AMERICAN PSYCHO Previews- Page 5

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 4:37pm

CATSNYrevival said: "I don't know that American Psycho is as well written as Sweeney Todd though."

 

Sure, but this world will be very recognizable to Western audiences and I think they will probably relate to it more than the old London of Sweeney Todd. This is a show where we all slowly see ourselves as Patrick and Evelyn. Obviously, all of the characters in Todd are fantastic and the show is brilliant, but not very relatable.

 

On a side note, Jordan Dean was insanely hot and I'm surprised that no one has called this out yet. Theo Stockman was also a real standout in the first meaty role I've seen him take on.

 

[10086sunset]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 4:54pm

Thankful shows like this are finding the way to Broadway.

Granted, it might not be for everyone but it's nice to see something outside the cookie cutter mold. 

Hope this finds an audience. Excited to see it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 5:07pm

I hope it finds an audience too. I love the score and the movie is one of my favorites. It may seem like an odd topic for a musical but it's fascinating too.

[FelineOfAveB2]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 5:12pm

So great seeing this getting such a warm reception! I'm seeing this tomorrow... very excited!

[laughingplace]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 5:41pm

I know this is dark musical. But wondering if it is a comedy , drama etc?

 

And How is the next to normal ladies  ?

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 6:55pm

I watched a video on you tube, Selling Out, and I loved it! It made me want to see the show, so I went looking for tickets. I don't like to be very far back, since I can't hear, lol, and I noticed that I'd have to pay almost $200 for a ticket. I may have to bite the bullet because I'm imagining the prices will only go up, right? oy.

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 6:58pm

It's a very small theater. I sat in the last row of the balcony on the very far side and I saw everything and heard everything fine. Seats were $69.

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 7:00pm

You can always rush, Jane2.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 7:09pm

thanks, you two!

[Laurapattifan]

Posted: 3/25/16 at 10:32pm

Do they have any merchandise yet?

[6timesnyc]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 12:07am

Hello. First post. Welcome me to the board! They only had the London Cast CD and the new Duncan Sheik CD, and a hat, from what I could see. 

Here are my thoughts on the show: I thought the first act was great. Loved the projections, the choreography and clever use of 80's songs. I had my 19 year old Daughter with me, still something not quite right about watching simulated sex on stage with her. 

 

The second act was overly long- or maybe the songs were too slow, so the pacing was not the same as in act 1. As he spirals into his manic state of delusions, the music just crawls along. Jennifer Damonio was excellent. Alice Ripley was cast well, but again her song is a let down. 

Here's the worst part of the evening, the air conditioner wasn't working properly, so it was about 80 degrees in the theater. We were in the last row mezzanine (row k), we found out the hard way how true it is that heat rises.  This made the over long act 2 feel excruciating. 

Benjamin Walker was very impressive. I hope this does well. I just hope they "clean" up act 2

[laughingplace]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 12:08am

I would love to hear my thoughts about the show!!

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 12:13am

" I saw everything and heard everything fine"

 

That's great! But I'm actually hard of hearing and I can barely hear from a close seat in the orchestra. 

[Hellob]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 1:04am

I was there tonight and agree with most of the post 6timesnyc. Walker was so much better than I expected and he is so good looking that I want to sit closer next time- like on the stage. The audience kind of annoyed me by laughing when the characters discuss the 80s. I get laughing at Trump but talking about his clothes, tv, etc, I didn't see it as funny, I thought it was dark and I thought it was distracting. If you see a show about another time period, you don't usually laugh at how they lived. I think the mother's part should be beefed up. The final song was underwhelming and I wouldn't cut the Hamptons, I would quicken the pace. If I was to go back it would only be to lust on Walker. He gave me the feels. It's a B- as is. 

Updated On: 3/26/16 at 01:04 AM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 1:21am

For the record the stuff about clothing, music, restaurants, beauty products, etc is supposed to be funny. It was in both the novel and the film. 

[Hellob]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 1:36am

WhizzerMarvin said: "For the record the stuff about clothing, music, restaurants, beauty products, etc is supposed to be funny. It was in both the novel and the film. 

 

"

I know it was in both bc I read/saw them but I  never saw it as comedy, it was about greed, narcissistic personality and ego. No one in the movie theater laughed at his workout and grooming rituals. If he's talking about his Sony Walkman or 30 inch tv, that's bragging bc that was top of the line stuff, it's not comedy just because it is obsolete now. I mean the Huey Lewis monologue is definitely comedy but every 80s reference isn't, at least to me.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 1:40am

It is absolutely satirical. The film teases it out more than in the book, but it's pretty integral to any version of this story. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 1:43am

I think you are confusing comedy and satire. The story is satirizing the excess of the 80s and thats what makes it funny; the whole story probably plays more comedic now because when the story came out it was contemporary and ironic, but today as an overt period piece, we look at the excess of the 80s with a more wild sense of humor.  I think we also recognize ourselves more freely in the excess of the story, especially because obsession with brands and status is still a constant in our pop culture. In my opinion, the audience laughing is  a good thing. 

Updated On: 3/26/16 at 01:43 AM

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 2:33am

walked by this evening and saw a sign out front saying it was sold out this evening, pretty happy to see that.

[Hellob]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 2:38am

I get the satire, but the audience isn't laughing at the satire in the opening scene, they are laughing at the fact that his 30 inch tv and Walkman is junk these days. When the book was published, a 30 inch tv was a good size. I also felt uncomfortable with the laughing at homophobic slurs. Patrick describing his daily rituals were the most interesting and insightful part of the book/film. I felt like laughing diminished the main exposition of the character. Anyway, those are my feelings and I don't want to have to defend/explain them anymore. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 2:55am

Even when I read the book in the very early 90s, I laughed at how ridiculous the things that he 'prized' were, partly because the book actually was a little dated even when it was first published (1991).  So we knew even then that the things he was bragging about were already out of fashion. And I think that is the point of good satire -- we get not only what is being satirized directly in context, but also the timeless inevitability of it. The audiences today would probably also laugh if he said he had the largest flat screen TV and the newest iPhone prototype, because we are well aware these things in modern technology only last in relevance as status symbols for a hot minute before some other new shiny toy becomes the next 'it' thing.

On a personal level, I found a lot of the novel a scream when I first read it because I was a teenager in 1987 (the year the novel is set) and I personally remember (and participated in) the obsessive chatter about LES MIZ, all the designer brands discussed (some of which were also out of fashion by 1991) and of course all the MTV pop that Patrick analysis in the book as if it were Mozart  So it will be much fun to revisit this material on the stage all these years later.

Thanks again for the good report.

Updated On: 3/26/16 at 02:55 AM

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 3:51am

It was sold out two nights in a row? That's exciting. I must admit, I had never heard of this property before I knew the musical. It's exciting that it's selling out, and that everyone seems to be enjoying the majority of the show!

[laughingplace]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 3:57am

It sure is selling out 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUtLX_r0L94

[SweetLips]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 4:03am

I watched the film last night and was totally confused.

Some of it fascinated me esp.his rituals and obsessivness and control but FUNNY???.

I get it was supposed to satirise a type and era but laugh?

I laugh when Dame Edna talks about 'old' things but not here.

And OK----who did he kill?

Anyone, no one, a few a lot ?

 

As I said--I was confused [loved the music though-and the nudity of course].

 

Updated On: 3/26/16 at 04:03 AM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/26/16 at 7:12am

Yes, I think those entire sections are supposed to be darkly humorous. The only parts of the novel that aren't a black comedy, and completely omitted from the film, are the detailed torture and murder scenes. Some of it is rather stomach churning and disgusting to get through. 

 

I guess I will put up a slight spoilers tag to discuss the murders**********

 

 

The ending is a little ambiguous, but I believe zero murders have actually been committed. Patrick is a shell of a human being- I think he has a monologue where he says he has the outward appearance of a human, but the only two emotions he is capable of feeling are greed and disgust. His materialistic obsessions have consumed him and hollowed him out. I think he is so bored with life and his friends that he imagines these horrible murders as the only way he can feel alive and experience exhilaration, joy, etc. 

 

He applies the same detailed descriptions of clothes and food to what he would do to all his victims. His delusions start to spin into total madness. In the film they make this section pretty clear when the ATM tells him to feed it the kitten and he shoots the security guard only walk back through the revolving door to find him still alive. The helicopter chase ensues and he leaves that voicemail for his lawyer. (In the novel a park bench gets up and starts chasing him!)

 

Patrick goes to Paul's apartment expecting to find rotting bodies, but instead a realtor is showing the place to a couple. The kicker is of course the conversation with the lawyer where he thinks Patrick was making a big joke. He tells Patrick that he dined with Paul not once but twice in London over the past 10 days. (Of course everyone is misidentified so often in the book that you could argue the lawyer had been eating with someone else he mistook for Paul, but that was not my takeaway at this point in the story.)