University theater productions hold a special place in the hearts of hardcore theatergoers. Typically, the stage is pumped with youthful mojo, and the talent tends to be unleashed like a sports event. For the audience, which is also usually rowdy – a nice change from the more subdued behavior of formal theaters – the experience can be energizing as well as civic-minded. You are supporting the next generation in its artistic pursuits, and, in a college town, that should be part of community life.

And yet. In recent years, when the University of Maine School of Performing Arts has put on big shows, such as “Bat Boy: The Musical,” a campy cult work that opened last Friday in Hauck Auditorium, I have found myself disappointed and for only one significant reason: the sound. I can easily overlook when an actor makes a mistake. And yes, it’s annoying when directing gets sloppy or when lighting is more of a distraction than an illumination. But there’s nothing worse than not being able to hear the words. Opening night for “Bat Boy” suffered from last-minute technical problems, and the result was that many of the lines – spoken and sung – never made it into the hall or were accompanied by crackling noises and feedback. The person next to me borrowed an assistive listening device from the box office. It didn’t work, either.

Those can be the breaks when it comes to live theater. So I went again two days later and sat closer this time. While the major problems seemed to have been resolved, the sound was still frustratingly irregular. Music director Joshua Schmersal kept the volume of his spazzy rock-band in check, but the vocal miking was off, and too many lines in this word-heavy show – written in the1990s by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming with composer-lyricist Laurence O’Keefe – were garbled or lost.

And it’s too bad, because all the other delicious components of a batty blood-slurping comedy were there. Jacob Cayouette, a gifted newcomer to the UM scene, takes hold of the title character with charisma, athleticism and vocal dexterity. He plays a cross-species of bat and boy, found in a cave, educated in the ways of the human heart and then repudiated by narrow-minded townsfolk when they can’t explain a run of bad luck. Cayouette is believable and sympathetic even as the role combines Grand Guignol and spoof. Getting an audience to root for such a creature requires skill, and Cayouette has it.

As does Rebecca Bailey. As Meredith, whose motherly instincts are stirred by her fanged and pointy-eared houseguest, Bailey has the intelligence and physical agility of the best comic actresses. She has a powerfully rich voice, too.

Under the ambitious direction of Marcia Joy Douglas, the ensemble cast mostly lives up to the expectations you might have for college theater. The show works best as a chamber piece, but Douglas has an imperative, especially with musicals, to go big. It hurts the show on some levels, but it also gives more students a chance to test their talents.

Among the most successful is Whitney Blethen, whose teenaged Shelley – get it? Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” – falls in love with Bat Boy. First Blethen wiggles with girl sass and eventually writhes with love, but her teenly-ness persists. Costume designer Lex Liang pours her into a ridiculously grown-up gown in Act II, but she defies its womanliness. Her pairings with Bailey are especially ebullient. They have so much fun together onstage that you forget they’re acting.

Other standouts are Tom Sagona as the Barney Fife-ish sheriff, Abby Coulter as a revivalist preacher, Gregory Young as Pan and Phaelon O’Donnell, whose Mayor Maggie is enchantingly reminiscent of a young Teri Garr. Hans-Stefan Ducharme, who is also clearly talented, might have been more credible as the villainous Dr. Parker if his acting were less self-conscious. That’s true of several members of the chorus, too.

Art Rotch’s set – shadowy, draping swaths of torn cloth and slices of town buildings – suggests the slippery slope of virtues this Christian town exhibits when a misunderstood outsider becomes a scapegoat. It is true that Bat Boy would suck the blood of their goats if he could get his hands on them, but otherwise, he’s a decent guy. A few dietary adjustments and he might even be a town hero. Instead, he becomes the sacrificial lamb, and the story switches from a pastiche about musical theater to a morality tale. Love your neighbor. Keep your vows. Don’t kill Mrs. Taylor’s kids.

And get a better sound system.

The University of Maine School of Performing Arts will present “Bat Boy: The Musical” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, and Saturday, Feb. 24, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at Hauck Auditorium in Memorial Union. For tickets, call 581-1755.