Hundreds of people packed a block of Toronto’s Yonge Street on Monday night to get a taste of Bat Out of Hell The Musical.
On a stage in front of the Ed Mirvish Theatre — where the show will open on Oct. 14 — rock icon Meat Loaf ramped up excitement for the musical inspired by his 1977 album of the same name.
“It is like nothing you have ever, ever, ever seen before,” the 69-year-old singer said. “When you leave the theatre you will be at the box office getting another ticket because you can not see this musical in one night.”
Michael Cohl, a Toronto-born producer of Bat Out of Hell The Musical, promised the city will get a bigger version of the show than Manchester and London. He said UK audiences got “about 60 per cent of what you’re going to see because the theatre was small and the staging was small and we couldn’t really put together what’s going to happen here.”
Andrew Polec and Christina Bennington, who originated the roles of Strat and Raven respectively, took the stage with other cast members to belt out four songs.
BELOW: Watch the special event in Toronto
BELOW: Watch Andrea's conversation with Andrew Polec and Christina Bennington, who play the lead roles of Strat and Raven.
The show, directed by Jay Sheib, follows Strat as he falls in love with Raven, the daughter of the most powerful man in post-apocalyptic Manhattan.
It features 17 songs, including Meat Loaf hits like “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (from 1993's Bat Out Of Hell II: Back into Hell) “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.”
The Manchester Evening News called Bat Out of Hell The Musical "a truly staggering piece of musical theatre, which breaks new boundaries in its staging, choreography and concept on an epic scale."
Meat Loaf’s major label debut, Bat Out of Hell became one of the best-selling albums of all time. All seven songs, which range from just over four minutes long to nearly 10 minutes, were written by Jim Steinman.
Musicians backing Meat Loaf included Todd Rundgren (who also produced the album), Edgar Winter and Max Weinberg. Canadian singer Rory Dodd, a native of Port Hope, Ont., sang back-up vocals on Bat Out of Hell.
Bat Out of Hell The Musical will open at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre on Oct. 14 — just one week shy of the 40th anniversary of the release of Bat Out of Hell. Tickets go on sale May 24 at mirvish.com.
Bat Out of Hell The Musical is co-produced by Bell Media, parent company of this website.