There is no exit for American Psycho. Bret Easton Ellis‘ hilarious and grisly novel has hardly gathered dust since its 1991 publication, thanks to the shock and awe of the narrative, the ensuing cultural reaction, and, no doubt, Mary Harron‘s slick 2000 feature adaptation that re-introduced Christian Bale to a post-Newsies generation (and also nabbed him the cowl). Blame it on the dark humor, the ’80s nostalgia, or our predilection for primal indulgences, but Patrick Bateman remains one of the rare cultish enigmas of the 21st century. One that is seemingly impervious to memes, merch, and even a middling DTV sequel.
But what about a musical? These days it’s perhaps no surprise that even Ellis isn’t immune to Broadway’s IP-driven pursuits. Yet there was admittedly a slight reluctance in seeing this particular story leap from page to stage. After all, the journey to celluloid alone was paved with myriad What-ifs and it nearly perished in development hell. Alas, we’re now 10 years into its run (the show premiered back in 2013 with Matt Smith in London — sheesh), and, you know what, it’s hard to imagine ever doubting this could work. Songwriter Duncan Sheik and playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa pieced together a musical both hilarious and delectable.
Photo by Evan Hanover
That much was obvious this past weekend at Chicago’s Chopin Theater, where director Derek Van Barham kept the musical fresh and vital with an intimate production that married the bisexual aesthetics of Harron’s feature and the sugary cynicism of Ellis’ source material. The setup was invigorating: a slim runway fitting for models, glossed over with business cards, and lightning you’d imagine would flood Bateman hangouts like Tunnel, Canal, Au Bar, or Nell’s. They do a lot with very little space, whether it’s through wise blocking (a post-Huey Paul Owens is incorporated wisely) or through props (chairs do some heavy lifting).
Of course, none of it would work without a star that could not only match Bale’s iconic turn but also give us something different. For Chicagoans this past season, that tough, tall task went to Kyle Patrick. To say he delivered is an understatement: Beyond his chiseled looks — there’s a lot of skin in this production — Patrick grooved within Sheik’s New Wave anthems and cruised through the cast with the grace of a veteran shark. More importantly, though, he managed to inject enough pathos into Bateman’s neutered underbelly, those gasps when we see the “real” man within, and it’s those moments Patrick sliced into with glee.
Photo by Evan Hanover
Die-hard readers of Ellis will revel in seeing a number of memorable sequences from the pages, be it Tom Cruise’s elevator cameo to Bateman’s purgatorial visit to the Hamptons. Granted, a few of these inclusions add some heft to the runtime, but they also spotlight a side of the novel that is often overshadowed by the humor and the set pieces. Sheik and Aguirre-Sacasa saw right into the existential dilemma at the center of the novel in ways that the feature only scratches. That alone is worth the admission (particularly for readers), and adds a little more weight to a musical that could have easily leaned on strictly camp.
Again, this production has been around for 10 years, so perhaps there’s no new knowledge that can be extracted from my telling and this review has meant nothing. But, speaking candidly, it was quite a revelation to see IP utilized in a way that didn’t feel gluttonous or an overcapitalization. This musical — or, at least, how it was envisioned by Kokandy Productions here in Chicago — was an absolute delight. It’s crazy, it’s sexy, and there’s a cool to it all that’s in line with the source material, where killer looks and catchy hooks is the real high to each day-to-day. Being a part of that for two hours felt like a new drug.
For more information, visit Kokandy Productions.
The post ‘American Psycho: The Musical’ Delivers Killer Looks and Catchy Hooks in Chicago [Event Report] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.