REVIEW: American Psycho (Monumental Theatre Company)
Don’t let my 29/40 score fool you: Monumental’s Spring Awakening last summer was a production that I couldn’t stop thinking about all of 2023. The kids had spunk. Despite its humble black box surrounds in a Georgian-bricked parochial campus (what better setting for Awakening, eh?), the team pulled off one of the more impressively passionate musical events of the year and single-handedly convinced me that this show that I long reviled was actually…pretty good!
The unfortunate case of Monumental not being a fully-upright company though — something I’m desperately hoping changes soon by getting a permanent home — is that their production schedule is limited to one show a year, in the summer when their space is available and much of their team are out of school for the season. Carrying off the heels of last season’s 7-Hayes Award-nominated hit, the anticipation was high for their follow-up. How to keep the buzz going? Try something once considered unfilmable, now turned into a musical of all things: the topically gruesome thriller, American Psycho, with its adapted book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and a score by Spring Awakening’s own Duncan Sheik (whom I ended up sitting next to at my performance!). Monumental has taken the shocker story and taken it up a notch by making this piece immersive with what they call “Psycho Seating” — more on that later. For now: there’s a lot to unpack.
Book/Music
I’ve seen my fair share of movie-to-stage adaptations that are inferior to the source but are saved by solid scores (looking at you, Bring It On, Heathers, and Sister Act.) Incredibly, Psycho manages to keep the mood of both the book and film in-tact as a musical, surpassing all expectations for what people think of the medium (“American Psycho as a MUSICAL???”). This piece stands toe-to-toe as a valid adaptation of the work. Aguirre-Sacasa’s book carefully treads the tightrope of camp and intentional grit that can be jaw-dropping thanks to the director Michael Windsor’s execution. Dialogue is controlled and methodical, but not constantly borrowed word-for-word from the film which gives it a new flavor. There’s the dry humor that the film is known for, too, and several of the more iconic moments from the film are included — there’s even an entire number about the business card scene. The plot is often misconstrued as some ““““sigma male””” honkytonk these days, which is wild to me since it’s clearly a cerebral exploration of late capitalism and its impact on the culture of hyper-masculinity. The construction of this piece, which didn’t ask to be made, understands this, making for a surprisingly strong book (similar to another movie-musical in Groundhog Day).
Musically, Sheik’s score was divisive to me. When the performers aren’t singing choral renditions of 1980’s pop songs, they’re singing his techno-infused balladry, which are orchestrated insanely well from the DJ booth manned with the can’t-miss abilities of music director Marika Countouris. The motifs of ravey late-century pulses hook the ears in with bobbable toe-tapping, but lyrically were less impressive. I’ve definitely heard worse, but there were plenty of auto-correct lyrics that wouldn’t have been my choice. They succeed in the most important ways, though: they can coherently move the story along, just relying a lot more on the show than the tell. But is that really much of a problem? 8/10
Acting
Kyle Dalsimer. Send tweet.
The New York-based actor makes his Monumental debut…well, monumentally. His turn as Patrick Bateman is hard and collected, gripping the cadence of Christian Bale’s original portrayal effortlessly. He can sing, too, sure. But unusually for a musical, you need to see the acting to believe it. His controlled eloquence and postural movements are rippingly tense, and it proves with each minute how demanding this role must be for a portrayal as demented as this. His frightening jerks standing atop a mountain of feminine cadavers in Act II are haunting and leave you mouth agape in shock — and as great as our lead is, Monumental backs him up with a cast of passionate local talent as always. Standing out for me was the bubbly Jordyn Taylor as Bateman’s girlfriend Evelyn, and the windchimey musings of his secretary Jean (Kaeli Patchen), who also do well in foiling Dalsimer’s antagonism with both naïve fluff and everywoman relatability respectively. 8/10
Production
Windsor also co-set designed with Laura Valenti, together creating a 1980’s nightclub to hang out in. And that’s during the show, too. As mentioned, there’s the “Psycho Seating” they offer, in which you can sit among the action at side tables. Some “immersive” productions will sit you near or on the stage and keep it at that; not here though, as genius lighting cues from Helen Garcia-Alton subtly and silently indicate when you need to leave the seat so that the cast can use it in an upcoming scene. Oh, but where are you supposed to go if you have to get up in this fashion? Well, you could get up and step to the side until a blue light indicates you can sit back down, or you can literally walk through the show as it’s happening to go sit at the functional bar. (At any point, not even if the lighting cue told you to.) The space is organized and directed so fluidly that it is possible to get up and go to the bar at nearly any time, which is functional immersion I haven’t seen in far wealthier shows. Next to the bar is the aforementioned DJ booth, which Sheik literally told me at this show was part of his original vision for the production when it was going to Broadway. (He loved the concept as it was done here, though had some trouble with the sound mixing.) An unsung but crucial technical choice was its use of projections, a rarely-impressive but increasingly common element which is used here with pure artistic skill by Julian Kelley, as $50,000 art is projected on walls and business cards spell out lyrics above the bar. Curiously, the presentation of the bodies on-stage contrasted. While I found the costuming leaning in the direction of too-thrifty, a direct oppositional trait to the capitalistic indulgences of the characters, Ahmad Maaty’s choreography was stylish and visceral….almost too much so. The shock value of the novel, film, and now musical is well-established and I’ve seen the film probably three times, so I’m familiar with it. Yet, the sexual situations and gratutitous violence were enough to push me into discomfort. I personally blame the intimacy of the space and effectiveness of the acting — good things, for the sake of this review. You know that nothing is actually happening to the actors, but it’s right there with all the yelling, fake blood, and suggestive motions, and it gets a bit tense. (For those with trauma surrounding sexual/violent situations, I’d steer very clear.) This is what I get for going to the live theatre show about a murderous businessman, I suppose. 7/10
Viz
Last year’s viz got a 9/10 due to Monumental’s style of promotional aesthetic that features gorgeously-composed pictures of the cast. They tell a lot about the feel of the production with so little and I consider it some of the best marketing direction in the region. Psycho continues this trend dutifully while also creating terrific worldbuilding before you have the time to think about where the bathroom is. For starters, there’s no program: when you check in at the desk, you’re handed a business card with the cast/creative information (a napkin if you have an immersive seat). I don’t think I’ve ever been willing to give a 10/10 for Viz this quickly in the history of this blog. How is it you can so immediately transport the audience to a specific theme without even showing them the stage? The staging which, mind you, throbs with bass and 80’s pop classics as you enter. Colorful projections compete with the plasticky sheen of the vinyl drapes, creating an immediately sterile sense of unease. From the minute you talk to the Monumental ticket table you become a part of the brooding mental labyrinth of Bateman and the cursed late capitalism dystopia he rules. The devil really is in the details. 10/10
Verdict
Monumental returns this summer with a smashing production of a volatile musical, that has a lot of fun exploring the underbelly of Wall Street and mental health while simultaneously not taking itself too seriously via loose tunes and gaudy aesthetics. 33/40
