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| Ben Gerrad as Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho - The Musical" |
Book by
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa – Music and Lyrics by Duncan Shire
Directed by
Alexander Berlage – Musical Direction by Andrew Worboys
Choreographed
by Yvette Lee – Set Design by Isabel Hudson
Costumes
designed by Mason Browne – Sound Designed by Nicholas Walker.
Presented by
Canberra Theatre Centre, BB Arts Entertainment and Two Doors productions.
Canberra
Theatre Centre Playhouse – 30th June to 3rd July 2021.
Performance
on 3rd July reviewed by Bill Stephens.
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| The cast of "American Psycho - The Musical" |
Certainly not
the first musical centred on a psychotic serial killer - Sweeney Todd immediately comes to mind - American Psycho - The Musical is based on a controversial
novel by Bret Easton Ellis, and subsequent movie of the same name.
A chillingly
wicked satire, the musical depicts the life and milieu of successful, self-absorbed, 26 year-old New York investment
banker, Patrick Bateman. Bateman is fastidious about his grooming and
appearance, and addicted to designer labels, electronic gadgetry and cocaine. He
also develops a fascination for gruesomely disposing of anyone who stands in
his way to the top.
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| Liam Nunan and Ben Gerrard in "American Psycho - The Musical" |
It says much
for the skills and talents of Director, Alexander Berlage, his creative team
and cast, that they have been able to create from such unlikely and
unpleasant material this brilliant production that is not only, slick, sophisticated
and entertaining, but possibly thought-provoking as a sobering comment on contemporary
corporate culture.
Ben Gerrard
is positively mesmerising in the central role as Patrick Bateman. Delivering
his lines in a slightly robotic monotone, sporting a perfectly ripped body and
flawless suntan he prowls the corridors of Yvette Lee’s constantly revolving
mirrored setting, issuing orders and insults while he sizes up his opposition. How
could he not be awarded the prized Fisher account?
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| Shannon Dooley - Ben Gerrard - Amy Hack in "American Psycho - The Musical" |
Shannon
Dooley and Erin Clare capture the appropriate New York glamour and style with excellent
comedic performances as Bateman’s vicious girlfriend-from-hell, Evelyn and her
vacuous bestie, Courtney.
Mason Browne’s
spot-on costume design, and the mirrored surfaces of Isabel Hudson’s clever
setting, together with Yvette Lee’s funky choreography, and Andrew Worboys
driving, unsettling electronic score, allow the very busy Amy Hack, Kristina McNamara, Angelique
Cassimatis, Daniel Raso, Liam Nunan, Mark
Hill, Tom Sharah and Jason Winston to create with flair and pizzaz, a bewildering
array of well-observed work colleagues, drug addled party goers, prostitutes
and dead beats who inhabit the world of Patrick Bateman.
No Dorothy,
it’s not Oklahoma, nor is it Les Miserables to which it makes several
cheeky references. But for those with a taste for something more acerbic, it is
a brilliantly conceived and performed production of a musical based on an
unpleasant subject with repellent characters and an undistinguished score which
given a production as good as this, provides a cracking good night of theatre.
Photos by Daniel Boud
This review also appears in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au