Bat Boy at the Greer Garson Theater, Santa Fe

One of the great things about doing design work for arts organizations in Santa Fe is that I often get comp tickets to interesting events. Last weekend I was given a couple of tickets to Bat Boy: The Musical at the Greer Garson theater here in Santa Fe, so my friend Seezy and I decided to go see the show—it turned out to be a life-altering experience.

Greer Garson Theater, Santa Fe

So, if you are like me (or just really, really want to be), you would be asking yourself, "Who on earth is Greer Garson?"

I know that a lot of you think that I just babble on this blog, but I actually did some investigating and found out a bunch of stuff about her (yeah, go figure, it's a chick!).

Greer Garson was like an old-timey actress from a long, long time ago—before the internet.

I have posted a picture of her below:

Greer Garson

As you can see, back in the day she was pretty much a hottie. According to the photographic evidence that I was able to uncover, she evidently spent most of her time, when not on a movie set, in lacey lingerie, lounging around on hot-pink crushed velvet sofas pulling her hair in a lurid and suggestive manner.

It seems to work for her. When I try it, people just stare.

Anyway, back to the investigative journalism.

As I said, she was this old-timey hotness starring in the "talkies". (They called movies "talkies" after language was invented.) So, Greer did what comes natural to most hot actresses—she married a multi-millionaire. His name was Buddy Fogelson. (it's funny, they even had old-timey names)

Now don't get me wrong, she had to work for it—their courtship lasted nearly TWO MONTHS before Greer decided that Buddy was the love of her life, her one true soul-mate, and that she could settle for being a simple multi-millionairess on a modest 14,000 acre ranch in Pecos, New Mexico. You can read a little about their spread here. I am sure it was a very difficult decision.

Obviously Buddy and Greer weren't greedy and decided to spread the love around because the College of Santa Fe named their theater after Greer and, as seen in the photo at the beginning of this post, hung a big picture of her head in the stairwell.

They also had some steezy "GG" carpet made to honor her in a color reminiscent of her cherished velvet sofas.

Steezy Greer Garson Carpet

So enough with the ancient history lesson and on with Bat Boy.

If you keep abreast of the news at all, I am sure that you are aware of Bat Boy. He seemed to be in all the headlines of every major newspaper a few years ago. Fortunately, the paparazzi turned their sights to Brittany after her melt-down and Bat Boy has subsequently been able to keep a low profile.

Bat Boy in the news

Bat Boy: The Musical is his life story set to music.

Yes, Bat Boy is a coming-of-age story, but so, so much more.

As Seezy and I sat in the darkened theater watching Act I, I found myself truly relating to the characters on stage. I felt for Bat Bay. I empathized with his pain, his desire to be accepted, his need to be understood, his deep longing for compassion, no, dare I say, his need for LOVE!!

At the end of Act I, I was feeling a little light-headed. I had so many emotions rushing to the surface, I wasn't certain how to deal with them without medication. I think Seezy noticed my distress, but failed to offer me any pharmaceuticals that might have been in her purse. In spite of Seezy's obvious lack of concern for my well-being, I decided to soldier on.

The lights dimmed and it was time for Act II.

By this time I was feeling a little warm and decided to take off my jacket revealing my white shirt, black vest and tie that I had worn for the occasion.

Just then Bat Boy appeared on stage and I couldn't believe my eyes...he was wearing the exact same outfit as I was!!

I take pride in my ability to repress emotion. It is a much honored family tradition. But, seeing Bat Boy on stage—in my clothing no less—opened a floodgate of sensations that I had never felt before.

There it was, staring me right in the face—Bat Boy—my doppelganger!!

Me (Teezy) on the Left, Bat Boy on the Right

For those of you who know me, you can attest to the fact that if you compare the two of us side-by-side the similarities are uncanny.

The physical resemblance is obvious. We are both shockingly pale. We are both quite thin and nearly hairless. We both have large ears and sunken eyes. We have enlarged canine teeth. And, as evidenced by the pictures above, we both tend to appear overly emotional when photographed.

But it doesn't stop there.

I, like Bat Boy, am always misunderstood. I too never quite fit in. I also have spent my life looking for companionship and love—never to have found it. People are often scared of me and, like Bat Boy, think that I am strange. I usually spend my evenings alone in a dark room. And, as if that weren't enough, just like Bat Boy, most people I come into contact with hate me.

As I sat watching the remainder of the play, my entire childhood rushed before my eyes. Everything started to make sense. I have been living a lie.

I don't even know who I am anymore. I think that I may be a Bat Boy!

Mom, Dad (if those are your real names), you and the rest of the family are going to have a lot of explaining to do at the next reunion. And don't you worry. I don't need your stupid "invitation", I'll find out where it is, I'll be there, you just wait and see!

All I can do at this point is thank the great cast of Bat Boy for helping me to make a little sense out of my strange life. Especially Miles Cooper (Bat Boy), Anna Smith (Meredith Parker) and Carey Cox (Shelley Parker).

I truly enjoyed the performance.

You can find out more about the College of Santa Fe's Greer Garson Theater here.

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