The musical is a loose retelling of Peter Pan, set in post-apocalyptic Manhattan (now named 'Obsidian'), and follows Strat, the forever young leader of 'The Lost' who has fallen in love with Raven, daughter of Falco, the tyrannical ruler of Obsidian.

The show originally starred Andrew Polec as Strat and Christina Bennington as Raven, with Rob Fowler as Falco and Sharon Sexton as Sloane.

In 1968, while at Amherst College, Jim Steinman wrote a newspaper article about the contemporary issues of the time, then decided to turn that into a rock musical called The Dream Engine, working with fellow student Barry Keating, who became the show's director.

[4] The Dream Engine starred Steinman as Baal, the charismatic 19-year-old leader of a tribe of semi-feral youths in California, and showed Baal's interactions with tribe members and recruits (inductions involving pain rituals) and various adult authority figures (the chief of police, a draft board representative, a psychiatrist, and killer nuns).

[7] During this time, Steinman wrote most of the songs for the album Bat Out of Hell and began to rehearse and record them with Meat Loaf and Foley.

In early 1977, Steinman went to Washington, D.C. to work on a workshop production of Neverland,[8] which had many of the core elements of The Dream Engine, but was now a futuristic sci-fi interpretation of Peter Pan.

[12][13] In 2015 a developmental lab for the show took place in New York, and in late 2016 a cast was assembled for the first public production, in the U.K. Act One begins with Strat recalling his first encounter with rock and roll ("Love and Death and an American Guitar (Strat's Soliloquy)") before his DNA froze causing him to remain eighteen forever (in the 21/22 UK tour this is performed by Raven).

Picking it up, her eyes meet with Strat, but she is immediately rushed back inside by her mother, Falco's wife Sloane.

After sending Raven to bed, Falco discusses with Sloane about how he wants to make Obsidian great again with his planned house project.

Raven asks Sloane about 'The Lost', so her mother tells her of chemical warfare and an earthquake that occurred in this city 25 years ago.

Those teenagers were trapped in a tunnel filled with poison which didn't kill them, but froze their genes causing them to remain eighteen forever.

As he expresses his desire to see Raven, Blake, Ledoux, Tink and 'The Lost' briefly discuss kidnapping her in exchange for ransom.

Raven agrees to go with him and just as they are about to make love, a frantic Zahara interrupts by entering the bedroom to warn them that Falco is coming, and has already invaded the Deep End.

Falco gleefully tortures Jagwire by electrocution and Zahara appears in her nurse outfit while holding Strat's bloodied shirt.

Raven breaks down upon hearing this and is dragged away by Zahara and Sloane, leaving Falco and his militia to torture 'The Lost' ("In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher Is King").

Unbeknownst to them, Tink has been hiding in the room behind the door, and in a fit of jealousy, he violently rips into the pillows on Raven's bed - sending feathers flying everywhere - before throwing his knife at her photo.

At the museum, Strat once again asks Raven: 'on a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?'

In the Deep End, 'The Lost' are gathered at the bar continuing to celebrate the union between Strat and Raven while Jagwire serenades Zahara ("Dead Ringer For Love").

Weak from blood loss, Tink apologizes for what he did because he only wanted to remain as they always were and Strat forgives him, telling him that he will always be his best friend and his soulmate.

Finale: Strat and Raven, Falco and Sloane, and Zahara and Jagwire make vows to their respective partners ("I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)").

An excerpt from the Meat Loaf recording of "Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back" can be heard at the beginning of the scene in Raven's bedroom between "Who Needs the Young?"

Performed by Steinman, a shorter version of this piece was first released as "Shadows On The Freeway" in 1979, then as "Nocturnal Pleasure" on the 1981 album Dead Ringer.

Bat Out of Hell began previews at the Manchester Opera House on February 17, 2017, ahead of an official opening on March 14.

[22] Dianne Bourne of the Manchester Evening News gave the show a 5-star review, calling it 'a truly staggering piece of musical theatre, which breaks new boundaries in its staging, choreography and concept on an epic scale'.

Bat Out of Hell made its North American premiere at the Ed Mirvish Theatre on October 14, 2017, and ran until January 7, 2018.

Several cast members contacted prominent theatre news website "BroadwayWorld" to say that their contracts have been terminated and they have not been approached about the 2019 tour.

[43] The cast announced for this run include Andrew Polec, Christina Bennington and Danielle Steers - who originated their characters for the UK productions of the show - and Bradley Dean, Avionce Hoyles, Tyrick Wiltez Jones, Harper Miles and several ensemble actors rejoin the show from the previously aborted 2018 'US Tour'.

[47] On December 23, 2022, an internal memo was sent to members of the Las Vegas production that the musical would close on January 1, 2023, due to extreme financial troubles.

[55] On November 25, 2019, announcements were made of an Arena Tour version of the show for June 2020, stopping at Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.

The show will now open at the Manchester Opera House on 11 September 2021 before visiting Oxford, Glasgow, Birmingham, Wimbledon, Stockton, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield, Eastbourne, Milton Keynes, Southampton, Plymouth, Newcastle, Bristol, Belfast, Dublin, Hull, Cardiff, Liverpool and Woking.