Word on the street is that Duncan Sheik, the musician who created the music for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening, has signed on to work on a musical version of American Psycho (the book by Bret Easton Ellis which was made into a film starring Christian Bale). My initial reaction to this news is, WTF? But, the more I think about it … the more I can see how Sheik might be able to turn out a fantastic body of music for Psycho just like he did for Awakening:
Duncan Sheik will write music and lyrics and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will pen the book for a musical version of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho. A timeline, along with casting and a creative team, for the project will be announced at a later date. Ellis’ 1991 novel centers on a Wall Street banker who is also a serial killer. The book incorporates multiple references to the popular music of the 1980s, the era in which the story is set, and it is expected that Sheik’s original songs will reflect the period in a production that will also use hits from the era. Sheik won a Tony Award for the score for Spring Awakening. His new musical Whisper House recently opened at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. His musical Nero received a developmental staging at New York Stage and Film in Poughkeepsie in 2008. Aguirre-Sacasa, a writer on the HBO series Big Love, has written such plays as Based on a Totally True Story, Good Boys and True, and Dark Matters.
I’m more familiar with the film than I am with the book … and I *really* love the film. As with any project like this, the final product could turn out really cool or it could turn out disastrously bad. I trust Duncan Sheik, tho. He is a great talent and has already proved himself with Spring Awakening. Alls I know is there are a few really HOT scenes in the film that I would LOVE to see come to life on the stage. After the jump, check out some of my fave scenes from American Psycho, starring Christian Bale, but be warned — one of the photos is very NSFW as it shows Bale‘s p33n …
Yes, child … if they get a hot enough actor to play Patrick Bateman in the musical version of American Psycho, I’ll be there. Christian Bale is a tough act to swallow but I suppose the show could turn out to be very fun. What do y’all think … is this a good idea or a mess waiting to happen? Which scene from American Psycho would YOU like to see make it to the Broadway stage?
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Yesss what a fabulous idea.
“…a tough act to swallow?” Um, freudian slip much? :)
Hehe – a tough act to *swallow* or a tough act to *follow,* Trent? ;)
Thanks for the dose of hotness!
I think you meant “tough act to follow”? :)
I saw this movie for the first time a year ago. I kiiiiiiind of enjoyed it? I’m still trying to figure out how I felt about it, lol.
Read the book! The movie is good, but the book is better. So violent and. at times, hard to read. It really shows how crazy Bateman is.
“FEED ME STRAY CAT”
I like the scene when he kills jared leto’s character…. I think bale should reprise his role as patrick bateman…he can sing?
Sooo…am I misremembering Duncan Sheik as being some guy who one or two bland radio songs in the 90′s?? The name sounds familiar..
I saw a musical of American Psycho once; it was the “final exam” type project in a musical theatre college. It was actually pretty good I thought :)
@tory – yeah he can sing!! Newsies!! He should totally reprise his role.
I’m reading the book right now, I’m waiting to finish it before I see the movie…and I guess then the musical!
I think this could pave the way for a lovely transition from film to theater for Christian Bale! I’m a big fan.
@jo – hell yeah, Newsies!
lol @ tough act to swallow
I am a fan of both the book and the movie and I think if you’re going to make a musical of this story (which I find a little odd) that Duncan is the best person for the job. He is a huge fan of a lot of 80s acts (like Foreigner) and by now he’s had a few tries on the stage and it always works. He is also very diverse – all of the shows he’s worked on so far have had a different feel and different music from one another (I’ve seen stagings and/or readings for Spring Awakening, Nero, and Whisper House). I think that if this is true, then it’ll be great.
[...] Psycho The Musical! A musical version of the Bret Easton Ellis novel turned Christian Bale flick is reportedly in the works, with Duncan Sheik penning the tunes. I loved Spring Awakening, so I’m thinking this [...]
hahaha i caught that “swallow”/”follow” mix up, too… however true both statements are… :)
Hehehe Penis
I can see the novel turned into an opera and that could work very well. But a musical by the guy who wrote the songs for that awful adaptation of Spring Awakening? I really hope this doesn’t make it very far. The movie itself is a bit disappointing, but this sounds straight up awful.