The dark horror of excess in ‘American Psycho’ at Monumental Theatre

---

Read the original review on the DC Theater Arts website here.

The musical American Psycho, with book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik, is based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. Highly controversial and presenting a scathing commentary on consumerism in a viscerally analogical format, the story follows Patrick Bateman, an investment banker in the late 1980s in New York City. He narrates his daily life and interactions, with a focus on the superficial and proud overindulgence of drugs and sex. But anxiety and insecurity plague Bateman, driving him to give in to his desire for carnal violence and murderous revenge. All under the oblivious, coked-up noses of his yuppy Wall Street coworkers and friends.

Monumental Theatre Company has taken on this horror production and presents an immersive experience using an ’80s industrial aesthetic and heart-thumping, DJ-style sound.

As you walk into the room, there is a bar against the front wall, with an inset sound booth next to that. A hexagon-shaped platform is in the center of the floor and facing toward it on three sides are long, low-backed booths with cocktail tables, where the audience members who chose the “Psycho Experience” sit, equipped with complimentary booties to keep the blood splatter off their shoes.

Co-Scenic Designers Laura Valenti and Michael Windsor (who also directed the piece) have essentially created a gritty club scene in their black box theater space, with riser seating along the back wall and plastic sheeting covering the back and side walls.

Musical Director Marika Countouris acts as DJ throughout the show, conducting and executing the music, as she states in the program, through a “combination of live keyboard and live triggering of complexly built musical tracks.” Countouris explains that “Sheik’s mostly electronic score […] captures the magnetic essence of the 80s club scene” and with the assistance of Sound Designer Alec Green and wild elaborate Lighting Design by Helen Garcia-Alton to enhance that feel, the result is fully effective in bringing that vibe to life.

“Selling Out” is the first number of the show and a perfect setup for Bateman’s character.

Kyle Dalsimer is Patrick Bateman. He stands on the platform, as if on a pedestal, partially dressed, with a peel-off mask on his face while distinctly and deliberately describing his skincare regimen, his physique, and the clothes he wears. Bateman is a man obsessed with appearances. Everything needs to be precise. Pristine. Perfect. And Dalsimer conveys this desire with eerie calmness and rigidity. He walks the crowd through his mundane morning routine with a dry, almost bored tone. The cleaners, the ATM, his office where he admonishes his assistant Jean (Kaeli Patchen) for her outfit, which she takes in stride with appreciation for the attention.

Playing Bateman’s horde of Wall Street colleagues are Carson Young as Van Patten, Stephen Russell Murray as McDermott, Jeremy Allen Crawford as Luis, and RJ Pavel as Bateman’s best friend, Tim Price. They are conceited and smarmy as they brag about their sexual escapades and stroke each other’s egos. Their shallowness is hilariously illustrated in “Cards,” a song dedicated to the importance of a business card’s thickness and font, with the lyric, “The question’s not what’s in a name, but what it’s printed on” exemplifying their materialistic nature, as they flash their rectangular badge of honor and slap them on the tables for the audience to examine.

A crack in Bateman’s cool facade is revealed, though, when he learns that an account he highly coveted has been taken over by Paul Owen (Noah Mutterperl), a rival “douchebag.” And to add insult to injury, Owen has a new business card that is, gasp, better looking than Bateman’s. Mutterperl is smooth and confident as Owen and gives Dalsimer’s Bateman a run for his money for ultimate self-assurance and presence.

Playing Bateman’s girlfriend, Evelyn, is Jordyn Taylor. Sarah Stewart is Courtney, Evelyn’s best friend, Luis’ girlfriend, and the girl Bateman is sleeping with on the side. And Sydne Lyonst [sic] is Bateman’s mother, always wearing sunglasses due to the fact that she is, as her son lovingly points out, “heavily medicated. The women are no angels in this capitalistic world of excess, singing “You Are What You Wear” as they strut and rattle off the extensive list of big designers names:

I’m with Prada I’m with Gucci When one goes shopping It’s best to take care As some of us know You are what you wear

Taylor’s Evelyn is blissfully unaware of Bateman’s darker urges, as is everyone in his life. When asked what he does for a living, Bateman replies with a nonchalant, “Murders and executions,” which is heard as only “mergers and acquisitions.” It is a willing blindness, despite his stated fascination with serial killers and erratic behavior, like the intense moment during his birthday celebration when Bateman pulls out a butcher knife (he happened to have on him) and mutilates his cake. The effect of blood squirting out as Dalsimer stabs into the cake was a nice touch of foreshadowing but elicits no more reaction than an eye roll at his dramatics as the party continues on.

The only characters who see Bateman for the predator he is are his victims, but only once it is too late. Women in particular get the brunt of his brutality, as seen when he lures Sabrina (Jessica Barraclough) and Christine (Valerie Nagel) to his apartment and convinces them to perform sadistic, sexual deeds to each other and him.

Monumental Theatre Company’s American Psycho is a fantastic example of creativity and collaboration at its peak. With fitting choreography by Ahmad Maaty, with an ’80s flair and sharply executed (no pun intended), the cast is incredibly strong and every technical aspect of the show plays out with impressive timing and precision, a credit to Technical Director Dean Leong.

Projections designed by Julian Kelley are splashed across the front wall with distorted images and at times seem to be airing an overhead view of the action on the stage, a mind-melting effect that further accentuates the complex and intricate design of the show as a whole.

American Psycho on its face may seem like a glorification of crime and corruption or an exaggeration of the dangers that an unchecked hunger for power and notoriety can result in. But if current events have shown us anything, it’s that unchecked power will lead to abuse, perversion, and deceit. Behaviors that have mutated and grown out of proportion in the 31 years since Ellis first published his novel.

In the Director’s Note, Windsor brilliantly points out that “[d]ark entertainment, like ‘American Psycho,’ plays a crucial role in today’s society. It allows us to confront our deepest fears and darkest impulses within the safe confines of fiction. […] There is a perverse thrill in navigating these shadowy realms, a cathartic release that comes from facing the macabre and the absurd.”

And it was a thrill. The entire production is an absolute blast. A deliciously sardonic, disturbingly funny, and sensual musical about greed, exceptionalism, avarice, and the incessant hunger for more: the American Way.

Running Time: Two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.

EXTENDED: American Psycho plays through July 28, 2024, presented by Monumental Theatre Company performing at Ainslie Arts Center on the campus of Episcopal High School, 3900 West Braddock Road, Alexandria, VA. Tickets are $45 (for either immersive seating at a booth or traditional theater seating) and may be purchased online. Visit monumentaltheatre.org for more information.

See the digital program here.

Content Advisory: This production of American Psycho contains sexual situations, depictions of drugs and alcohol, special effects including blood, explicit language, depictions of death, simulated acts of violence and intimacy, the use of prop weapons, fog, haze, and strobing lights; as well as mature themes including sexuality, gender identity, physical and/or sexual abuse, and suicide.

American Psycho

Music & Lyrics by Duncan Sheik

Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho

CAST

Patrick Bateman: Kyle Dalsimer, Evelyn: Jordyn Taylor, Paul: Noah Mutterperl, Mrs. Bateman: Sydne Lyons, McDermott: Stephen Russel Murray, Tim Price: RJ Pavel, Courtney: Sarah Stewart, Jean: Kaeli Patchen, Sabrina: Jessica Barraclough, Christine: Valerie Nagel, Van Patten: Carson Young, Luis: Jeremy Allen Crawford, Swing: Cam Powell, Swing: Deema Turkomani, Bartender: Isabella Galway

CREATIVE TEAM

Director/Co-Scenic Designer: Michael Windsor; Music Director: Marika Countouris; Choreographer: Ahmad Maaty; Casting Director: Megan Bunn; Lighting Designer: Helen Garcia-Alton; Sound Designer: Alec Green; Production Stage Manager: Luis Ramon Cordovez; Technical Director: Dean Leong; Costume Designer: Elizabeth Morton; Projection Designer: Julian Kelley; Fight And Intimacy Director: Bess Kaye; Master Electrician: Pierce Stoneburner; Co-Scenic Designer: Laura Valenti; Assistant Stage Manager: Sophia Menconi; Production Assistant/Wardrobe Supervisor: Madeline Mustin; Ableton Programmer: Tobi Osibodu; Associate Projection Designer: E. Lieu Wolhardt; Sound Associate: Elli Ransom