Patrick Tracy

Edgar the Bat Boy (Alex Rodriguez), gets to know the Mayor of Hope Falls (Alexis Jensen) in the Altarena Playhouse production of Bat Boy: The Musical, playing through Nov. 1. Tickets and information, 523-1553 or www.altarena.org.

What is half bat, half boy and all heart? That would be Edgar, the cave-dwelling creature discovered by those feral Taylor kids, and adopted into the Parker family. It's an old story, especially if you read back issues of the infamous supermarket tabloid The Weekly World News, which is where the show's writers, Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, got the idea. The result of their book, along with Laurence O'Keefe's words and music, is Bat Boy, a perfect modern musical, kind of a post-MTV generation parable — an Edward Scissorhand-Pygmalion-Rocky Horror Picture Show kind of musical.

The story takes place in the fictional small town of Hope Falls, West Virginia, where the hell-raising Taylor children (Abram St. Amand Poliakoff, Zach Thompson and Olivia Hytha) while exploring a cave, discover a sub-human creature. They bring it back to town and turn it over to local veterinarian Dr. Parker (Paul Plain), presumably to be euthanized. Mrs. Parker (Lisa-Marie Newton), however, has other plans for the mysterious creature ("Christian Charity"). She, along with daughter Shelley (Katie Behnke), set about teaching the bat boy, now renamed Edgar, how to speak and behave just like a human being ("Show You A Thing or Two").

But small minds prevail in this small town, and when the cattle start to die off (detailed in the aptly named ditty "Another Dead Cow"), the townsfolk turn a suspicious eye toward Edgar. Things are further complicated by a surprise foe, a secret past and a sadistic murder — or two. In the end, Edgar learns the ways of the so-called civilized world and discovers some awful truths about humanity, and his place in it.

There is a strong underlying theme of acceptance that flows throughout the show but because the show is so funny and layered, it never feels heavy-handed. And in the capable hands of co-directors Angelo Benedetto and Paul Plain, the cast delivers that message with high energy and big laughs. The bat boy himself is played with rabid abandon by Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez is in his element as the misunderstood monster of the abandoned mines, an iconic role in the vein of Frankenstein's monster. The particulars of Edgar's equally fantastical lineage make for one of the show's funniest revelations — and that's saying something.

Also excellent in their respective roles are Newton as the mother Edgar never knew and Plain as her estranged, and very strange, husband. Behnke shines as their rebellious boy-crazy teenage daughter whose love for Edgar is inevitable — and kind of creepy.

But perhaps the most haunting performances of all came in the person of Jonathan Reisfeld as Roy, Rev. Billy Hightower and most memorably, the maniacal Mrs. Taylor. In a world where everyone is over the top, Reisfeld is in orbit.

As musicals go, it is one of the most accessible, due in no small part to the sheer variety of the score; rap, country, pop, rock, gospel, etc. And as always, the band is right on point under the musical direction of Joe Simile.

With the exception of a handful of cringe-worthy moments, Bat Boy's bite is relatively harmless. It may, however, be inappropriate for audiences under 13 years.

Bat Boy runs now through Nov. 1 at Altarena Playhouse located at 1409 High St. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Call 523-1553 or visit www.altarena.org.