The songwriter behind Meat Loaf’s massively successful 1977 rock opera Bat Out of Hell, Jim Steinman, is all revved up with a place to adapt his music for the stage. In honor of the album’s 40th anniversary, Steinman is writing a musical script featuring his already over-the-top theatrical anthems including, “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night),” “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” “Bat Out of Hell,” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” The show will also feature a few select songs like “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” from Bat Out of Hell II, the less-popular (but still five-times platinum in the United States) follow-up that Steinman wrote for Meat Loaf. According to Billboard the play is described as “a romantic adventure about rebellious youth and passionate love, set against the backdrop of a post-cataclysmic city adrift from the mainland.” Meat Loaf is, as of now, not involved in this particular production, perhaps out of fear of out-acting everyone. Bat Out of Hell is slated to enter previews at Manchester Opera House in England on February 17, 2017 before heading over to Canada. Like heaven, Broadway can wait.
