Let there be blood. Not blood represented in scarlet scarves pulled from a jugular like a macabre magic trick, but thick and tacky liquid lifeforce spilled across the stage splattering the audience with its faint metallic scent. Bat Boy: The Musical can be the production to do it. Perhaps it even should be that production. Thirsty theatergoers (like me) who congregate in Cal Poly Humboldt’s Van Duzer Theatre like Romans to witness the carnage of the Coliseum won’t be disappointed. With a smattering of songs amid murder and vengeance, this show questions who the real monsters of our society are while spilling its DNA.
The Bat Boy (Peter Nielsen) is found in a cave by spelunking Rick (Joseph Carter), Ron (Simon Finley) and Ruthie (Hayden Hilscher) Taylor. The latter is bitten. Bat Boy is taken into custody by Sheriff Reynolds (Caleb Pierce) and subsequently embraced by Meridith (Penny DellaPelle) and Shelley (Lily Pinz) Parker in hopes that Dr. Thomas Parker (Rylan McClain) will know what to do. Under the family’s influence, the boy learns what it takes to be “human” while townsfolk (Savannah Rivers, Alex Dwyer, Tiara Taylor, Elliot Merten-Badmi, Rowland Knowlton-Asch, Noaj-Charlie Regan and Aspen Benz) question whether he is to blame for an onslaught of cow deaths. Some blood meals, questionable family dynamics, a star-crossed love affair, insidious murder, a church revival and a visit by Pan themself cap off the plot.
Director Michael Fields’ production incorporates the tagline “messy theater for messy times.” If that is the goal, it is accomplished well with his jumbling of styles. At times it is soap opera, grand guignol, melodrama, horror, comedy, fantasy, realism, absurdist and sci-fi, lacking full commitment to any while trying to meld all. Still, it is charming with beautiful choral pieces aided by the precision of Elisabeth Harrington and spirited actors simply enjoying the stage.
DellaPelle is a master at rooting her character in believability while raising the stakes to levels that affect not only her physicality but the fight for her objectives. It is a professional level of performance. Flanked by McClain, who has a glorious melodic and mesmerizing singing voice, the pair drive the show well. Finding the chemistry in their characters’ lack of chemistry could help propel it — codependence relies just as much on the pull as it does the push. Nielsen successfully starts the show with the energy needed to establish his feral character but may be thwarted in later scenes by a baffling lack of physicality and movement from the Dell’Artian director. While the essential juxtaposition of his domesticated and untamed nature is underwhelming, the same cannot be said about his command of space and charm; it’s beautiful. Linz’s performance is equally beautiful with the same critique; her Team Rick and Team Edgar could have more struggle and perhaps lead to a smoother character arc. Other standouts are Rivers, with amazing comic timing and a powerful voice, Taylor, who despite unfortunate blocking choices that tried to obscure, fought to make themselves present, and Regan, who can not only make a joyful noise but entice the audience to want to make one also.
The lighting (Spike Foster) scenic and costume (Lynnie Horrigan) designs are all perfectly unremarkable. They certainly fit the show and work. Perhaps they could have been pushed further, but with the inconsistency in direction, odd blocking that obfuscated important lines, zero choreography save for jazz hands and weird sight lines, doing so may have resulted in further muddying the storytelling. Special praises go to Tatum Emerson for hair and makeup design as bald caps under unrelenting theater lights are tough. Nice job.
Everyone will get what they need from this production. From laughter to bewilderment, from sing-along and drama. And oh yes, there will be blood. Give it a chance.
Cal Poly Humboldt School of Dance, Music and Theatre’s production of Bat Boy: The Musical continues at John Van Duzer Theatre on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m. Visit tickets.humboldt.edu/dance-music-and-theatre or call (707) 826-3566. l
Tiggerbouncer Custodio (he/she/they) is an empowered queer Indigenous Filipino artist whose works have been seen on Humboldt stages and elsewhere.
This article appears in Taco Week 2026.