A musical with legendary 70s–80s music and a troubled history of success in the United States made its way back to New York this season (and I’m not talking about Chess). Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell: The Musical is based on the titular Meat Loaf album and a futuristic rendition of Peter Pan set in post-apocalyptic New York City, and after several years of wild success in the U.K. and an Australian arena tour, the show made its way back to New York in its new North American tour this Spring.
Fans of the show might remember a limited engagement at the New York City Center in 2019, plans for two canceled national tours during the pandemic, and a brief stint of a condensed production in Las Vegas. However, the rock n’ roll love story never quite took off in the United States the way it did abroad, despite its namesake album being one of the most popular rock albums of the late 70s (and Meat Loaf being a true American pop culture legend).
I initially learned about the show from some college friends, all of whom were genuinely obsessed with the production. I was familiar with the music; my dad had actually seen Meat Loaf live on a work trip when I was in high school, and I was the lucky recipient of the “I saw Meat Loaf in Las Vegas” t-shirt he caught out of the cannon. I had tickets to the Las Vegas production, but the run was canceled before my trip. So, when I saw an ad for the North American tour stopping at The Town Hall in Midtown Manhattan, I jumped at the chance to buy tickets. Thankfully, I won the Ticketmaster war for front-row mezzanine seats on the aisle, within my budget.
While I was eager to see the show that long topped my unlikely-to-actually-see-wish-list, I clearly was not alone. The audience was brimming with dedicated Meat Loaf fans, many of whom were dressed in memorabilia from the original album and its subsequent concerts. And while the legendary music certainly has strong appeal, I almost felt the producers underestimated the audience’s interest and put their focus solely on vocal performance.
The show’s casting was undeniably its greatest strength. Each of the performers could sing the hell out of the show’s demanding numbers (pun intended). Tori Kocher is a standout as Sloane, commanding the stage in Paradise by the Dashboard Light and It’s All Coming Back To Me Now with knockout vocals and an endearing comedic edge. Tamara Denecia Daly and Kris Bona received no shortage of cheers and praise as Zahara and Jagwire in Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, a fan favorite number.
The music and choreography were all but bursting out of the theatre, their explosive energy only fueled by the audience’s excitement. But the stronger the cast and band shone, the more disappointing the scenic design became. Original productions of the show were truly megamusicals, with an elaborate, multi-story set, and one early production even “crashed” the car from Paradise by the Dashboard Light into the orchestra pit. This tour, in contrast, left a lot to the imagination — literally. The set was more bare bones than some high school productions, and there wasn’t even a motorcycle in Bat Out Of Hell. Travis Cormier and Carly Burns gave a strong vocal and acting performance as Strat and Raven, even without the critical prop for the number. Still, for those unfamiliar with the show, it was extremely confusing to see the lead start bleeding towards the end for seemingly no reason. At intermission, it wasn’t rare to overhear fans explaining to their novice peers that he was supposed to have crashed on his bike, mirroring the lyrics. The staging retains an onstage videographer for scenes set in the tower, and while it adds an aesthetic element, it doesn’t make as much sense given the space’s small size. It also isn’t as ahead of its time as it was when the show debuted nearly a decade ago, and feels lackluster following the recent Sunset BLVD revival’s cinematography.
Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical is hard-coded to be an 80s-style mega-musical, and one of the few shows that performs better in a giant house. However, this scaled-back North American tour is still worth seeing for its powerhouse performers, especially if you’re a fan of any of Meat Loaf’s catalog and want to see Jim Steinman’s most famous work come to life as intended, live on stage.
I now have a national tour shirt to match my original Meat Loaf tee, but I’m hoping to add a permanent residency design to my collection after the show (hopefully) gains the traction it deserves on the road. In the meantime, you’ll still find me blasting the original cast album on the train.
