According to an Equity casting notice, producers David Johnson, Jesse Singer, Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel are targeting a mid-February 2016 Broadway arrival, with an opening around mid-March – an ideal time for new shows to catch the eyes of the Tony Nominating Committee.
The stage musical adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel was previously announced to premiere Off-Broadway in early 2015 at Second Stage Theatre, but the production was scrapped after producers opted to bring the musical directly to Broadway.
A developmental lab, which featured Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson star Benjamin Walker, "Girls" actress Zosia Mamet, Tony nominees Jennifer Damiano and Isabel Keating and "Smash" actor Wesley Taylor among its cast, was held earlier this winter.
None of the lab cast has been announced to repeat their performances on Broadway; however, producers state that the starring role of Patrick Bateman has been cast and that only an understudy is being sought. It is expected that Walker will repeat his performance.
Read more about the lab here. Rupert Goold (Macbeth, King Lear, Enron), who directed the critically acclaimed London premiere, directs with choreography by Lynne Page.
The dark pop musical has a book by Aguirre-Sacasa ("Glee," "Looking," Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, Good Boys and True), with music and lyrics by Grammy and Tony winner Sheik (Spring Awakening). Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 novel was previously adapted for the screen in 2000, starring Christian Bale.
The London premiere featured BAFTA Award-nominated "Doctor Who" star Matt Smith as serial killer Patrick Bateman. Read London reviews of American Psycho here.
Here's how the musical is billed: "26-year-old Patrick Bateman is sophisticated, rich and devastatingly handsome. He's got a sculpted body, a model-gorgeous girlfriend, a to-die-for apartment, and a Wall Street job in 1980s New York City. In short, his life's killer. There's just one snag in this dark vision of the American Dream...Patrick can’t get the blood out of his $5000 suits."
The London premiere of American Psycho was an Almeida Theatre and Headlong co-production in association with David Johnson and Jesse Singer for Act 4 Entertainment by special arrangement with Edward R Pressman.
