BAT BOY: The Musical at NYCC Encores!- Page 3

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 11/2/25 at 9:04pm

The volume and mix is still not good in the balcony AT ALL.   The instruments sound canned or on a keyboard, the voices muffled, weird instrument mix at the wrong times, voices quiet below the instruments.   The design and mixer aren't good in this theater.   We wondered if the sound group had worked in this theater before.

Updated On: 11/2/25 at 09:04 PM

[halfhourcheckwithmerman]

Posted: 11/2/25 at 9:11pm

Thank you, Auggie, for a very well written and insightful commentary on this show that seems to match my thoughts on the difficulty of this material to a T. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 11/2/25 at 10:11pm

CoffeeBreak said: "The volume and mix is still not good in the balcony AT ALL. The instruments sound canned or on a keyboard, the voices muffled, weird instrument mix at the wrong times, voices quiet below the instruments. The design and mixer aren't good in this theater. We wondered if the sound group had worked in this theater before."

Agreed- this was worse than Urinetown in terms of sound mixing (esp in the group numbers), and I was in front mezzanine tonight.

What a fun time- Ive said before, Encores! for me rises and falls on the casting-- since the shows themselves are often stale, you need the magic of perfectly picked performers who fit their roles perfectly and/or are theater famous to be giving a subtle knowing wink to us about how much fun theyre having stepping into this for 2 weeks. This production is the epitome of that energy. I had fun.

Its a rough show. I read that Act 2 is better than Act 1, and while I understand why (the best songs kick off Act 2), the whole thing falls apart in a way that very unfavorably compares to Little Shop. There's a special balance to the way Seymour and Audrey are loveably pathetic but still camp. This show kicks up the camp and silliness and inappropriateness, all good, but then at the core is a truly tragic performance that breaks your heart. 

So maybe thats the fault of Taylor Trensch, who is giving TOO beautiful a performance here. There's something very vulnerable and eager about his singing that works perfectly here, and its such a physical, dedicated (im guessing award-worthy...) performance--which then undercuts the silliness going on around him. Hes matched by Kerry Butler, who has the audience on her side from the second she steps on stage, and manages to thread the weight of the story with the kookiness of the circumstances she finds herself in. She nails Three Bedroom House specifically but after shining in relatively thankless and usually supporting roles (Heathers, Beetlejuice, Mean Girls) to see her step into such a great spotlight was a real treat.

Sieber is perfect, too, and Alex Newell, again, perfectly cast to show up, be a diva for 4 minutes, bring down the house, and sashay off. Marissa Winokur makes some moments out of nothing, and big kudos to Jacob Ming Trent who I have seen do wonders with the spoken word but dont remember ever hearing him sing so comedically like that. 

The Sunday night performance is always a lot of working theater actors, and very appreciative, so it was full and loud tonight. Definitely one of the better Encores! shows I have seen in a long while. 

[Elisheba Rachel]

Posted: 11/2/25 at 10:18pm

I didn’t care for this at all.  The first major problem is that it’s boring as hell.  I saw a community theater production of this a year ago in a small makeshift “theater” and it worked perfectly as an amateur production with amateur actors.  That in and of itself works better for a show like Bat Boy.  City Center is just too big and grand and this production feels too polished and produced.  I also didn’t get much satire.  Again, the production I saw last year played the townspeople as MAGA afraid of the outsider.  Here, not only is all of that lost, I actually felt like they were the reasonable ones given the fact that they believe Bat Boy is killing people.  Bat Boy is not human enough or sweet enough, Christopher Sieber is not villainous enough.  Kerry Butler is also uninspired in the role, and I’d argue miscast.  I wish she played it straight and sincere and let the laughs come from the absurdity of it all.  I don’t buy her as an unhappy housewife because she’s too righteous and comes across as a political activist.  This whole thing was one big miss for me.  

Updated On: 11/2/25 at 10:18 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/3/25 at 8:12am

I went in last night primarily blind to the musical as a whole, and so I had no comparison point. Honestly, I had an absolute blast.

This show has everything: Chris Sieber inseminating a cow, Alex Newell’s hit it and quit it cameo, Kerry Butler playing a mom despite never aging in over 20 years, and Marissa Jaret Winokur’s boobs boxing each other for freedom in a leopard print shirt. Also, I’m not Taylor Trensch’s biggest fan (every show I’ve seen him in, he has this face where he looks like to just took a whiff of someone’s gas), but this might be one of the greatest physical performances I have seen all year. 

I feel compelled to go back

[Elisheba Rachel]

Posted: 11/3/25 at 8:26am

A blast?? I hardly ever laughed.  The whole thing is one big bore, I think one of bat boys ears fell off in the beginning, did anyone see that?  I was mostly disappointed in Kerry Butler, does she always have to play everything like a caricature?  Meredith and bat boy are supposed to be the heart of the show and all I got was melodrama the whole way through.  
 

why would they choose this for their gala anyway, they should have made La Cage the gala and Bat Boy in the encores.  They were like, we’ll do Bat Boy for Halloween and La Cage for pride. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/3/25 at 8:32am

Cool. 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 11/3/25 at 8:59am

Elisheba Rachel said: "A blast?? I hardly ever laughed. The whole thing is one big bore, I think one of bat boys ears fell off in the beginning, did anyone see that? I was mostly disappointed in Kerry Butler, does she always have to play everything like a caricature? Meredith and bat boyare supposed to be the heart of the show and all I got was melodrama the whole way through.


why would they choose this for their gala anyway, they should have made La Cage the gala and Bat Boy in the encores. They were like, we’ll do Bat Boy for Halloween and La Cage for pride."

It is possible for someone to have a blast and for you not to because art is subjective. I hope that helps! 

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/3/25 at 10:11am

1) Are they seriously looking for pathos in…*checks notes*…Bat Boy: The Musical? That’s like looking for a pair of flip flops in Kinky Boots

2) I’m aware that the BroadwayFlash troll has returned under their 14th alias (based on my blocked list count)

[inception]

Posted: 11/3/25 at 12:16pm

Oh it's BwyFlash again.  Now this makes sense. Sort of like trying to reason with a meth head

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 11/3/25 at 7:16pm

Elisheba Rachel said: "I didn’t care for this at all. The first major problem is that it’s boring as hell. I saw a community theater production of this a year ago in a small makeshift“theater” and it worked perfectly as an amateur production with amateur actors. That in and of itself works better for a show like Bat Boy.City Center is just too big and grand and this production feels too polished and produced. I also didn’t get much satire. Again, the production I saw last year played the townspeople as MAGA afraid of the outsider. Here, not only is all of that lost, Iactually felt like they were the reasonable ones given the fact that they believe Bat Boy is killing people. Bat Boy is not human enough or sweet enough, Christopher Sieber is not villainous enough. Kerry Butler is also uninspired in the role, and I’d argue miscast. I wish she played it straight and sincere and let the laughs come from the absurdity of it all. I don’t buy her as an unhappy housewife because she’s too righteous and comes across as a political activist. This whole thing was one big miss for me. "

You joined a couple of weeks ago just to trash Bat Boy????

What’s the opposite of a shill?

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/4/25 at 8:19am

Bat Boy is a tabloid feature brought to life with catchy tunes. The Little Shop comparison is apt because this plays like a musical version of a Roger Corman B-movie of the 50s/60s. 

I will say I've seen it with the roles split like this cast and with the parts all doubled except the core family and I think the doubling lends itself better to the material. It's part of the camp. Oh, Mrs. Taylor is now the Reverend? Delightful. It shows how unserious the show is on a surface level that lets the total descent into trashy madness feel real to that world.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/4/25 at 10:21am

Two days later, I can't shake "Mine, All Mine," and have added it to playlists (that London cast recording is stellar). It's fascinating to see a good song "Inside Your Heart" replaced by a more active and theatrical one, a rare occasion when both songs cover the same ground but the second improves the moment via craft - more happens in real time before the audience in "Mine, All Mine." The second act's late highlights, "Three Bedroom House" and "Mine All Mine" together demonstrate why this songwriter is so skilled. We can debate whether this material fully succeeds, but O'Keefe is a helluva theater artist, who knows how to musicalize a story. 

Updated On: 11/4/25 at 10:21 AM

[Up In One]

Posted: 11/4/25 at 11:13am

One of the major issues with the Encores production of Bat Boy mirrors the 2003 Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors which didn’t last a year and starred Kerry Butler who replaced the internet cancelled Alice Ripley before opening. In both cases a lot of what made the original Off Broadway shows electric, their audacity, their scrappy invention, their fearless camp, was lost once they were inflated to fit a larger stage.

By enlarging the chorus, set, and orchestrations (which were largely wasted due to poor sound design) the show loses half its charm. What was once an unpolitic, over the top, low budget camp fest with real heart has become a bland, watered down, politically sensitive production trying to appeal to a lower common denominator.

There’s video of the original Off Broadway Bat Boy where you can see that its literally bat ****, brilliantly staged on a small set with a cast having the time of their lives pushing everything to the edge of stupid hilarity. It gleefully mocked musical theater conventions, taking standard song types and injecting them with a kind of rabid energy.

This Encores version seems intent on taking things down a considerable notch and normalizing the show. It’s still campy but rarely as dynamic. The original had a madcap ensemble of seven, playing two or three characters each, with a running gag about their cows that paid off hilariously. Now we have a large chorus maneuvering a bland purposeless set, stripped of personality and precision and no cow punch line. As an example, there is now the thankless role of Mrs Taylor played by Marissa Jaret Winoker which was originally a triple role played by an ensemble member that included the Rev Hightower who sings the second act gospel opener.

Even characterizations have softened. The father vet, once a deranged psychosexual presence from the first scene, has become a mild mannered Ernest Menville type whose dysfunction is revealed far too late. And Bat Boy himself, originally played by a muscular, testosterone charged actor who felt like he could snap into feral danger at any moment, is now portrayed as a quieter, more passive victim with occasional anger.

If anything, Bat Boy should follow Little Shop’s example and return to its Off Broadway roots. Watching the Encores audience respond so warmly to this tamed version makes me wonder how they’d react to the original, pure, anarchic, hilarious chaos. Are shows like Titanique and Ginger Twinsies too niche, or are we underestimating the appetite for that kind of fearless camp energy?

Updated On: 11/4/25 at 11:13 AM

[getatme]

Posted: 11/4/25 at 11:53am

Saw this over the weekend and thought it was top to bottom just delightful. Certainly one of the best things I've seen at Encores.

The show is odd, but the score is excellent and the cast is all on the exact same page when it comes to the tone and energy so it moves at a brisk pace.

Much has been said about Kerry Butler, and I echo all of it. She has never been better. Voice fits the score like a glove, she is bizarre and hysterical and heartfelt all at once. 

Trensch has been directed, I think rather smartly, to play the role earnestly with the rest of the cast playing camp around him. He is the centerpiece of the show and it is a really wonderful performance. He sounds great, his physicality is incredible, and his commitment from beginning to end is admirable.

The rest of the cast matches Butler and Trensch beat for beat. Gabi Carrubba wrings laughs out of every tiny moment even when she's on the side of the stage reacting, and that voice is just exceptional. I hope this show makes NY casting directors take notice of her. Sieber is always dependable and he is no different here, wonderfully manic and deliciously insane. McGowan, Durand, Newell, all delivering exactly what is needed of them.

Why did Marissa Jaret Winokur take a role that's basically an ensemble track? Who knows? But what a treat to see her!

It feels like a full production, and it's clear they are hoping for a future life for it. And I hope this isn't the last we see of Alex Timbers's Bat Boy in NY.

[1 Minute Critic]

Posted: 11/4/25 at 3:19pm

1 MINUTE CRITIC - 4 stars

Is it weird to say that Taylor Trench, coming off a Tony-nominated performance in Floyd Collins, has landed in a role he was born to play? 

O’Keefe’s song stylings run the gamut, with fun nods to rock opera a la Jesus Christ Superstar and 70s flute-driven love ballads. The composer, who previously brought dark humor to high school with Heathers, clearly understands camp.

Scenic designer David Korins amps up the production value, and a rousing supporting cast, including Andrew Durrand (Dead Outlaw) and Alex Newell as The God Pan, helps Bat Boy take flight, even when its wacky plot threatens to strand you in a dark cave without a flashlight.

FULL REVIEW HERE

[gleek4114]

Posted: 11/5/25 at 8:42am

Has anyone gotten the $97 orchestra seats on today tix? Curious where they’ve been assigned…

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/5/25 at 9:53am

Trensch is giving a multidimensional performance and I have zero quibbles. But I do agree with the post that cited the original take’s feral ferocity. Devin May found a creeping erotic edge that made Edgar’s developing libido more dangerous and mysteriously sexy. Listen to him in “Mine, All Mine” on the London recording. His thirst for blood is so blended with his evolving sexuality the song is scary-thrilling. The show’s entire conceit - carnality can be toxic -lands. It’s something hinted at here but not fully inhabited. But a minor point.

Updated On: 11/5/25 at 09:53 AM

[tomorrowBIGLITES]

Posted: 11/5/25 at 12:12pm

This was fun!

Can’t decide if the show would be better as one act or if Act One is just a little too long and stagey? 
 

But you feel a full momentum shift in the active Act Two. Also Act Two the bizarreness of the show kicks into high gear which is a strength but it makes me wonder if the bizarreness would be a bug or a feature if this was on broadway.

Also tonally, everyone laughed at the very shocking end. I wondered, should I be more devastated? Would this insane finale play better more serious? Was it how they staged it? Tone was a question I had especially in Act Two a lot. Playing with camp is harder than straight up camp.

 

All that said it was just a load of fun with a lot of moments of inspiration. And the score is still so great (The new stuff didn’t grab me) Teeth must have studied this show closely (Teeth admittedly benefits from being consistently funnier) 

This is probably meant for Second Stage. And I love that of all the cult musicals besides Rocky Horror this feels especially culty.