To See or Not to See: American Psycho

Blood has been spilled on Broadway thanks to American Psycho. Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis as well as the film adaptation that followed (staring a masterful Christian Bale), this new musical by Duncan Sheik doesn’t quite match their levels of mastery.

We first meet Patrick Bateman (a seriously buff yet tightly reigned-in Benjamin Walker) emerging from a tanning bed in a tiny pair of white underwear, listing the high-end clothes he wears and things he likes (Rolex watches, of course). Welcome to the world of 1980s consumerism and the lives of rich Wall Streeters!

The set, costumes, and songs all reflect the rabid consumerism, greed, and intense materialism. The stylized package of the show includes sleek monochrome walls, robotic and angular choreography, and electro-pop music (that, unfortunately, all sound too similar to be memorable). 1980s materialism and greed is quite literal in American Psycho: the women of the show talk about brands like Prada, Gucci, and Louboutin in a song entitled “You Are What You Where” while the men have a song-and-dance number in the office called “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (complete with jumping up and down onto table tops several times—reminiscent of choreography in Duncan Sheik’s previous Broadway show, Spring Awakening).

While both the book and the film were dark satires, American Psycho the musical vacillates between being a satirical musical and taking itself a little too seriously. Act One has several tongue-in-cheek moments, prompting the audience to chuckle knowingly. Drew Moerlein (as Paul Owens, Bateman’s rival) was fantastic at being subtly campy without overdoing it; Helene Yorke (as Evelyn, Bateman’s material-obsessed girlfriend) was also stellar at getting the satire of her character and situation just right. During Act Two, however, most of the satire is lost, and the show becomes more of a dramatic play (at times I would be jarred when the actors sang as I had almost forgotten it was a musical) without as much gore and blood as expected so the show falls flat. Additionally, the emphasis on Bateman’s entirely “good” secretary (Jennifer Damiano) as a foil for everyone and everything else that is considered “bad” in the show was a bit too heavy-handed in making this a typical musical (trying to have a few prettier songs sung by the typical “girl next door”-type). Losing the focus of the dark satire of the source material left the show a bit muddled.

For a story that should be chilling, thought-provoking, and cuttingly memorable, American Psycho is easily forgotten.

*American Psycho is currently running at the Schoenfeld Theatre. 

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Richards Associates