THE HANGOVER REPORT – The stylish, uneven AMERICAN PSYCHO is a brash journey into the modern psyche, via the 1980s

1280_americanpsycho1_jeremydanielLast night, I caught a performance of American Psycho, a new Broadway musical currently playing at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. The musical, adapted from the cult novel by Bret Easton Ellis of the same name and its subsequent film version, tells the story of Patrick Bateman, an investment banker by day and a serial by night. Despite its depictions of graphic violence (Tuck Everlasting, this ain’t), the story is most effective when interpreted as a cautionary tale for our ego-driven, overstimulated times. Through the character of Patrick Bateman and the lens of the 1980s, we’re given a disturbing glimpse of a speculative (some would argue logical) endpoint for humanity. The stylish production originated from London’s esteemed Almeida Theatre (a co-production with on-a-roll Headlong) and was supposed to have made its American premiere last season at Off-Broadway’s Second Stage Theatre. However, the producers pulled the plug on the Off-Broadway mounting and opted to take the show straight to Broadway this spring.

Pop music’s Duncan Sheik, of Spring Awakening and “Barely Breathing” fame, provides the score here, and it’s a hypnotic blend of 1980s club music and emo sincerity. However, unlike the plaintive Spring Awakening, which doesn’t have a sardonic bone its body, American Psycho (particularly in this musical version) operates on two distinct levels – it acts as both slicing, ironic commentary and straight-up psychological thriller. To this end, Mr. Sheik’s often disorienting score works brilliantly at creating an aural environment that authentically evokes the setting (thanks in part to a few musical interludes that use actual 1980s standards) while speaking directly to present-day audiences. Less successful at balancing this duality is Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s book, which relies a bit too heavily on parodying 1980s culture and lifestyle. Sure, these winking references may induce chuckles from those of us who remember the excesses of the decade, but these cheap laughs (which would feel more at home at a show like Something Rotten!) ultimately get in the way of telling Patrick Bateman’s dark, provocative story.

Director Rupert Goold (Almeida’s artistic director) has staged American Psycho with impressive flash and sophistication. His staging slyly draws inspiration from various sources. I saw references to Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (especially in the second act), Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and even the disastrous 1980s musical theater flop Carrie. Nevertheless, despite these homages, Mr. Goold must be commended for sustaining a consistent tone and an artifice-centric point of view throughout the show. Much praise must also be showered upon the design team, which has come up with the most striking-looking show (very much in the same aesthetic vein as other Headlong shows) of the Broadway season – in particularly, Es Devlin’s sterile, streamlined set; Justin Townsend’s spectacular lighting; and Finn Ross’s brash, essential video design.

Benjamin Walker plays Patrick Bateman brilliantly – and much of the time in only blood-stained tighty-whities (!). Joking aside, Mr. Walker’s deadpan yet clearly angst-ridden performance perfectly encapsulates our anti-hero, an everyman for our modern age. It’s an unsettling performance of great skill and discipline, and in my mind more deserving of a Best Actor in a Musical Tony nomination than others that made the slate, but that’s another discussion. The hard-bodied, hard-working cast includes some distinctive turns, particularly from the ladies. They include the fabulous but underused Alice Ripley (as Patrick’s mom); the smooth-voiced Jennifer Damiano in an effectively low-key performance (as Patrick’s lovelorn secretary); and the amusing Heléne York (as Patrick’s void yet determined girlfriend).

RECOMMENDED

 

AMERICAN PSYCHO
Broadway, Musical
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run

 

Categories: Broadway, Theater

Leave a Reply