Take a bite out of SLAC's production of the rock opera "Bat Boy," based on the stories from the Weekly World News. Danunu danununu! Bat Boy!

here are plenty of surprises in store for the audience of “Bat Boy,” a rock opera based on a series of tabloid articles in the infamous Weekly World News.

This story of a vampiric would-be socialite seeking his place at the table in the smallest of small towns is a tale of much salivation and little salvation. The most delicious surprise “Bat Boy” and Salt Lake Acting Company’s current production of the play, running until Dec. 28, serve up is a true, albeit twisted, poignancy.

Its juicy plot dripping with enough scandal to pay homage to its tabloid origins, “Bat Boy” is your primal “Man or Monster?” tale told to a rock beat by a superb cast with ears tuned precisely to the fevered pitch of ultra-camp dramedy.

And yet, somewhere in the midst of the overblown insanity, the gleeful ridiculousness of it all, for me a tender chord resounded. Bat Boy can’t help himself. Sure, he drinks blood, but he craves love as well!

In the spirit of the season and the play’s most catchy song, I implore you, dear readers, love your Bat Boy!

I know what you’re thinking. Maybe your family only goes to the theater once a year, during the holidays. Live theatre is so quaintly adorable that of course you want something heartwarming, preferably Victorian, with lisping children, a moral, the works. But there is no need to submit yourself to the sentimental drivel of some Dickensian production this holiday season.

The story of Bat Boy is as much a classic tale as that of Ebeneezer Scrooge, perhaps more so. It is a hodgepodge composed of timeless themes handed down from ancient Greek drama, gothic novels and comic books. With all these threads, you’ll find a moral in there somewhere. And you’ll hear a truly rockin’ score to boot.

Behind the cult success of “Bat Boy” are co-authors Keythe Farley, who has, appropriately enough, written for the Independent Spirit Awards as well as for the cartoon “Rugrats,” and Brian Flemming, whose mockumentary about the assassination of Bill Gates, “Nothing So Strange,” explains his popularity with the South by Southwest crowd.

Farley and Flemming have deviated significantly from the biography of the human/bat hybrid found in a cave in 1992 and recently escaped from a research institution “with razor sharp teeth and the strength of an ape,” as the Weekly World News reported. For one thing, they have left out of their version his relationship with Jenna Bush.

While Flemming admits to such glaring inaccuracies in the musical version of “Bat Boy,” he feels that he has remained “true to the idea of ‘Bat Boy.’”

This idea seems to have sweeping appeal. Flemming himself was drawn to it by the surreal image of Bat Boy’s face, which graced checkout lines across the nation throughout the ’90s. “I think his face is one of the most compelling images in popular culture,” he says.

Much of the appeal of “Bat Boy” is that rather than relying on its infinite supply of shock value, it self-consciously showcases a superb ability to take American cultural clichés to their logical extremes. In other words, the show is snort-your-drink-out-your-nose hilarious.

A sort of Midwestern Frankenstein meets “My Fair Lady,” “Bat Boy” more than holds its own as a musical, with wit to spare courtesy of its score by Laurence O’Keefe.

The cast of SLAC’s winningly twisted production adds a surprising amount of dimension to characters, who by most accounts really shouldn’t have any at all. Robert Scott Smith captivates as the hostage-come-martyr Bat Boy—who, after all, may or may not be easy to love.

“Bat Boy” will be presented through Dec. 28 at the Salt Lake Acting Company (168 W. 500 North). Cabaret-style seating is available and food and drinks will be allowed in the theater. Tickets can be purchased at 355-SLAC. For all your “Bat Boy” information needs, visit www.saltlakeactingcompany.org.
rachael@red-mag.com