{"id":501929,"date":"2026-10-20T06:56:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T06:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501929\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T06:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T06:56:18","slug":"bat-boy-its-outrageous-fun-orange-county-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501929\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Bat Boy\u2019: it\u2019s outrageous fun \u2013 ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

JACK JANOWICZ stars as \u201cBat Boy\u201d on the Gem Theater stage in Garden Grove through Oct. 25.<\/p>\n

By Thom deMartino
Orange County Tribune<\/p>\n

Just in time for Halloween, from the lurid pages of the Weekly World News tabloid comes the unbelievable tale of one of their most popular and outrageous stories for your entertainment: behold \u2014 \u201cBat Boy\u201d!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Garden Grove\u2019s Gem Theater is presenting the cult-classic comedy by Laurence O\u2019Keefe, Key the Farley and Brian Flemming. Directed by the Gem\u2019s One More Productions company co-founder Damien Lorton, \u201cBat Boy\u201d is the sensational (not-so-true) story of the legendary misshapen child discovered in the caverns of West Virginia.<\/p>\n

The tale begins with the spelunking siblings Rick, Ron and Ruthie Taylor (Jacob Anthony Cain, Matthew Rangel and Madison Becker) exploring the caverns near their hometown of Hope Falls. Stumbling across this strange childlike creature who will soon be known as the \u201cBat Boy\u201d (Jack Janowicz), the trio startle him, causing the feral child to attack.<\/p>\n

With their sister wounded, the pair of brothers trap the beastly boy \u2014 and with the arrival of Sheriff Reynolds (Jon Michell), it\u2019s decided to take the creature to the local veterinarian, Dr. Parker (Peter Crisafulli). And while the doctor\u2019s daughter Shelley (Sasha Baker) is initially repulsed, and he himself wants to euthanize it, his wife Mrs. Parker (Adriana Sanchez) takes pity and shows kindness towards the wretched child.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the townsfolk are in hysterics \u2014 something seems to be devastating the locals\u2019 cattle, so obviously the strange \u201cBat Boy\u201d found in a cave must be to blame, right?<\/p>\n

What they don\u2019t realize is that under the gentle tutelage of Mrs. Parker, the feral innocent is slowly becoming acclimated to the world, as even Shelley\u2019s view of him is becoming more affectionate. Christened \u201cEdgar\u201d, the anomalous adolescent is even gradually beginning to speak, thanks to their efforts (the BBC audio tapes he\u2019s listening to don\u2019t hurt, either.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>But there\u2019s a huge religious revival coming to town, headlined by the Rev. Billie Hightower (Trevin Stephenson): and with it being such a big social event, the townsfolk are loth to have the feared Bat Boy anywhere near it, and demand the doctor take the child away from the town to hide from the preacher.
But can\u2019t they find it in their hearts to finally welcome this strange boy, who just desperately wants acceptance? Or will it only be the beginning of that bloody nightmare they all fear will come to pass?<\/p>\n

\u201cBat Boy\u201d is crazy, kooky fun. From the opening tune of \u201cHold Me, Bat Boy\u201d, the audience knows this show is going to be something weird, something special.\u00a0 The Gem\u2019s \u201cBlack Box\u201d shows, with their limited 3-week runs, showcase something different, often edgier than their mainstream musicals, and this is a delightfully over-the-top offering.<\/p>\n

Jack Janowicz excels in his role as Edgar, the titular \u201cBat Boy\u201d, with an amazing physicality to his work here. (The striking makeup work rendering him into a seemingly teenage nosferatu is remarkably convincing as well.)<\/p>\n

With each growl, each twitch, each fleeting, delicate bird-like movement of the creature, he inhabits the role deeper still, not only as the wild boy but as the gentle spirit within him who only desires acknowledgment and kindness. It\u2019s not only offbeat, but a strangely moving performance as well.<\/p>\n

He always amazes not only in acting but in song: and numbers such as the duet \u201cA Home For You\u201d with Sanchez\u2019s Mrs. Parker and \u201cShow You A Thing Or Two\u201d cement his place as one of the O.M.P.\u2019s premiere vocalists.<\/p>\n

Sanchez is herself always a treat to watch in her myriad Gem roles, and this is yet another great one for her repertoire. She has a wonderful, nurturing chemistry with Janowicz\u2019s Edgar, and a fascinatingly complex one with Crisafulli\u2019s increasingly menacing \u2014 even maniacal \u2014 Dr. Parker.<\/p>\n

Ms. Baker\u2019s work here is as stellar as her many previous Gem roles, energetic and immensely entertaining with how heavily she leans into the goofy campiness of the show. Her magnetic dynamic with Janowicz\u2019s Edgar is certainly the driving engine of the latter half of the show.<\/p>\n

Special mention goes to Jon Michell\u2019s engaging and folksy Sheriff Reynolds, and Stephenson\u2019s energetic, colorful and bombastic Rev. Hightower. The latter, as well as many of the other performers take on \u2014 and excel in \u2014 multiple roles throughout the production, which makes the frenetic quick changes between characters that much more fun. (Btw, don\u2019t ask him about his weave.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like nothing you\u2019ve seen before \u2014 something strange, madcap, and ultimately mesmerizing to behold. Perfect for the spooky holiday season, and as a Black Box show, it only runs until October 25 \u2014 so come one, come all, to witness the captivating, outrageous spectacle that is \u201cBat Boy\u201d!<\/p>\n

\u201cBat Boy\u201d, Jack Janowicz, Sasha Baker and Adriana Sanchez star in this tabloid tale of the Weekly World News\u2019 most popular story. Playing through October 25 at The Gem Theater, 12852 Main Street, Garden Grove, CA, 92840. Call 714-741-9550 x221 or email boxoffice@onemoreproductions.com for ticketing information. Some mature themes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACK JANOWICZ stars as \u201cBat Boy\u201d on the Gem Theater stage in Garden Grove through Oct. 25. By…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-501929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}