Bat out of Hell is a new-ish musical based on the music of Meat Loaf. The music is great, with a slightly unusual but fun storyline. Here’s my Bat out of Hell Theatre Review.
Overview of Bat out of Hell
Bat out of Hell is a musical based on the music of Meat Loaf. It’s a relatively new musical, but has won awards and had really good reviews since it came out. My Bat out of Hell theatre review is definitely going to add to the many positive reviews out there. But I can see that this show may not be for everyone. So keep reading to find out if it’s for you!
Bat out of Hell has a slightly complex plot. I’ll try not to give too many spoilers, but I think it’s useful to have an overall knowledge of the plot before going. That way, you can focus on enjoying the musical without having to focus too much on trying to understand what’s going on!
Bat out of Hell is set in a future New York. There’s a group of people called the ‘Lost’, who are the outcast-type people. The main character here is a boy called Strat. The ‘Lost’ are all frozen in time, meaning they’re all 18 forever and won’t ever age. There’s a Peter Pan element to the plot – these are like the Lost Boys in the Peter Pan story.
Then there’s a girl called Raven, who’s the daughter of one of the men trying to redevelop the city. Raven and Strat meet, and what follows is a sort of Romeo and Juliet storyline. Strat and Raven are in love, but her family forbids the match and try to cause issues. Their love story, and some other dramas in the plot, are all played out to an amazing soundtrack of rock music.
What I liked about Bat Out of Hell
I loved the music in this show. It was loud and dramatic, and the bass beats filled up the theatre, and you could feel the beat inside you. I just loved immersing myself in the music. There’s something about music like that, that really just makes me feel alive.
I also enjoyed the storyline. While there were elements that seemed a bit weird and overcomplicated (more about that later), I still enjoyed it. I really liked that this musical had an original storyline, and wasn’t just following the story of Meat Loaf’s life. I’ve seen a few other musicals recently that have just followed the story of that person’s claim to fame – such as The Cher Show, Beautiful (The Carole King Musical) and even Jersey Boys. While I enjoyed these musicals, I just couldn’t get super excited about the plot. The plots of these all seemed fairly similar – a struggling artist with big dreams, they fall in love, make it big, then face some issues. It often just feels a bit too much of the same, even if the music is great.
In contrast to those musicals, Bat out of Hell has a really original plot. It’s a bit more like Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You, in that it uses the music of a famous artist but makes its own story about it. I much prefer musicals that do this. So I really liked the original storyline of Bat out of Hell, while still using famous and amazing music.
I also really enjoyed the staging of the show. The motorbike was really cool. And they also did a really cool thing where they recorded some of the action on the stage on a camera, and then live streamed it onto a big screen. I thought that was really clever, and worked well when they did that for Raven’s part of the story.
What I wasn’t so sure about
I really liked the original storyline of Bat out of Hell, so my Bat out of Hell theatre review is really positive. But I can see that some people might not be so keen. The plot was a bit complicated and not overly clear. I’m the type of person who likes to read the plot of a musical on Wikipedia before going, so I know what to expect and can just focus on enjoying the music rather than trying to figure out the plot. And I’m so glad I did that. I would have been really lost without knowing the basics of the plot before going.
I overheard some audience conversations in the interval where people were saying they didn’t understand what was going on. The plot wasn’t overly clear from the performance. Some elements, such as ‘The Lost’ not aging and its links to Peter Pan weren’t at all clear. If you didn’t know what to be looking out for that, I’m not sure you would have understood it. I think they could have made the plot a bit clearer and more simple – especially as it is a slightly unusual plot.
I also felt like they were trying to put too many components into the plot so some things got lost. The originality of the plot was good, although at times it did feel a little bit similar to the plot of We Will Rock You. But I think something just a bit simpler and better explained would have made it a lot more enjoyable to the whole audience.
Would I recommend Bat out of Hell
I would definitely recommend going to see Bat out of Hell. However, I would also strongly recommend reading a bit about the plot before you go. I was so glad I’d read the plot before going, as it meant I could just enjoy the show. I loved the staging and the music and the originality of the plot. So for me, it was a great musical to go to see.