The award-winning Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical is set in a dystopian future, comes complete with an eight-piece live-on-stage band, and features an amazing soundtrack of legendary rock anthems from Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf, including I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), Paradise By The Dashboard Light, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, Dead Ringer For Love, and of course, Bat Out Of Hell.
In short, what’s not to like?­!

Premiering in 2017, the show presents a loose retelling of Peter Pan with a dose of Romeo & Juliet thrown in for good measure. The story - a flimsy and complicated affair - plays out in a desolate wasteland called Obsidian, which was once Manhattan. There’s a tyrannical dictator - Falco (Rob Fowler) - who is determined to redevelop the city by destroying the disused tunnels and subways which have become residential areas for the homeless community. But a group of rebellious youngsters known as The Lost, whose DNA is permanently frozen - meaning they will be 18 years of age forever - are equally determined to stop his evil plans.

Strat (Glenn Adamson), the leader of The Lost, meets and falls in love with Raven (Katie Tonkinson), Falco’s beautiful and overprotected daughter. Falco and his wife, Sloane (Sharon Sexton), forbid the relationship, but to no avail. An interesting subplot sees Falco and Sloane rediscover their own love whilst navigating the tricky business of parenting their teenage daughter, trying their level best to keep her safe from a doomed love affair with Strat, who will remain young forever, even as Raven ages...

This is a well-staged show boasting a talented cast (their clear and powerful vocals were more than a match for the hugely demanding songs), great choreography (there are some truly fabulous dance sequences), a multi-level set and a clever use of props (including the quirky use of a live camera feed, projected on screen to create a visual feast for the audience).

It’s almost impossible to choose stand-out performances, with every cast member bringing an impressive energy and emotion to the show. The two leads generated a great chemistry between them, with Adamson giving a breathtaking performance of Bat Out Of Hell and Tonkinson’s rendition of It’s All Coming Back To Me Now being both pure and heartfelt.

Meat Loaf was an incredible singer, and his songs were written to show off his vocal range and power. This production requires performers who can match that, and the cast rise impressively to the challenge. Sure, the show is a little too long and the storyline paper thin, but the soundtrack more than makes up for the narrative’s shortcomings - and when all’s said and done, it’s very much the music that matters here.

4 stars

Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical was reviewed by Sue Hull on Monday 10 February at The Alexandra in Birmingham, where it runs until Saturday 22 February. The show returns to the Midlands later in its tour, stopping off at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Monday 14 to Saturday 19 July