickle spectators to laughter.
Jay Scheib, who directed the musical’s London production that ran ten months during 2018, stages this incarnation as a frenetic spectacle that appears visually cramped at City Center. The company is talented, but the emotional tone they express is neither sincere nor tongue-in-cheek. It is rather a gung-ho spiritedness aimed to rocket the audience into enthusiasm.
Too bad the show looks cheesier than the state of Wisconsin. The flashy setting is augmented by extensive, looming live video segments, the wardrobe is post-apocalyptic chic, the bright yet smoky lighting frequently sears the eye, and the dancing is mostly in ultra-retro MTV modes.
Many of Steinberg’s songs retain their galvanic appeal, however, and the singing is far more vibrant than the acting. Romantic leads imported from the London company, Andrew Polec sheds his shirts as often as he bares his heart as the ardent Strat, while Christina Bennington projects equal parts petulant and pensive as Raven. Another original London cast member, Danielle Steers, is a dynamic presence and a soulful singer whose “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” duet shared with a juiced Tyrick Wiltez Jones is a highlight of the show. Will Branner shines brightly among The Lost. Paulina Jurzec sleekly materializes everywhere as she videos it all.
Doing their best in the tricky roles of Falco and Sloane, a middle-aged villain and his alcoholic wife, Bradley Dean and Lena Hall need to be both degenerate and yet appealing because they are assigned to rage through the powerhouse classic “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” which they heatedly render. Although Dean manages to exude a sleazy DILF-y charisma, Hall is hampered by a hair and costume design that makes her look like Peggy Bundy out of Married With Children.
A somewhat chaotic songfest, Bat Out of Hell—The Musical shapes up as a hot summer night date best left to lovers of the Jim Steinman songbook. It’s a take it or leave it affair for the rest of us.
