London Coliseum 20 June – 22 August – Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Loud and gloriously OTT, this is one hell of a musical. Featuring classic songs from Meatloaf’s Bat Out Of Hell albums, this isn’t just a jukebox musical. The songs on the original album were all from Jim Steinman’s rock musical based on Peter Pan, and now 40 years on, Bat Out Of Hell comes to the stage as a fully formed and furiously entertaining show.
In 2100, Manhattan (Obsidian) has been shorn from the USA and is ruled by billionaire, and Commander-in-Chief, Falco. He lives in a tower with his name plastered over it in huge letters, has ostentatious taste in interior design, but doesn’t appear to be on Twitter. Falco’s plans for improving Obsidian are constantly thwarted by the Lost, a gang of teenagers who never age (the cause of their mutation and a little flavour of Obsidian is revealed in a copy of The Obsidian Times, placed on each seat and well worth a read before the show starts). Falco’s daughter, Raven, falls in love with the leader of the Lost, Strat, but Falco will stop at nothing to keep his daughter safely locked in his tower.
Plot wise then, nothing original, but a brilliantly cheesy and knowing riff on Romeo and Juliet meets Peter Pan (I would have been perfectly willing to clap on cue to revive poor Tink) that at times feels like Glee does Escape From New York. It’s hysterically melodramatic and daft, but that’s what makes it SO GOOD. Steinman’s songs are weaved into the story and his very cliched book feels like an extension of some of the overly dramatic lyrics. These characters only seem to show their true emotions through song – and that’s just fine with me. I never thought I’d be welling up at Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are, but Patrick Sullivan, Giovanni Spanó and Dom Hartley-Harris are heart-breaking as the Lost sing about their past. Hartley-Harris and smoky voiced Danielle Steers are a fantastic double act as Jagwire and Zahara, with storming versions of Dead Ringer for Love and Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad. Rob Fowler as Falco and Sharon Sexton as his wife Sloane have incredible chemistry and provide most of the laughs. Christina Bennington is amazing as Raven, switching between full belt and pure simple notes in a heartbeat, and Andrew Polec as Strat is just phenomenal. Polec has the stage presence of a seasoned rock frontman, and how that tiny frame can produce such a huge voice is a mystery.
Every song is a joy, with the entire cast providing impeccable vocals, and the staging of Bat Out Of Hell and I Would Do Anything For Love as act finales was superb. Emma Portner’s quirky choreography might not be to everyone’s taste, but the routine to Paradise By the Dashboard Light is inspired lunacy, in fact that whole number is one of the best things I’ve seen on stage for a long time, with Fowler and Sexton almost bringing the house down as they writhed on the car. And what happens to the car is genius.
The set is dystopian, with banks of TV screens, tunnel mouths and industrial looking buildings. The lighting is wonderfully evocative, reminiscent of familiar rock videos and, at one point, The Adventure Game (I’m probably showing my age here, but we were hoping someone would wheel on an aspidistra). All the elements of this show fit together perfectly, creating an unmissable production that you will want to see again and again.