BWW Interview - Debut of the Month - AMERICAN PSYCHO's Drew Moerlein

Drew Moerlein makes his Broadway debut as Paul Owen in the new Broadway production of American Psycho. Based on the best-selling novel by Bret Easton Ellis and set in the epicenter of excess: 1980s Manhattan, the hit musical tells the story of Patrick Bateman (Benjamin Walker), a young and handsome Wall Street banker with impeccable taste and unquenchable desires. Patrick and his elite group of friends spend their days in chic restaurants, exclusive clubs and designer labels. But at night, Patrick takes part in a darker indulgence, as his mask of sanity begins to slip away.

Today, Moerlein speaks exclusively with BWW about making his debut and explains why Broadway will never be the same now that the American Psycho is in town!

[NOTE: BroadwayWorld's fabulous photographer Walter McBride captures images of the Broadway stars profiled in our monthly column in a special photo shoot. Check out the pics of Drew Moerlein throughout the feature!]

Let me start by saying that I am still recovering from the show last weekend!

Well that is the best compliment we can hear - thank you!

You're very welcome. So were you familiar with the American Psycho film, book or both, prior to your casting?

I had seen the film over a dozen times, big fan of it. I had never read the book, but once I got the callback for the show, I began listening to the music from the London production and read the book. I got through the book once with a lot of closing it as I read, and a lot of sweating through it. It is a very vicious and brutal account of Patrick Bateman and his demented psyche that he lives with. And then it sort of turns into torture porn in a way. I would say that the most grotesque version is the book, and then the movie is almost on par with that as far as its horrendousness. And then our show kind of extracts a little bit more of the dark comedy and the satire, but still, we hope it instills a lot of fear and angst in the audience. But as I said, we definitely pull on the dark comedy aspect of the story simply because I think that's what helps it translate onto stage a bit more effectively.

Speaking of that, what were your thoughts when you first heard that it was being adapted to the stage?

My first thought was, um...how? That was my very first thought. But then when I heard Duncan [Sheik] was on board I began to feel more comfortable and understood the idea of it better, because of his span and breath of musical ability. He has tapped into a lot of different genres in his music from the beginning till now. And then once I read it, I understood how the satire would play very effectively on stage and really captivate people. And of course, when you put people in a room with a killer, I'll put quotation marks around 'killer', when you put them in a room with the American Psycho himself, I think that alone sort of puts this innate fear in people and that really helps us out. So I think they really have done an effective job with that. The show keeps people entertained and exhilarated and then the music keeps this pulse and this heartbeat thumping for everyone on stage and hopefully the audience gets into that same rhythm. We sort of live as one organism through that experience for the night.

It's so true. I found myself completely unnerved yet somehow laughing at the same time. As an actor, is it challenging to maintain that unique balance throughout the show?

It is, it is. I think that was one of the larger things that we worked on in the rehearsal process, figuring out the tone and understanding how to keep people on the edge of their seat, keep people active, yet also keep them laughing. But right after they laugh, just throw them a curve ball and throw a knife in their side. And we hope what the show does most effectively is the unexpected, the unpredictable , the lack of recycled predictable outcomes, and I think that's what really sends people for a loop. You don't expect many of the things that happen in front of you to happen in those two hours and thirty minutes.

And you're certainly not expecting them to happen in a Broadway theater!

Right! And that's why we hope and feel we have something that we can offer to theater-goers that no one else has and probably ever will offer.

The cast takes such an exhausting, emotional journey every night. Do you find it hard to wind down at the end of each show?

That's a good question. I will say that, while I can't speak for Ben [Walker], if I were playing that role, that would be a more difficult come down than any other role in the show. At the end of the day, the characters around Patrick Bateman are sort of vehicles to move the story and journey of this demented man forward, and it is our job to enrich and enhance the story of his persona. And I don't know if I should say thankfully or not, but we don't go through that experience every night like he does. Of course, the death scene is startling and we both drop in for that scene everyday, but you know, I have the whole second act to haunt him and piss him off!

Your character Paul is really the catalyst that sends Patrick over the edge because he has managed to climb just one step higher than Patrick has been able to. It really illustrates the superficiality of the period.

Absolutely! People during that time made those red cents to build a persona around themselves, whether it be clothing, hair, reservations, social life, the best shoes, the best watch, the best business card, whatever it may be. All your money went towards creating this image that you wore around on your sleeve quite literally. And yes, I do think that Patrick Bateman thinks and should think that Paul is a very successful, handsome, socially-adept man. So you hit the nail right on the head, Patrick has found a man who is just slightly better than him at all of those things, and on top of that, it comes naturally to Paul Owen. Paul Owen works his ass off, I don't ever like to diminish that, but he works his ass off and people see that work, people appreciate that work, people look up to him, people admire him for it. He does have the recycled paper business card that's possibly edible with raised ink from the southern portion of London, and that's why he's so cool and slick. And I think Patrick Bateman wishes that his own natural air was one of charisma and comfort and generosity like Paul's.

And it's funny, I say this often, but one of the easy traps in portraying the character of Paul Owen is to play him in the way that Patrick Bateman sees him, which is a slimy douchebag. But everything that you read about him, whether it be the script, the book, the movie, everything that you understand about Patrick Bateman's world and the people in it are through Patrick Bateman's point of view. But I found that a more effective way or choice is to play Paul Owen the way that I truly think he is, which is a grounded, generous, caring, hardworking, chivalrous man and that is what is the thorn in Patrick Bateman's side. The fact that Paul is a good man, and Patrick, no matter how hard he tries, cannot be a good man.

And I assume that your way into the character was to find those similarities that you share with him, hardworking, grounded and so on.

Well I hope so. I strive to be that type of man everyday. And yes, I have to assume that when I came in to audition for this, they saw that enthusiasm and charisma and sort of endearing quality in me and were then able to trust that this is the role for me. So yeah, I hope that those things are a part of me. I would consider myself a very determined and hardworking young man. I think that's the only way to stay afloat and succeed in this business.

I loved the references to Donald Trump throughout the play - they really take on a whole new meaning in 2016. Do you see other parallels between that time and what's going on in our country today?

Sadly, I do, and I have to say that that is one of the most vital parts about this show's life and longevity. The same way that you started our conversation today, we hope that people leave our theater and cannot stop the dialogue, cannot stop the discussion or thinking about the story. There's one long rambling passage in the dinner scene where Patrick goes on and on about the socioeconomic problems that were happening in the early to mid eighties, and obviously all those things have changed, evolved, diminished since then, but the racial issues, sexual orientation issues, financial issues, image, materialism, immigration, all of these issues we are literally dealing with right now. So it could not be more important for everyone to understand that and be talking about it and have it be a part of our everyday conversations. If not, we're going to be sitting in this cycle for the next fifty years.

So yeah, I think it is a vital and intriguing part of our show that when the curtain comes down, people are not going, "oh yay, wow, such a nice, lovely piece of theater for the evening. Now let's go get a cocktail!' No, it's more like, 'Holy shit! What is the state of humanity right now?!' So not to get too deep, but we do hope that is the reaction of audiences because what else was theater created for if not to affect and change things.

I completely agree. Can you talk a little bit about what it was like to make your Broadway debut in American Psycho?

Well it has been the greatest thrill of my entire career and the hardest I've ever worked in my entire career. The actual first show was rather emotional and a moment I will never forget. Truly, I could not be more thrilled to be making my Broadway debut in this show. As we've been talking about, it's so innovative and unique, and it's thrilling to be originating the role of this kind of cool, charismatic, lovable guy across from Benjamin Walker and the rest of this absolutely stellar cast. And the cast, the creative team, the crew, we've all been a very cohesive group. We all love each other, we all hang out outside of the show, it's just a wonderful workplace. We work a lot and we spend a lot of time together and I really couldn't wish for a better show, better team, better friends to be working with on my Broadway debut.

About DREW MOERLEIN: Drew Moerlein's National Tour credits include SPANK! The Fifty Shades Musical Parody (Christian Grey role). Regional Theatre credits include Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Real Thing, Lost in Yonkers, The Sound of Music, A Christmas Carol. TV credits include Eli Roth's "South of Hell" (Dusty - series regular), "OLTL," "Legal Aids," "In Between Men." Film credits include Blind, Fair Market Value, V/H/S, Heather and Andy, 1928, Yearbook.