So Playhouse on the Square is putting on Batboy the Musical in June, and I figured this would be the perfect time to gather all the dopers in Memphis and surrounding areas. After all, who doesn’t want to see America’s newest hero on stage with musical backing? So what do y’all think? I know it’s a little early, but it was so cool I wanted to tell y’all.
-Lil
I can’t come that far but I definitely can endorse BAT BOY as a great little musical. It creates a whole town of people who you can care about–and the few who you don’t are still perfectly real. It has love stories, stories about prejudice and forgiveness, and a preacher, amazingly enough, is one of the heroes. There’s also the god Pan!
The music ranges from kickass gospel to rock to hillbilly to patter to a couple of ballads that are achingly beautiful. And the message is not at all preachy.
Travel to it and enjoy MemDope!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention–BAT BOY was the first theatrical piece I saw in NYC after 9/11. The theatre on 17th Street was right above the ‘frozen zone’ of 14th and below, the smoke was still in the wind, half the audience didn’t show up, and the cast gave their all and blew everyone away. At the end the lovely Kaitlin Hopkins gave a wonderful tearful speech about some volunteer firefighters from Dallas who had needed a break and come by to fill up the balcony the night before. They and the cast had given standing O’s to each other which were badly needed, as BAT BOY was forced to go on hiatus that night (9/23) and reopened briefly six weeks later, only to leave the Union Square for good on 12/29/01.
…all of which has nothing to do with Memphis, but shows the coolness of this musical.
Can you remind us in May? 
I’m in! I live a block from the Playhouse and have been drooling over the big BatBoy banner since they put it up this fall. Very exciting!
I might be coaxed from my shell for the event.