Playing on BroadwayHD
Watching the streaming broadcast of Bat Out of Hell The Musical feels a bit like riding a phantom bike that needs to brake now and then. Jim Steinman’s work is as bombastic as expected, even though the story is essentially a dystopian remix of Streets of Fire. That connection is no accident, since Steinman also penned the anthems for that rock and roll fable.
While the songs from Meat Loaf’s landmark 1977 album remain thunderous and mythical, this filmed stage production shows how difficult it is to build a consistent narrative around music originally written as stand-alone set pieces.
The framework, a crumbling city where eternally young rebels clash with authoritarian adults, works well enough. At heart it plays like West Side Story on high-octane rocket fuel. There is even a faint suggestion of something darker, more werewolves than vampires. The trouble is the explanation. A chemical accident granting teenagers “immortality” never quite carries the dramatic weight the concept needs.
The real draw remains the music. Numbers like “Bat Out of Hell” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” still carry immense power, provided the performers bring the same gravity Meat Loaf once commanded rather than settling for imitation. This is where my enthusiasm for the current UK touring cast, led by Glenn Adamson as Strat and Katie Tonkinson as Raven, begins to falter. Comparing this production to the Broadway cast is a matter of apples and oranges. The North American company brought a bravado this version struggles to match. Whether that has changed since this performance was recorded is something that likely needs to be judged in person.
Visually, the sets lean heavily into noir. A ruined urban playground of scaffolding and digital projections suggests a world shaped by a billionaire real estate tycoon before he pivoted to the presidency. It is easy to imagine this dystopian “Obsidian” as the aftermath of that meddling and those conspiracies. Yet the staging often works against the atmosphere. The frequent use of handheld microphones during intimate numbers like “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” and “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” creates a literal barrier between the couples. It becomes difficult to sell any chemistry when a bulky prop sits between them.
The musical struggles most when stitching together Steinman’s wider catalogue. Nearly every track is a classic, but they were never meant to form a single narrative. The result can feel uneven. The “fine-tuning” of the plot in this version, including changes to characters’ fates, will stand out to anyone who saw the original North American run. Should this version ever come to Seattle, I will be there like, well, a bat out of hell.
Ultimately, theatre-goers are here for a highlight reel of this composer’s legendary career. The show wisely leans into that strength. It was never meant to belong solely to Meat Loaf. The story is Steinman’s through and through, pulling from all three Bat albums and beyond. Whether that fragmented approach works for you depends entirely on your tolerance for this patchwork design. After all, that’s just how rock and roll dreams come through.
3 Stars out of 5
Bat Out of Hell The Musical Trailer (BroadwayHD)
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