EMPIRE THEATRE, LIVERPOOL – UNTIL SATURDAY 15TH OCTOBER 2022
REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN
4****
Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell The Musical, literally roared into Liverpool last night, lining the street in front of the Empire Theatre with a parade of motorbikes, similar to the one featured on the front of the 1977 Bat out of Hell album. It was a wonderful tribute to not only the late, great Meat Loaf and talented composer Steinman but also set the scene for what was to be a memorable evening.
Bat Out Of Hell is a rock musical with music, lyrics and book by Steinman, based on the Bat Out Of Hell album by Meat Loaf. Steinman wrote all the songs, most of which are from the Bat Out of Hell trilogy albums. The musical premiered at the Opera House in Manchester in February 2017 and originally starred Rob Fowler (Mamma Mia, CATS, The Buddy Holly Story) as Falco and Sharon Sexton (Mamma Mia, Billy Elliot The Musical, Anything Goes) as Sloane, who performed in last night’s production.
The musical is a loose retelling of Peter Pan and follows Strat, performed by Glenn Adamson, the leader of ‘The Lost’, a group of rebellious teenagers who will forever remain 18, living underground in a dystopian setting. Strat has fallen in love with Raven, performed by Martha Kirby, daughter of Falco, the tyrannical ruler of Obsidian. This romance causes upset amongst ‘The Lost’ and Tink, performed by Killian Thomas Lefevre, seeks the same revenge as Raven’s father, Falco.
Bat Out Of Hell was always meant to be a musical and takes Steinman and Meat Loaf’s greatest hits and turns them into an exciting musical experience. All rock fans are familiar with the songs and Bat out of Hell has sold over 40 million copies, it reached its highest position in the USA Billboard chart earlier this year after Meat Loaf, Michael Lee Aday, passed away.
The cast is wondrously talented and the music sounds extremely good, giving the audience the chance to hear the songs they love, performed spectacularly. No surprise this musical has a worldwide fan base. The set design is impressive, Obsidian is brought to life, with Falco Towers standing out against the desolate and black background.
The musical ended with the audience in a standing ovation. A touching moment was when actor Rob Fowler encouraged the audience to take out their phones to record the last musical number and share it on social media, he stated that “Live theatre is back!”
Bat Out Of Hell is a ride full of adrenaline to hell and back! A must see for Meat Loaf fans!