Imagine Peter Pan, Mad Max, Rock of Ages, and West Side Story mixed together, blended by a fine chef, a lyricist behind the 1977 Meatloaf album. The man behind this, and that, is Jim Steinman and his vision is appearing at the London Coliseum, in St Martins Lane. We at Moshville Times are here, so be prepared for some spoilers.
Bat Out Of Hell is an exhilarating ride of classic heavy rock. Just seeing Danielle Steer’s super powers (being able to move in those high heel boots during their exuberant dance sequences) is worth the entry fee alone. Rob Fowler and Sharon Sexton are mind blowing. Add Andrew Polec’s power vocals, and Christina Bennington and you have an absolute must-see.
Nestling amongst the seats is the fictional newspaper The Obsidian Times, a paper informing us of a back story. A great idea if you like to read. The font appears on the apocalyptic stage, telling us the year is 2100. Obsidian is the city that once was called Manhattan, ruled by protector, the commander in chief, Falco – his name emblazoned on the tower where he lives. His daughter, soon to be 18-years Raven (Christina Bennington), is kept “safe” from the outside world, not allowed out of the confines of the protected building,
Below in the streets, in the underground, are the frozen youth, a gang by the name of ‘The Lost’.
Our lead man, our antihero, is the leader of The Lost, ‘Strat’ (Andrew Polec). His blonde curly hair on top of his slim frame, he walks to the mic. The audience still locating their seats, Strat jumps and lands to the sound of heavy thunder… or rock n’ roll. His monologue begins. The story, the thrill ride begins.
The plot’s very Romeo and Juliet meets Peter Pan with heavy riffs, powerful vocals and emotion that only a rock song can provide. Strat falls for the daughter of commander in chief Falco. He’s infatuated, he cannot stop thinking about her, which happened rather quickly in the show. Raven wants out of this boring life, she wants to feel excitement, see what the world has on offer.
Her father is played brilliantly by Rob Fowler and he won’t allow this. Her mother, Sloane, is disgruntled, and wishes for the past she’s played by a perfectly-cast Sharon Sexton. Both feed off each other, their rapport is sublime. A connection on “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” is a spot on. Strong and near emotional nakedness that everyone wants to see. This almost tore the roof off, such a great vision with humorous events. Raven, as any child would, sees this and is embarrassed by their actions. The two are no longer in the car. Raven, angry, decides to push the Cadillac over the cliff. This section comes with a humorous touch (somehow!).
During this rock opera, the Lost get caught by Falco’s police force. Strat disappears, presumably dead after a bike crash, just as he and Raven fall in love and try to run away together. The two perform “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”. Again, their performance is strong. The rock n’ roll gods are shining on these cats tonight.
Lost are taken to a cell, clothed in Guantanamo Bay boiler suits. Ledoux (Giovanni Spano), Jagwire (Dom Hartley-Harris) and Blake (Patrick Sullivan) begin talking about their past lives, before being frozen. “Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are” is spine tingling performance, they bleed emotion. A pin drop can be heard in the crowd, or the sound of an intake of breath, which probably was me.
A standout member of the cast is Danielle Steer who plays Zahara. The moment Zahara is on stage her aura takes over. Her voice perfect for a Meatloaf song. Her duet with Jagwire telling her of his love for her, she doesn’t feel the same, leading us to a powerful rendition of “Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad” and “Dead Ringer”. Backtracking, Zahara may have been romantically linked with Lost leader, Strat, but that’s just a guess as near the beginning she came on to him, and he was having none it… FOOL!
Strat, throughout the night, asks one question to Zahara, then Tink and finally he gets the answer he craves from Raven: “On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?”.
Raven responds “Will he offer me his mouth?”
Strat’s darkly excited about this, and an excited audience learn this is the beginning of “You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth”. Again the two perform this track in a passion for each other which wasn’t there at the beginning, their strength having grown throughout the evening. Another wonderful heavy rock performance that made this a show you really need to get out and see. At the end we’re treated to another rendition of “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”, which was number one in the UK charts for 7 weeks… only kicked off the number one spot by Mr Blobby (good grief, UK).
The visuals are exceptional, it’s how an 80s heavy metal album cover would and should look like. Get those backsides of yours down there to witness Bat out Of Hell live.
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You got the name of the singer who plays Blake wrong, he’s called Patrick Sullivan.
Fixed – thanks, Angie!