“American Psycho: The Musical”

**** Leave it to Kokandy Productions to bring a wild musical to Chicago for its premiere ( in Chicago). Some of you might recall a movie from 2000 called “American Psycho” based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. A great many people loved the movie and in 2013, the musical was created. The story is about Patrick Bateman (Kyle Patrick is a strong performer who looks the role, as well as dances and sings to perfection). Patrick is a wealthy narcissistic and vain New Yorker. He is an investment banker who in fact is our narrator in the musical. Director Derek Van Barham has cleverly staged this musical in the lower theater at The Chopin Theatre so that the audience is sitting facing each other and the action takes place on a sort of runway. When the audience first arrives, they enter through sheets of plastic and there is a screen sort of hiding the stage. On the screen are what appear to be scenes from the film ( at least that is my impression). The mood is set!

The story itself is set back in the glory days of Wall Street, circa 1980’s. Bateman shows us his daily routine, his work, his play, and then, his “other self”. His “other self” is  murder by night. We meet all of the people in his life including his competition, Paul Owen (John Drea), his fiancee, Evelyn ( deftly handled by Caleigh Pan-Kita), his mother (played by Amber Dow) and of note his secretary, Jean ( Sonia Goldberg) who in fact is deeply in love with him. The ensemble is made up of some very talented performers who change characters and costumes at a record pace (costumes by  Rachel Sypniewski): Jonathan Allsop, Ryan Armstrong (who plays the most roles, I believe), Halley Brisard, Amber Dow,  Emily Holland, Kevin Parra, Anna Seibert, Danielle Smith, Evan B. Smith, Quinn Simmons, and  Quinn Kelch,. This ensemble is small in numbers ,but they fill the stage as many characters for  two hours and 15 minutes with ease.

As I said, this is a musical and while you will not leave the theatre humming any of the melodies, you will find that the music (Duncan Sheik) helps to unveil the story and Heidi Joosten’s musical direction allows us to hear the melodies and the words. There are some wonderful harmonies. There are some additional songs added to the show: These are “Everybody Wants to Rule The World”, “Don’t You Want Me”, “In The Air Tonight”, “Hip To Be Square” and “True Faith”. These all fit into the pattern of the storytelling.

The choreography by Breon Arzell is pretty amazing considering we are only on a runway with a few platforms. I was concerned about a performer missing one step and falling into the crowd. They defied gravity on a few occasions. Bravo!

On the tech side, the sound (Michael J. Patrick and engineer  Lynsy Folckomer) was right on target. They were led by lighting designer G. “Max” Maxim IV (who also did the projection and scenic design) . Kate lass did the fight choreography and Kirsten Baity,  the intimacy coordination ( I am not exactly sure what this means, other than the intimacy choreography).

I must say that I was impressed by the entire production and how it took us in.Being very close to the action makes you stay extra alert as the performers use the entire floor. I found myself crossing and uncrossing my legs in order to avoid tripping any of them or becoming part of the show. You might think you understand the story as it moves along ( and it does so quickly), but you will find yourself in a quandary at the conclusion as they sing “This Is Not An Exit”.

“American Psycho: The Musical” will continue thru November 26th at The Chopin Theatre, 1543 West Division Street with performances as follows: