American Psycho: The Musical Tickets

If you’re into “murders and executions,” see Kokandy Productions’s American Psycho: The Musical in Chicago! Based on the same-named book and 2000 film starring Christian Bale, American Psycho: The Musical is a theatrical tale of money and murder set to rock music. Get American Psycho: The Musical tickets on TodayTix!

When it opened on the West End in 2013, American Psycho: The Musical starred beloved British actor and former Doctor a lá Doctor Who Matt Smith. In March 2016, the show went to Broadway with Benjamin Walker, known for his role as Andrew Jackson in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson in 2010. The Guardian described the West End production as “slick, sexy, and highly disturbing” and as “…pure joy from curtains up to chainsaws down. Or maybe 95% joy. The other 5% is best described as visceral unease.”

Kokandy Productions’ upcoming production of American Psycho: The Musical will be directed by company artistic director Derek Van Barham. He previously directed Kokandy’s stellar rendition of Head Over Heels. While American Psycho: The Musical is a far cry from that one, it will showcase Van Barham’s range as a director.

Who says all the gory musical fun has to be left to the likes of Sweeney Todd? American Psycho: The Musical follows Patrick Bateman, the filthy rich investment banker who has a less-than-gold standard secret – he’s a serial killer. Bateman has a luxurious lifestyle in the 1980s, with designer clothes and access to New York City’s most exclusive restaurants and clubs. But people in his circle keep disappearing.

If the music and lyrics of American Psycho: The Musical sound familiar, perhaps you’re familiar with the work of Duncan Sheik. The composer is best known for Spring Awakening, which won the Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestration.

American Psycho: The Musical also had a veteran book writer at the helm, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, most commonly known from TV projects, including The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Glee, and Riverdale. It’s only fitting that a musical writer and a multi-faceted story writer came together for this collaborative effort.

What to Watch For

• Duncan Sheik isn’t just known for musical theatre work. His song “Barely Breathing” was on the Billboard 100 list for 55 weeks after he released it in 1996.
• In an interview with Charlie Rose, Bret Easton Ellis, who wrote the book the film was based on, Ellis explained that people misunderstand his purpose in writing the book. Ellis asserts that American Psycho is supposed to be a black comedy.
• There was so much stage blood used during the Broadway run of the musical that costumes were ruined from being over-laundered. That’s a problem for a show that needs a particular 1980s couture look.
• The Broadway production of American Psycho: The Musical used much more blood than the one on the West End. In the U.K., the show leaned more heavily into projections or demonstrative blood than liquid-stage blood.