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'Rocky Horror Show' and 'Bat Boy' a double creature feature "Bat Boy" offers campy, musical fun through Nov. 6 at Oregon Cabaret Theatre. Photo by Bryon DeVore Tuesday Oct 11, 2016 at 1:23 PM Oct 11, 2016 at 1:23 PM "The Rocky Horror Show" will be staged in repertory with "Bat Boy: The Musical" starting Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Oregon Cabaret Theatre, at First and Hargadine streets, Ashland. "We found these two shows that would both play well together for audiences, and the casts really do line up, so we thought it would be a fun challenge to mount them both at once," says artistic director Valerie Rachelle. "Our audiences get a chance to see the same cast perform both shows. Galloway Stevens is downtrodden Dr. Parker on one night, then the sweet transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter the next. On three different nights, we're doing both shows in the same evening: 'Bat Boy' at 8 p.m. and a late-night 'Rocky Horror' at 11 p.m." With book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe, "Bat Boy: The Musical" runs through Nov. 6. It's campy fun, but at its heart, it's the story of a young man who longs for acceptance from a small town that struggles to offer it. The show stars Rachelle, Jonathan Hoover, Galloway Stevens, Stephen Kline, Tony Carter and Lucas Blair. Rick Robinson directs. Costumes are by Kerri Lea Robbins, set design by Michael Smith and sound design by Tom Freeman. Shows are set for 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, and 1 p.m Sundays. "Bat Boy" will play in repertory with a full production of "The Rocky Horror Show" — using the same cast and creative team — Wednesday, Oct. 12, through Monday, Oct. 31. Tickets are $35, $21 for bistro seating, at all shows. Tickets, information and reservations are available at www.oregoncabaret.com or by calling 541-488-2902. Dinner reservations begin at 6:30 p.m. for evening shows; brunch begins at 11:30 a.m. for 1 p.m. matinees. Appetizers, beverages and desserts do not require reservations. "Bat Boy" is a cult classic with a story ripped straight from supermarket tabloids. Based on a 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat, "Bat Boy" premiered at Actors Gang Theatre in 1997 and has since been produced off-Broadway, in London's West End and at the Edinburgh Festival. “On the surface, this is a campy fun musical in the vein of 'Rocky Horror.' But at its root, it’s a story about a young man who craves acceptance from a small town that struggles to give it. These are very real characters living in a world where extraordinary and unrealistic things happen,” says director Robinson. “I want this production to feel like a graphic novel brought to life. We’re using projected comic book illustrations to establish various locations and tell some of the backstory." The second cult classic in OCT's "double creature feature" lineup, "The Rocky Horror Show," pokes fun at a genre of entertainment meant to horrify while allowing us to laugh at our deepest human fears, says Rachelle. "Did it emerge at a time in our changing society that encouraged us to take a longer look at the odd, the counter-culture, the underground in the guise of a non-threatening form of entertainment? Or, maybe Brad and Janet’s fateful encounter with Dr. Frank-N-Furter is so revered because it encourages us to rejoice in who we truly are. 'Rocky Horror' allows us to rock ‘n roll, to embrace our sexuality, to let our freak flags fly. For just a moment, we can revel in the dark, in the supernatural and in the alien. “So many people are familiar with “The Rocky Horror Show” and have seen it so many times, they have it memorized. I think people who haven’t seen it will be surprised by the stage version of the show. This isn’t a shadow cast show — the performers are singing with a live band," Rachelle says. " 'The Time Warp' and all the musical numbers people love are there, but audiences should come ready for some surprises.”