When I mention the movie American Psycho, what springs to mind? "Don't just stare at it, eat it"? Dropping chainsaws down stairwells? Huey Lewis and the News? Business cards? What about a lavish musical with music written by the man who did Spring Awakening? Prepare to have your mind blown.
According to a press release, Grammy and Tony-winner Duncan Sheik has been hired to compose music and lyrics for a staged musical version of the Bret Easton Ellis novel. Playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who currently writes for the HBO show Big Love, has been hired to write the script. Said Sheik of the news,
After re-reading Bret Easton Ellis' book this summer I came to feel that what some people (including myself) may have seen as an over-the-top literary folly of the early nineties was in fact a pretty timeless tale of alienation and solipsism in a world where commercialism rules everything and art is only valued for it's surfaces. And, really, what could be more subversive fun than murderous bankers breaking into song?”
Someone please check my freezer for body parts because I think I am going insane. With the understanding that egregious violence is not new to the stage (ex. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), anyone who has seen the film adaptation or, God forbid, read the book can understand why this story is fucking Looney Tunes. The sheer cost of fake blood, mace and gasoline for chainsaws might very well make this the most expensive stage production of all time. Then again, I could be wrong. The following music video did a damn fine job of mixing the music and mayhem, so perhaps I will give this a shot.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return some videotapes.
