American Psycho Gets Musical Makeover???

The latest Hollywood movie getting the song and dance treatment may come as a bit of a surprise. American Psycho – the Musical, based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis and subsequent film adaptation starring Christian Bale, is said to be preparing for a Broadway debut in 2010 – with producers reportedly hoping it’ll strike a chord in the wake of the current ‘credit crunch’.

According to the Independent, author Ellis is “fully on board” with the project, and said recently: “American Psycho‘s essence is the high-flying Eighties, the decadence and the music – together, they are the equivalent of a spectacular train wreck you have to watch.”

American Psycho tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a self-possessed serial killer working on Wall Street in the 1980s. A blackly comic satire of American corporate greed, it has sold more than 1.6 million copies worldwide. The film adaptation, released in 2000, was a critical success but commercial failure, grossing just $15 million at the US and Canadian box office. The director of that film, Mary Harron, is believed to be attached to the stage project as a ‘consulting producer’, a role also taken by Ellis.

If the show does go ahead, a London transfer would seem likely based on the popularity of both the novel and film with UK audiences. However, it’ll have to get in line with other screen-to-stagers Legally Blonde, The Little Mermaid and Sister Act, also thought to be looking for a West End home (See The Goss, 5 Sep 2008).