I spend a lot of time both viewing and participating in Theatre. I’ve always found myself rather disinterested in Broadway shows (both in the US and here in the UK), especially the growing trend of musicals based on films, TV and books. Legally Blonde, Matilda, Lion King, Spider-Man, the list goes on and on. It concerns me when there are so many fantastic playwrights and original source material out there.
Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho is the latest property to be getting the musical treatment. The book, set in the 1980’s tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a New York investment banker whose sanity begins to dramatically unravel and he subsequently begins a rather brutal killing spree. The book was of course famously adapted to film in 2000, starring Christian Bale in one of his most iconic roles (followed up by an exceptionally poor sequel).
This new, musical adaptation opening at the end of this year at the Almeida Theatre in London has cast its own Patrick Bateman in none other than Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith. Whilst the decision to turn American Psycho into a musical baffles me completely, I do think this is an interesting casting choice. Smith has shown a lot of potential in Doctor Who; he demonstrated a very much subdued performance with bursts of anger, emotion and passion that could potentially transfer into an unraveling psycho quite well. It is also important for Smith to take on diverse roles that push him as a performer once he departs from Doctor Who to break away from it, and this could certainly do that if nothing else.
What do you make of Matt Smith playing Bateman? Could you ever look forward to a musical American Psycho? Sound off in the comments below!
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24431026
