Township School Presents Modern Musical

Morristown-Beard School stages a campy, satirical twist on musical comedy, “Bat Boy: The Musical” in Founders Hall from Wednesday, Feb. 29 through Saturday, March 3.

Ripped from the headlines of a trashy supermarket tabloid, “Bat Boy: The Musical” is a cult hit about a half-boy, half-bat discovered in a cave. This ridiculously unhinged musical comedy tells the story of a strange boy with pointy ears, his struggle to find a place in a world that shuns him, and the love that can create both miracles and madness.

"Bat Boy" is not your grandmother's musical, but a contemporary and thought-provoking show that presents mature themes and ideas and lampoons popular culture.

The script challenges actors and audiences alike to confront important and grown-up themes (such as hypocrisy, acceptance, forgiveness, racism, revenge and scapegoating), but often punctures the most serious moments with slapstick, surrealism, camp-horror, irony, and an inventive score that goes from rap to soft shoe in minutes.

The cast features Charlie Hill ’12 of Morristown as Bat Boy, Harry Kronfeld ’12 of Bernardsville as Dr. Thomas Parker, Rachel Donahue ’12 of Summit as Meredith Parker, Samantha Cocuzza ’12 of Chester as Shelley Parker, Max Schmidt ’13 of Morris Plains as Rick Taylor and Pan, Erica Atkinson ’13 of Maplewood as Ruthie Taylor, Austin Fernandez ’12 of East Hanover as Ron Taylor, Chris DeBono ’12 of Madison as Mrs. Taylor and Rev. Billy Hightower, Tyler Smith ’15 of West Orange as Sheriff Reynolds, Susanna Mathews ’12 of Chatham as Maggie, Casey Miller ’12 of Morristown as Daisy, and Maura Hargrave-Kerns ’12 of Maplewood as Lorraine.

Townsfolk, ranchers, and citizens of Hope Falls are played by Pooja Aggarwal ’14 of Montville, Ashley Aracena ’13 of Newark, Rachel Butensky ’13 of West Orange, Sailesh Doraiswamy ’12 of Montville, Eric Fernandez ’14 of East Hanover, Kyle Fisher ’12 of Hampton, Sarina Morales ’15 of Newark, Rachel Moss ’13 of Morristown, Kyle Movsovich ’13 of Chatham, Alexa Rojek ’15 of Chatham, Kayla Terry ’15 of East Orange, and Nancy Zhu ’13 of Maplewood.

Performances will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 1 at 4 p.m., Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, March 3 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are free for Morristown-Beard students and faculty/staff, $15 for general admission, and $12 for other students and senior citizens.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.showtix4u.com or at the box office window in Founders Hall.