Freak Show: 'Bat Boy: The Musical'

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WHEN THE WEEKLY WORLD NEWS mysteriously closed its doors in August, few people in D.C. felt the loss as acutely as Melissa Baughman. She had just begun work as director of the Landless Theatre production of "Bat Boy: The Musical," based on one of the tabloid's recurring characters.

"It's brilliant comedic journalism, and I was really sad to see them go," says Baughman, a veteran of offbeat productions including "Night of the Living Dead" and "Godzilla." "I felt like doing this show was definitely paying respect to them."

Bat Boy first appeared in the Weekly World News in June 1992, and over the years, his travails have become the stuff of cult legend. He took cops on a three-state car chase (driving a sporty Mini Cooper, of course), led U.S. troops to Saddam Hussein's underground lair and even ran for governor of California.

Although his adventures have now come to an end, Bat Boy lives on in his namesake musical, which was written in 2000 by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, with a score by Laurence O'Keefe.

Combining a B-movie plot with campy rock-opera music, the musical, which has developed a sizable cult audience, has spurred a trend in productions based on such source material as cheesy drive-in fare ("Manos: Hands of Fate") and lighthearted porn flicks ("Debbie Does Dallas," which Landless is staging next year).

"We specialize in doing what people call lowbrow theater," says Baughman. Landless' original productions include "Frosty the Abominable Snowman" and "Carrie Potter and the Half-Blood Prom," so "Bat Boy" fits within the company's repertoire. In fact, "it seemed upscale for us," Baughman jokes, noting that the production has allowed the cast to do improv and play multiple roles, even changing costumes on stage.

Playing the demanding lead role of half wild bat, half confused teen is Matt Macis, a young actor with an impressive dramatic and vocal range as well as a dynamic physicality. "He springs around the stage and barely makes a footfall," says Baughman. "He makes Bat Boy very animal that way."

The role did demand some sacrifices from the young thespian. Macis auditioned with long hair, but offered to shave it to better fit the bald Bat Boy of the Weekly World News images. "He was really willing to commit," Baughman says.

As Bat Boy tries to find a place outside his cave in the human world, the musical explores some serious themes of conformity and acceptance, which are all the more potent for their campy veneer.

"As humans, we're so influenced to keep at bay primitive ideas or primitive impulses," Baughman explains. "We have rules, but after a while that explodes." It's something the Weekly World News hinted at and this production of Bat Boy picks up on. "Humans need to understand that we're animals, too."

» D.C. Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW; through Oct. 13, $18. (Woodley Park)

Written by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner

Photos by Chris Combs/Express