“Sweet wounded Jesus!” Through powerful vocals and grounding live music, the emotion and tension emanating from the stage practically shook the ground beneath the audience. The performance heartwrenchingly demonstrated the corruptive effects of societal judgement and expectations and revealed that there may not be a true villain to any story, that there’s only another complex character deemed “different” and ostracised.

Bat Boy: The Musical, written by Brian Flemming and Keythe Farley and directed by Linette J. Smith, follows the journey of a half-bat half-boy outcast as he learns to fit into the pious and constrictive world of Hope Falls, West Virginia. In Hope Falls, he attempts to appeal to the townsfolk by explaining his true identity; however, their predetermined ideologies of his monstrous character bleed into his heart, eventually pushing the performance to a heartbreaking end.

The lighting acted as an anchor by indicating the emotional shifts and continuously connected the audience with the passionate drama of each scene. The accents, costumes, and the physical and emotional presence of every character on the stage pulled the audience into Bat Boy’s world and held it there, transfixed. In particular, the vocals and dance choreography of Jordan Melnyk as Meredith Parker elegantly portrayed the character’s complex arc and communicated to the audience that there is more than one side to Meredith’s story.

Finally, the witty lyrics paired with live music set the scene flawlessly.The insightful characterization, dance choreography, and intentional stage positioning of each character and prop illuminated the sense of chaos when trust in humanity in the face of the status quo begins to falter. A final twist shattered the hearts of every audience member and asked an important question: if society can turn innocence into a monster, who is the real villain of the story?