Review: ‘American Psycho’ is now a bloody and gutsy musical in the Chopin basement

I last saw “American Psycho,” the musical based on the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel and the 2000 movie shocker, in New York in 2017. The splatter show — think Broadway meets “Dexter,” minus the morality and with an added dose of unreliable narrative pretension — flopped fast and disappeared in about six weeks. I haven’t seen it since. I’ve never seen that as any great loss.

But Kokandy Productions and producing artistic director Derek Van Barham, hve been doing some interesting things of late in the Chicago-style basement of the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park, one of my favorite spaces in town and the old semi-sacred stamping grounds of the auteur director David Cromer. So, I thought, another round with the 27-year-old investment banker and handsome serial killer Patrick Bateman, blue blood in his icy veins and whose idea of a good time does not stop with “sucking face” in some chandelier room with his vapid, Hamptons-going pals.

“American Psycho” was, arguably the first in a 1990s line of fin de siecle novels featuring characters torn between sensual fulfillment and existential dread. “The world is going insane,” poor messed-up Patrick observes at a moment of self-reflection, as every rich 27-year-old, ever, declares.

The shocking elements of the nihilistic novel were doubled down upon by the book writer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and the composer Duncan Sheik, who combined an original score with covers of the clubby standards of the era. The fun, retro experiences include ”Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Hip to Be Square” and “Don’t You Want Me.” Many have appealing harmonic arrangements to which this vocally adroit cast is perfectly capable of doing justice. Point of fact, those are the best sensual moments in the material.

Still in 2017, it all felt very crass, shallow and filled with obnoxious, objectified characters, forced in some cases to twist in agony before you. Or, to put that another way, this felt like a vehicle for titillating New York’s coked-up banker class in the premium seats while reassuring them they at least weren’t as bad as this guy. Not unless they were going around stabbing their friends.

And now? Well, the piece, with its Walkmans and 30-inch screens and picture-in-picture, definitely feels more like a cultural visitor from another time and place, if not another planet, which increases its appeal to some degree.

And this is a production with extraordinary guts, which I do not intend as faint praise.

It’s one thing to perform this stuff at the remove of a proscenium stage; it’s entirely another to do it about a foot from the front row of the audience and make it all feel real, or real enough for the show. If you’re interested in immersive design trends, check out the work here of G. Max Maxin IV, who somehow has crammed 120 seats into every corner of this space while staging the entire show on a runway so narrow as to hold only one chair. When the characters go to dinner at some impossible place to score a reservation, they sit in a row, emphasizing one of the show’s major themes, a time and place bereft of true intimacy. Maxin, who also did lights and projections, is working without much of a budget either. Big, big talent.

There are some young performers here well worth seeing, too, including Kyle Patrick, the enigmatic lead, sometimes decked in little more than his precious Calvin Kleins, doing his mischief upon assorted victims like business rival Paul, the similarly excellent John Drea. Many of the members of the ensemble are stuck with characters written as types, but they do their considerable best and I was especially taken with Sonia Goldberg, who plays Jean, and who listens intently and offers up the only heart that seems to be beating — which is more a comment on the writing than the acting.

I can’t say I was convinced that “American Pyscho” was unfairly treated by critics in 2017. And I suspect that Kokandy wasn’t allowed to change much, especially since they mostly are working to a track, with one live keyboard. That’s a shame, because a tighter running time would be a big plus.

Hopefully, the pace will pick up over this relatively long run, by today’s standards. You won’t be bored for a moment. And if you’re looking for a Halloween-time experience, the level of artistry found in Breon Arzell’s choreography and elsewhere here already is much higher than you’re likely to find in most of your alternatives.

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

Review: “American Psycho” (3 stars)

When: Through Nov. 26

Where: Kokandy Productions at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.

Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Tickets: $40-$50 at www.kokandyproductions.com