“Bat Boy: The Musical” is one of the most unusual and bizarre shows you’re likely to come across. That shouldn’t be surprising considering it was inspired in part by a 1992 story in the mostly fictional Weekly World News tabloid newspaper,about the discovery of a boy who was half human and half bat. 

Writers Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and songwriter Laurence O’Keefe used that bit of information to fashion a melodramatic story about who he might have been, how he wound up in a West Virginia cave and what might have happened after he was introduced into society in a small mountain town.

It has been 21 years since the Manatee Players gave the show its Southwest Florida premiere, and now it’s back to open the 96th season for the Sarasota Players in a raucous production that is too frequently overly broad and loud yet still allows you to feel some attachment to the characters and even a bit moved as the story develops.

It’s a bit of a combination of “Little Shop of Horrors” (Bat Boy needs blood to survive) and “The Rocky Horror Show” (wait ‘til you see all sorts of animals cavorting in a forest).

It is staged by the inventive director and choreographer Brian F. Finnerty, who finds some of the heart, but almost squashes it by trying to make it bigger than it should be. It’s campy when a more grounded approach might bring out the humor even more. The story and characters are already big enough. 

Expressions are always wide-eyed and slack-jawed, and the movements are frenetic, which makes it difficult to understand the lyrics or even hear the strong harmonies provided by the cast performing the catchy score. William Coleman is the show’s musical director.

But the biggest problem, at least at the Aug. 27 opening night was the sound. The orchestra is so amplified that you can only really hear performers when they’re directly facing you, which isn’t often in the in-the-round setting.  You can certainly catch the drift, but you miss some of the intricacy, humor and emotion in the lyrics. And whether or not it’s to overcompensate for the volume of the orchestra, Finnerty has the cast practically screaming at one another throughout the show, allowing little subtlety in the performances. Hopefully the sound can be better balanced as the show’s run continues through Sept. 6.

But some of those performances are affecting, starting with Chris Cordero as the Bat Boy, also known as Edgar. We first see him emerge in a darkened cave, where his captors place a sack over his head. He’s got pointy ears and vampire-like teeth and his movements are jumpy and nervous. His eyes wander with worry as he’s placed in a large cage in the home of veterinarian Dr. Thomas Parker, played by Ethan Weiss.

This is the point where the story takes an even stranger twist. Dr. Parker wants to kill the creature and spare it more misery and the torments of the townsfolk who blame him for the recent deaths of many cows. But Parker bargains with his wife, Meredith (Krista Benson), who takes an immediate shine to Edgar. He’ll save Edgar if his wife promises to become intimate with him again after many years of a cold and distant relationship. 

That’s an awfully odd case of blackmail, and just one of the many humorous twists.

Meredith and her daughter Shelley (played by Jenn Szakolczay) start teaching Edgar to speak and read. He studies BBC videos and Cordero suddenly stands with confidence while speaking like an erudite English professor. He just wants the people to like him.

Benson is a compassionate Meredith, treating Edgar as her own child, pleading with her rabble-rousing neighbors to give him a chance. She’s also got a strong voice that matches well with Weiss as her seemingly earnest but clearly demented husband, Thomas. Szakolczay brings a teenager’s spirit – enthusiasm mixed with easy boredom – to her role as the daughter, Shelley.

Andrea Keddell has a lot of spirit as the pistol-packing sheriff, and Lexi Lowther plays a politically motivated sheriff with no clear goals of her own. The rest of the cast plays multiple roles, quickly changing costumes, wigs or beards. Luke Li is strong and obstinate as Shelley’s boyfriend, and Jose Santana fully embraces the over-the-top nature of the production with his outsized performances as a concerned mother and a reverend leading a revival meeting.

The score includes sweet ballads, comical ditties and rousing gospel numbers that reflect the diversity of attitudes and opinions. For a while it all feels like too much, like the cast is trying to sell you something you’re not ready to buy. But as the story develops, you start feeling something for that odd Bat Boy and appreciating the theater’s efforts to tackle something unusual and rarely seen.

‘Bat Boy’ Story and book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe. Directed and choreographed by Brian F. Finnerty. Reviewed Aug. 28, Sarasota Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130. Tickets are $30, $15 for students. theplayers.org; 941-365-2494