Duncan Sheik Talks AMERICAN PSYCHO Musical

Duncan Sheik, the Grammy and Tony-winning singer-songwriter has teamed up with playwright Roberto Aguirre -Sacasa to create a stage version of Bret Easton Eliss' novel "American Psycho."

Aguirre-Sacasa is a comic book writer who recently worked on HBO's "Big Love." He has completed work on the first act while Sheik has penned seven songs, according to a recent article from the Daily News.

"Now we're in the thick of it," Sheik said.. "There's a pretty long road still to go, but I'm psyched about it. The more time I spend on it, the more excited I get about it."

The 1991 novel, which was later made into film starring Christian Bale, tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a homicidal New York yuppie obsessed with high-end clothes and beauty products.

In the article, Sheik recalled buying the novel as an undergraduate at Brown University. He only got halfway through before throwing it across the room. "I found the book really frustrating," he said.

Sheik was approached by The Johson-Roessler Co. a few years ago and was skeptical about the idea at first. But, after finally finishing the book, he settled on dance music and electronic pop as the soundscape for the project.

For the show, his vision is a four- or five-member band on stage with synthesizers and drum machines, "It'll probably be 75 percent Duncan Sheik music and 25 percent music of the era and referenced in the book and/or movie."

The musical still has a long way to go, and Sheik is still unsure of where it will debut. His hopes are Broadway, but he says it may need to start off in London or a theater festival of off-Broadway.

"I'm hoping this piece can make 'Spring Awakening' look like 'The Wedding Singer,'" he said.

For the original article, click here.

 

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski