In the Stage Door column we review theatrical productions, often with one eye on their movie origins or connections.
We first alerted you to the glorius full bodied talent of Benjamin Walker way back in 2011 writing:
The movie career didn't happen quickly in the way we imagined despite a couple of lead roles (The Choice, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter) but that major charisma is still blinding on stage. It's impossible to miss even when the strobe lights are flashing. And flash they do in his latest show. He's recently returned to Broadway as soulless Patrick Bateman in American Psycho the Musical. Yes, that American Psycho. The best selling 1991 novel turned initally troubled 2000 arthouse horror flick turned cultural mainstay and now a Broadway musical. We recite all the history to remind ourselves that American Psycho has never been a property to elicit universal praise in any iteration. Instead, it's always greeted with a mix of "worst ever" / "how amazing!" And so it's gone with the Broadway musical...
Though the film version remains Christian Bale's greatest performance it took a while for the character to become as entrenched as he now is in pop culture. The "American Psycho" novelist Bret Easton Ellis was even ambivalent about the movie. American Psycho The Musical is also dividing the audience. I kept hearing it was terrible and the lack of Tony attention (only two nominations but both well deserved: lighting and scenic design) but I happened to have loved it. In fact, I'm already hoping to see it again before it closes, whenever that may be.
The stage might well be the perfect place for the story actually, since theatrically can lend itself to abstraction easier than the cinema. The lighting and sets, both brilliant, favor minimalism with haunting scrims, blank walls and bold colored lights. It's all brilliantly sharp but complicated by the frequent chaotic projections which fill the otherwise empty space.
Though it shouldn't have surprised me given the film's biting satire, the musical is often very funny, particularly Heléne Yorke as Evelyn (the Reese Witherspoon role) and Patrick's coworker clones, who all amp up the comedy without fear of losing the dread since Walker holds the center so magnetically. Walker becomes particularly disturbing when he plays up the animalistic within his (in)human nature. That the Tonys didn't nominate him is a sin. The musical also employs a generous and surprising amount of choreography, which helps place it firmly in the 1980s. You'd think this would make the musical feel safer but it's modernity hits hard... Bateman's Donald Trump fetish, anyone?
American Psycho remains markedly resonant as a horror show about the dark side of capitalism, a meat grinder for people and their souls. The gaping abyss at the center of the property, the emptiness that is Patrick Bateman, should doom any version of American Psycho, but instead of a vacuum, the character works as a distorted deceptively beautiful mirror of humanity. Or a hall of mirrors. He's initially intoxicating to look at (and Walker's sick confidence works superbly in those expensive suits... and out of them) but more disturbing the longer you stare. One song "Not a Common Man" addresses this weird place he occupies as a character who is less human than he appears. Or maybe all too human?
Ahna O'Reilly and Steven Pasquale in "The Robber Bridegroom"Off Broadway Extra
I went in to The Robber Bridegroom, playing Off Broadway until the end of this month, knowing zero about the show. It was merely an excuse to hear Steven Pasquale sing again. His voice is... I can't breathe basically, listening to it, it's so gorg. Though the first thing to note if you're hearing him sing for the first time with this particular show is that it doesn't capitalize on the inherent beauty of his pipes since the musical is more of a bluegrass, foot stomping kind of music. The show bills itself as "A Mississippi Fairytale" and involves a robber (Pasquale) seeking a huge payload by tricking a rich man into letting him marry his daughter (Ahna O'Reilly). But her evil stepmom, who wants all the family riches for herself, isn't having it.
Having never heard of the show before I had no idea what I was in for. Thankfully what you're in for if you buy a ticket is a great great time. It's such a funny high energy show and you haven't seen a group of actors work that hard, that fast, since the stage treatment of Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. The actors work all the props, sets, lights, and musical instruments as the show unfolds. Bonus Points: didn't know Ahna O'Reilly (The Help) could sing but the MVPs are Steven Pasquale and Leslie Kritzer (incredibly funny as the stepmom). Steven and Leslie both took home Lortel Awards (an Off Broadway prize) for Lead Actor Musical and Featured Actress Musical, respectively, just days after I saw it. You can see all the Lortel Winners here.
Related: The Tony Nominations for 2016