[Editor’s Note: The rock musical Bat out of Hell is closing after the show on Saturday night, New Year’s Eve. It opened in October and lasted barely 10 weeks. We saw it and loved it and we’re sad it didn’t have a longer run. We’re posting our review, written for the Las Vegas Advisor January issue, which unfortunately has been rendered obsolete. Fans of the Bat out of Hell albums might have the opportunity to see the touring show.]

This rock opera is based on the Meat Loaf trilogy: Bat out of Hell (1977), Back into Hell (1993), and The Monster Is Loose (2006). Depending on which list you consult, the original album sold between 30 million and 45 million copies, putting it in the top 10 best-selling albums of all time; the other two sold 14 million and one million, respectively. If you know and love the Bat out of Hell music, like we do, even just the first album, you’ll love this show, like we did. Even if you don’t know the music, there’s still a lot to like about it.

Set in a dystopian city, most of the action takes place in an abandoned subway tunnel, pitting the Lost kids, all of whom are genetically altered to remain 18 forever, against the real-estate tyrant Falco, whose plan for an upscale housing development will destroy the Lost’s tunnel lifestyle.

The plot revolves around Strat, one of the Lost, who falls for Raven, Falco’s daughter. The 90-minute show takes plenty of twists and turns, but it boils down to Peter Pan (forever young) meets West Side Story (forbidden love on the mean streets) meets Titanic (rich-girl poor-boy romance), with some Mad Max (costuming and steroidal vehicles) and Tommy (rock concept album) thrown in.

The two dozen cast members sing their lungs out and dance their hearts out, while the monster musicians backstage play their heads off. The action alternates between the tunnels and the Falcos’ skyscraper residence, with a video cameraperson recording the action behind the high-rise “walls” that’s broadcast onto the big video screen. Explosions and smoke, gas flames, lighting effects, and a couple of rounds of confetti add to the spectacle.

But as can be imagined, the songs themselves steal the show. Jim Steinman, widely considered the greatest-ever composer of symphonic rock, wrote all the lyrics and music and the show starts off with a literal bang, then launches into “All Revved up and Nowhere To Go.” That’s followed by every track on the first album, including “Bat out of Hell,” “Hot Summer Night,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad,” and everyone’s favorite, “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” complete with a full-sized convertible, a singer doing the play-by-play, and a baseball game on the screen — to us, worth the entire price of admission. The third album is represented by “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” while songs from the second are as numerous as the first: “Rock ’n’ Roll Dreams Come Through,” “Making Love out of Nothing at All,” “Who Needs the Young,” and “Objects in the Rearview Mirror”; “I’d Do Anything for Love, But I Won’t Do That” serves as the finale, when Strat and Raven, Falco and his estranged wife, and a couple of Lost supporting characters all share happy endings.

The Paris Theater seats 1,450 and on the night we went (the Thursday before Thanksgiving), the room was, perhaps, a quarter full. We purchased the least expensive tickets, as usual, and were ushered up to near the last row, alone in a sea of empty seats, which was fine. (We were then upgraded to Row H on the floor.) We hope this show lasts; it’s not only worthy, but we’ll probably see it again, for pleasure — just in time for all these catchy tunes and potent lyrics to finally crawl back out of our goddamn head.