Venue:
The Coliseum, London
Date: 03/11/2016
When you consider the less promising material which has already been turned into juke box musicals, it’s surprising that it has taken so long for Bat Out of Hell and the rest of the Jim Steinman/Meat Loaf catalogue to make the transition. Bat developed out of an intended stage show, but only now, 40 years later, is it to become the full rock and roll spectacular that it was always meant to be. Perhaps the time was just never right while Meat was still touring, but it is well documented that he has struggled with performing in recent years, and there’s no shame in that – he’s poking 70 with a very short stick and these are demanding, lung-busting tunes.
If you are one of those joyless individuals who can honestly claim that they never strummed a tennis racquet to Paradise by the Dashboard Light or imitated the revving motorbike in Bat Out of Hell you may as well stop reading now. Taking big, overblown rock songs and transferring them to the stage isn’t going to change your mind. The plot aims to do full justice to to a project which rarely allowed itself to be turned down lower than 11 on record:
‘Join the eternally young Strat and his wild gang, The Lost, as they roam the streets of Obsidian, a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, ruled by the wicked and tyrannical Falco. When Strat first sets eyes on Falco’s daughter, Raven, who has been locked away in the palace towers, he sets out to rescue her from her evil father’s clutches in a full throttle tale of teenage love, youthful rebellion and living the rock and roll dream.’
See? The hero is called ‘Strat’. If you don’t buy into the Bat mythology already then there’s nothing for you here.
Thursday’s launch in London involved the bottom end of St Martin’s Lane outside the Coliseum being blocked off by a stage on the back of a lorry and sets of crowd barriers, lined by dozens of Harleys. Following speeches by the producer and a loudly applauded Meat we got a brief sample of the the show from the cast with run throughs of Bat Out of Hell, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad (turned into a duet), Love and Death and an American Guitar and Deadringer for Love. A brief reprise of Bat and they were gone, leaving those of us with the right wristband (cheers to @bargepole for mine, and his contact from whom I sweet-talked a plus one for The Light) to go and schmooze at the drinks reception up the road.
This brief excerpt gave little idea of how the staging will work, but I can guarantee big spectacle, big tunes, lots of dramatic gestures (I think every song included at least one case of standing on the edge of the stage with one outstretched arm), and terrific singers. I loved every minute of it and if you have read this far it is a fair bet that you, like me, are a fan, or at least were somewhere over the last 40 years. If you’re treating yourselves to a night out in London’s glittering West End then I would make Bat the first place to look for tickets.
Tickets for preview shows in Manchester from February are on sale now from http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/bat-out-of-hell/opera-house-manchester/
Tickets for the London run at the Coliseum from June are on sale now here http://www.seetickets.com/tour/bat-out-of-hell?gclid=CLDl7YGAktACFRNmGwodHpoFYw
The audience:
On Thursday there were invitees, curious passers by, and a number of very large men whose motorbikes you wouldn’t want to damage. I predict a paying audience of anyone who enjoys a good rock and roll, bellowing singalong evening out.
It made me think..
Some records just don’t get old, and some even go on to have an afterlife when the original performers move on.
Gatz says
Vincent says
Sounds as good as “we will rock you”. Whatever you think about trad rock, you have to admit it’s more fun than Tracy Chapman.
dai says
Meat Loaf is in it? Can he sing any more? I fear this may be a few years late for the whole shebang
Gatz says
He didn’t sing on Thursday; the picture is of him addressing the crowd and firmly instructing us to ‘keep rocking’. We bellowed our assurances that we would do our best. The cast members who did sing well all young (the band a bit more grizzled), and the second picture is Strat gazing into the eyes of Raven.
Bargepole says
Sounds great – some albums are just timeless!
Gatz says
An official clip from Thursday (and there’s another preview in Manchester tomorrow if you’re in the area)
John Walters says
My wife loves Meatloaf and “Bat Out Of Hell”.
The always difficult decision as to what to buy her for a Christmas present for her has now been solved.