'Bat Boy' Isn't About a Superhero

Family News in Focus ^ | April 22, 2005 | Karen Johnson

[ViLaLuz]

School officials thumb their noses at California parents who object to a highly controversial musical being performed by students.

You might expect to find musicals containing depictions of rape, incest and bestiality somewhere off-Broadway—not in a high school production. But at La Canada High School in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., this year's spring musical is the highly controversial "Bat Boy."

The main character is a pointy-eared half-human boy with fangs who's discovered living in a cave in Hope Falls, W.V. While exploring the world, Bat Boy and the rest of the cast use drugs, alcohol and sex as tools for acceptance.

"It's great that this stuff is gonna be put on stage," said Daniel Barber, who plays Bat Boy. "We can all identify with the music."

At a recent school board meeting, cast members and mostly supportive parents tried to convince everyone that "Bat Boy: The Musical" is a good show. But when parent Otis Page read the script, he pulled his daughter from the audition and began the legal process of filing a formal complaint against the school.

"At the end of the play they say, 'Let the beast come out,' (but the) problem is, high school kids are letting the beast come out," Page said. "We've seen that at Columbine (High School, site of a 1999 school shooting), we've seen that all across the country.

"The law does say you can't hand out harmful material to . . . minors; they did that (with this play.) They also did this without notification against school policy and procedure."

So far, the La Canada school board has only decided to modify the play—and run a disclaimer on advertisements. But for 52-year-old Hal Thomas, who had four kids graduate from the school, "Bat Boy" won't be a hot ticket.

"It's s-i-c-k," Thomas said. "I wouldn't go if you gave me 10 free tickets."

The school's drama teacher is retiring at the end of this school year.

[Hildy]

Wow..blast from the past!