鈥楤at Boy: the Musical鈥� at CSUEB91麻豆天美app Univ. Theatre through March 17
Jacob Ben-Shmuel (l), a senior at Clayton Valley Charter High School, plays Bat Boy, in a scene with CSUEB senior Catherine Williamson. (Photo: Ben Ailes)
- January 8, 2013
Was he a boy? Was he half bat?
Cal State East Bay’s Theatre and Dance Department production of “Bat Boy: The Musical,” brings the mysterious character to life for five performances over two consecutive weekends beginning March 8.
The curtain rises at 8 p.m. for the Friday and Saturday performances March 8, 9, 15, and 16. The final performance is a matinee on Sunday, March 17 that starts at 2 p.m. All shows will take place in the University Theatre on CSUEB’S Hayward Campus, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd.
Children under the age of 10 will not be admitted due to the mature content of the show.
“Bat Boy,” written by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, is a stage adaptation of the 1992 story published by The Weekly World News about a boy with bat like features. The musical premiered in 1997 at Tim Robbins' Actors Gang Theatre in Southern California and off-Broadway at the Union Square Theatre in 2001.
Marc Jacobs, the show’s director and an associate professor at CSUEB, refers to the musical as a “horror comedy,” and said it was “a cult favorite in New York, where audiences would go back to see it again and again, often laughing at jokes before the actors had a chance to say them.” The show design is based on projections with multiple bizarre images in surreal combinations, much like those in the original Weekly World News cover stories.
The cast features CSUEB musical theatre program students with community talents, including Kayla Baca, Jacob Ben-Shmuel, Matthew Busbee, Brandon Biggs, Beth Campbell, Elizabeth Curtis, Nik Dmoski, Brandon English, Chad Foster, Markius Horner, Marie Ibarra, Zachary Marshall, Yumi Nomura, Alexandra Shartzer, Tiffinee Walker, and Catherine Williamson.
Sierra Dee, CSUEB Theatre and Dance accompanist and music program alumna, provides musical direction, and Laura E. Ellis, CSUEB dance lecturer, choreographs the production.
Tickets are priced at $20 for general admission and $10 for CSUEB students. Discount tickets priced at $15 are available to alumni, military personnel, seniors 60 and older, and non-CSUEB students. Purchase tickets online at csueastbaytickets.com. The box office will take reservations by email at tickets@csueastbay.edu (requires ticket purchase at the door 30 minutes before the show). Tickets are also available at the Pioneer Bookstore and at the University Theatre box office on show nights. Campus parking costs $5 and is enforced 24/7.
More information is available online at or by calling (510) 885-3118.
CSUEB welcomes persons with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodation upon request. Please notify event sponsor in advance at (510) 885-3118, if accommodation is needed.