‘American Psycho’: Making a killing in the 80s

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: Benjamin Walker (center) & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

AMERICAN PSYCHO THE MUSICAL
Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Music & lyrics by Duncan Sheik
Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Directed by Rupert Goold
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 West 45th Street,
(212-239-6200),www.americanpsychothemusical.com

By Scott Harrah

Decades before millennials ruled, upwardly mobile members of Generation X wallowed in the hedonistic excesses of the 1980s, and novelist Bret Easton Ellis was, some might argue, the literary voice of the era. Mr. Ellis’s 1991 novel American Psycho epitomized and lampooned everything about the go-go 80s in New York, from Wall Street greed to obsession with fashion, drugs and nightclubs, and hard-body fascism, etc. Book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and composer/lyricist Duncan Sheik, under the direction of Rupert Goold, stay fairly true to the book and 2000 Hollywood film in this flashy stage adaptation—first mounted in London in 2013—in a production more grisly than Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, but with a heavy dose of winking satire, all set to a synth-pop beat.

From the two opening numbers, “Opening (Morning Routine) and “Selling Out,” the show unfolds like an extended MTV music video from back in the day. Benjamin Walker is instantly riveting as antihero Patrick Bateman, the buff, handsome, narcissistic Wall Street executive who’s about to celebrate his 27th birthday and seems to have everything going for him, but something’s amiss. He’s an investment banker by day, and a serial killer at night. Throughout the first act, Mr. Walker really carries the show with his arresting stage presence, despite the fact that his Patrick Bateman and nearly all the characters are vapid, one-dimensional stereotypes and morally reprehensible.

These are people obsessed with eating at the trendiest restaurants, dancing at clubs like Tunnel and Danceteria, wearing all the top designers, and anyone who lived in late 1980s and early 1990s New York certainly knew the type. There are some fine performances from other cast members—from Heléne Yorke as Patrick’s over-the-top fiancée Evelyn to Jennifer Damiano as his kindhearted assistant, Jean. Also worth noting is a nearly unrecognizable Alice Ripley (a Tony winner for Next to Normal), playing Patrick’s mother and other roles, from a laundress to a real-estate broker. However, it’s difficult to root for anyone because, as the story progresses, we never quite know when to take the onstage antics seriously (or if we’re supposed to at all). Just as in the novel, it’s evident we’re seeing the story from Patrick’s point of view, but what unfolds gets increasingly confusing.

Still, it’s hard to resist such numbers as “You Are What You Wear” (an ode to designer labels, featuring the women of the cast). In a nod to the MTV videos the show sends up and celebrates, Duncan Sheik’s score also includes snippets from 80s staples such as Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” Huey Lewis and the News’ “Hip to Be Square,” New Order’s “True Faith,” Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me,” and so on. While this may please 80s nostalgia aficionados, the hit parade of oldies, along with Mr. Sheik’s original songs, all start to lose steam.

Director Rupert Goold depicts this American horror story with a distinctly cheeky British sensibility–U.K. directors truly love epics of Americans behaving badly–aided by a top-notch technical crew (lots of spooky ambient music and eerie lighting in all the right places), and Lynne Page’s spot-on, music video-style choreography. Although the murder scenes will thrill fans of slasher and gore films, most of the gruesome glee ends in the first act. By Act II, the narrative becomes far too puzzling and unfocused. Is Patrick Bateman really a serial killer? Or is this all some sick fantasy in his head? While Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s book accurately replicates the ambiguity of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, the plot twists are just too muddled and convoluted for musical theater. Parody and dark humor can be a brilliant combination, but only if they make sense.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 26, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on April 25, 2016

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: (left to right) Benjamin Walker, Alex Michael Stoll (on table) & Dave Thomas Brown, Jordan Dean & Theo Stockman. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

“AMERICAN PSYCHO’: Benjamin Walker. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: Benjamin Walker. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: Benjamin Walker

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: Benjamin Walker (center) & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO:’ Holly James & Benjamin Walker. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: (left to right) Anna Eilinsfeld, Ericka Hunter, Helene Yorke, Morgan Weed, Krystina Alabado & Holly James. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: (left to right) Benjamin Walker, Jennifer Damiano & Alice Ripley. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: The cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: Benjamin Walker (center) & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: The cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: (left to right) Alex Michael Stoll, Jordan Dean, Holly James, Dave Thomas Brown & Drew Moerlein. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: (left to right) Krystina Alabado, Holly James, Morgan Weed, Helene Yorke, Erica Hunter & Anna Eilinsfeld. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘AMERICAN PSYCHO’: Benjamin Walker (center) & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel