If Meat Loaf isn't part of your music collection, then you're missing out. Jim Steinman must have known this when he created "Bat Out of Hell: The Musical," which brings some of Meat Loaf's biggest hits to the theater world.
<iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C11MzbEcHlw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The musical, directed by Jay Scheib, focuses on a group of rebellious teenagers in a post-apocalyptic world. When one of these teenage boys falls in love with the world's tyrannical leader, he heads out to rescue her.
It features Meat Loaf hits such as "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," "Paradise By the Dashboard Light," the GRAMMY-winning hit "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)," and "Bat Out Of Hell," plus two previously unreleased songs, "What Part Of My Body Hurts The Most" and "Not Allowed To Love."
The musical was originally written in 1975, but it only had one performance under the title "Neverland" in 1977. From there it would go through 40 years of script revisions before coming out the other side in its current form.
Previews, starring actors Christina Bennington and Andrew Polec, began in Manchester, England, in February and ran through April, before heading to London's West End from June through August. Now it has a home through Dec. 24 at Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto.
As per the reception of a musical that highlights some of Meat Loaf's most iconic music, both Polec and Bennington told Billboard fans "scream their faces off" at the end of each musical number, adding she believes they definitely have a "Bat clan" of super fans.
"I've never experienced anything like the reception we've got on this show," Bennington told Billboard. "It gives us a lot of adrenaline. It's like people want us to know that they're loving it. We feed off each other. The more they give us, the more the show progresses. We're buzzing after the show. You can't sleep afterwards."
