When Bret Easton Ellis published his horrific satire AMERICAN PSYCHO in 1991, the world was incensed by its fever dream visions of extreme violence, misogyny, homophobia, cannibalism, necrophilia, and elitism. It told the story of a brand-conscious, 26-year-old man in finance who killed people just for the heck of it and out of boredom. Killer taste, killer clothes, killer body, and literally a killer. It sought to eviscerate the consumerist void through the repugnant characterization of Patrick Bateman, a '90s riff on Dostoevsky’s man from the underground. The ire was so high back then that feminist scholars would read you passages on a 1-800 line if you needed proof of how debauched and debased this book was. Bret Easton Ellis was splaying out how soulless Reagan’s America had become among the wealthy white youth. Nine years later, Mary Harron created a movie adaptation with Christian Bale, which amped up the satirical elements and cemented Patrick Bateman in the cultural zeitgeist. She put toxic masculinity on full unapologetic display as seen through women and queer men.
Then, in 2013, director Rupert Goold debuted a West End musical with a score by Duncan Sheik (SPRING AWAKENING) and book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (RIVERDALE) that starred Matt Smith (DOCTOR WHO) and Jonathan Bailey (BRIDGERTON). After a somewhat successful London run, the show debuted on Broadway in 2016 with Benjamin Walker as Bateman, and the killing spree only lasted fifty-four shows. It was up against HAMILTON, and the reworking of the pieces proved fatal to its tone. Which brings us to today, where Patrick Bateman is currently singing his impeccable abs off at the Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall. The brave cast and crew of Houston Broadway Theatre have brought yet another iteration of this dark tale to life for 2025.
The Duncan Sheik score is electronic and sleek (cold, but not emotionless), the narrative asks you to follow an anti-hero (cold and isolated), and the characters are all unlikeable status-conscious elites of New York City (cold and too hip), all buff and in their mid or late 20s. It is sardonic, sexy, and the tone is pitch black dark comedy, so many in the audience will feel “this is not your common musical.” There are no kids singing goodnight to a party, but rather a shark-eyed yuppie emerging from trendy clubs and killing street people and prostitutes while delivering an '80s hit from Phil Collins or Huey Lewis. Everyone is about brand names, hip restaurants, and the best of everything. Donald Trump is even a revered figure in his real estate mogul days and feels like he is always around the corner. This is the bravest production you will see in Houston this year, because a young company that combines Broadway stars with Houston talent has rented out Zilkha Hall for two weeks to put on what may be the largest staging of this show to date (save for the Broadway iteration in the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre). Houston Broadway Theatre is betting big on investing in Patrick Bateman, and they have help from way up the food chain, with Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa helping to rework the songs and script a little. Last year, this company produced a stunning inaugural production of NEXT TO NORMAL, and this one lives up to that legacy.
Broadway, film, and television star Robert Lenzi (THE HAPPENING and THE Tina Turner MUSICAL) is Patrick Bateman for this Houston run. He plays Patrick as an apex predator, but one that surprisingly gets lonely or feels isolated. There is not just the cold killer, but also a sense of what’s killing him. That is the genius of his interpretation here: he plays the mask and the man. He’s tall, dark, and looks sinfully fabulous in the signature Ralph Lauren White underwear. Lenzi is a force and one who is far more relatable than the previous Patricks from the book or the movie. Paul Schwensen plays the unlucky Paul Owen, who ends up in the crosshairs of Bateman’s rage simply because he can score reservations at the hippest restaurant. The actor comes from Broadway and several national tours. Schwensen is so much of an echo of Lenzi that a friend leaned over to me and whispered, “These two could swap parts!” Little did they know that was the point. Schwensen is an equally powerful presence throughout the show with his killer voice and 1000 mega-watt smile. He stuns.
Owen Claire Smith, a model and regional actor out of NYC, portrays Evelyn, Patrick’s fiancée, with so much gusto that she could easily have her own musical. Her presence is radiant, and Smith mines both comedy and drama expertly. Tyce Green (who was awesome in NEXT TO NORMAL and has been a Tony nominee) does a wonderfully sardonic take on Bateman’s BFF, Timothy Price. His powerhouse vocals are on display as well as his model good looks (PROJECT RUNWAY). Ivan Moreno’s acting is as strong as his operatic voice as Luis Carruthers, and the actor offers a new layer to the character. Kaye Tuckerman (film, Broadway, global) and Ronnie Blaine (Houston legend!) turn in strong character work with precision comedy timing. Chiara Trentalange and Jacquelyne Paige both mine the sweetness of Patrick’s secretary and Evelyn’s Best Friend. Chiara’s solo is a standout. This entire cast is great-looking, excelling as actors and vocalists. In true Patrick Bateman fashion, I want to murder them for having all this perfection on display. They kill this show, literally. Whether they were a Broadway veteran or a recent Sam Houston graduate, there were no weak links or missed opportunities from a performance aspect. This is easily one of the best ensembles I have seen, rivaling even the tight-knit touring companies of Broadway shows.
Design-wise, it is more of the “slay it” results. The sleek, predatory set from Tim Mackabee includes stark white walls and a bank of television screens that instantly become anywhere. Colleen Grady’s costumes are accurate to the period and excellently realized to amp up the style without ever entering into kitsch. She comes up with wild, quick changes, and Grady's stamp is all over the production. The only issue with this iteration of AMERICAN PSYCHO THE MUSICAL is that it leans so hard into the sexiness and the emotions (or lack of) of the source material, but it seems timid about the violence. The Broadway show featured a blood canon, and kept Patrick improbably messy once he started killing. But director Joe Carlarco and his production team have found ways to mute the blood and keep it at bay. Indeed, Jason H. Thompson’s ingenious video designs become more important than practical effects, but they lose the visceral feelings associated with this viscous work. It hits the sex, but sometimes pulls punches on displaying the violence. I miss the bloodlust: Patrick is always too clean after the kill. But this also may make AMERICAN PSYCHO more palatable to a wider audience who worry about the gore that could be here. The cast and crew are leaning less into the horror, but further into the real scary vapidness of what the book and movie mine so well.
In the end, this is one of the most palatable visions of AMERICAN PSYCHO that there could be. It’s well-designed, well-acted, well-sung. It’s a killer show, and it murders all of the performance aspects - dancing, singing, and acting. This ensemble makes you believe in the world of Patrick Bateman. From a critical perspective, the script is still a little long, and this iteration could use some more of the gruesome to amp it up. But this proves that Houston Broadway Theatre is a young upstart to watch, just like Bateman. They have killer instincts, and this show has great abs. You are not going to find a better-looking, better-singing, or more gleefully executed musical this season. It’s a sardonic, psychotic must-see! It’s not a common piece of theater, not by a long shot.
AMERICAN PSYCHO THE MUSICAL only runs through September 14th. It is in Zilkha Hall at the Hoby Center, the smaller 500-seat auditorium under the Diana American Grill. This is the perfect place to dine if you can get reservations, and consider the Japanese-imported Wagyu Beef Bolognese, served on a bed of Cavatappi Pasta in a blood red sauce, Italian-imported Parmesan cheese, and various herbs from Sri Lanka. The show runs two hours and forty minutes, and has one fifteen-minute intermission. The entire experience is close to three hours, but you can return your tape rentals to Video Visions before the show in the lobby. So don’t stand Evelyn up!