American Psycho: The Musical That Got Chopped Too Soon 

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I am convinced this channel will not end until every musical has been connected to Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark

I came here to joke about that guy looking like Matt Smith, but it turns out it's actually Matt Smith?!

I love that Matt Smith left Doctor Who and fully went "okay time to lean into the fact that I have a character actor Villain Face"

The peanut butter mask was more horrifying than anything Patrick Bateman ever did.

I was there on the night, or one of the nights, when the blood cannon went off early. The screen was down so the audience didn’t get sprayed but Ben Walker and Drew Moerlein just broke and kept laughing. The audience was laughing right along with them and broke out in thunderous applause after the murder. It’s one of the best nights I’ve ever had at the theatre.

In New York, it was less reserved. “So there are three blood cannons.” This is a masterpiece 😂

The way I involuntarily screamed "YOU'RE JOKING" when it was revealed that Riverdale's Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was involved in this. Omg.

I've long been of the opinion that a Broadway run is not the end all, be all for musical theatre, and this show is a perfect example. American Psycho would have THRIVED off-Broadway, where the synth score and the bloody fun would've fit in perfectly. I understand Broadway is a business, but sneaky producers looking to make a fast buck are the death of musicals like Psycho. Shows like this need to be played around with to get it right, and off-Broadway is the perfect playground. I remember seeing it on my very first trip to NYC, and walked out feeling as though I had just watched something so out of it's time, in the best way. I truly think it was just a year too early, maybe less - imagine this running after the election of 2016. O_O Truly hope this gets revived and brought back to life in the proper way - with the bloody mess in tact.

I love the new direction Wait In The Wings has taken where the focus isn't "the worst" musical flops, but a much more interesting curation of musical experiments that may or may not have worked due to timing or circumstances.

The mystery of just WHY they didn't go off Broadway first like they were meant to has long left me perplexed. I'm so happy to finally have some closure on just why that happened. It's also a bit sad for me that one of the things that the reviews knocked the show on was the character of Jean in the musical. I loved how she grounded him in reality, especially in the second act when he started to slip more and more out of it. I could analysis their interactions all day.

They were going up against Hamilton?! Nothing was going to beat that. What awful timing! I would LOVE to see this musical, I hope they can bring it back

the whole concept is honestly so meta, people was hating on the shallowness of making a novel that was a scathing attack on capitalism and consumerism into a cheesy Broadway musical, when it's just so ironic and fitting honestly. The film literally opens on Patrick staring soullessly into a Les Misérables poster.

Here's one movie that I NEVER expected would receive a musical adaptation, but it surprisingly works wonders. Also, who would have guessed that Matt Smith would be the perfect Patrick Bateman?! 🔪

As someone who saw Psycho five times in NYC, this video is one of the best that you have done. I understand why it took so long for it to come out and it was well worth the wait. Here's hoping new audiences can give it a second chance via this video. Maybe a revival can come around in the future (off broadway of course) or maybe this can get enough traction to fund/kickstart the proper NYC Cast Recording we deserved six years ago. Thank you as always Brendon for doing this hard work. Don't forget that it's always hip to be square :)

It's such a shame that the producers pressured this onto Broadway too soon. Ruined the run of what could have been an off-Broadway smash by forcing it to compete in the same season as Hamilton(!) just off of London. I'd love to see this revived at some point, because this sounds like exactly my jam.

As one of the show's investors, I remain proud of the work, understood the risk being taken and would invest in it again. Like most, I wish we had more time to find our audience, which I think we would have, and I agree that the show contributed to more young people 'finding' musical theater. I

It’s amazing how quickly my mindset changed from “why would they ever make this into a musical” to “omg this property was destined to become a musical”. An 80s electronic Duncan sheik original soundtrack performed by Matt Smith fresh off his Doctor Who run??! WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I NEED THIS EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE. just… WOW.

Hearing Benjamin Walker was who they originally had in mind makes so much sense. I have trouble picturing anyone else in the role. His luck when it comes to Broadway breaks my heart cause he’s just crazy talented. Dude, be king of Off Broadway. We’ll still love you.

As a student in London who was a Doctor Who fan, I saw it when it came out. I was obsessed with it for a long time. The music is all bops. (In the air and A girl Before are really great)

Can't believe Daemon Targaryen, Doctor Who, Prince Phillip and Morbius's friend were in this.

So we have Matt Smith in American Psycho and Arthur Darvill in Once. Two musicals that give off VERY different vibes We love it

if i’ve said it once, i’ve said it a hundred times but the west end staging of american psycho is truly some epic crossover event with its casting of matt smith, jonathan bailey, hugh skinner, ben aldridge + lucie jones.

IDK but you mentioning Roberto felt like a jumpscare. I can hear Spaceninja groaning from across the internet abyss. In another life he was a renowned musical book writer instead of working on the CW

if american psycho was an off broadway true horror musical with a front row splash zone. god id kill to see it

I unironically really love this show and would really love to see it live one day .

I gasped audibly at the effect of Patrick taking the axe to Paul and the blood and everything, working correctly it seems like an awesome thing to see

I saw a “slime tutorial” of the complete Broadway show and absolutely LOVED it. I though American Psycho would not translate at all into a musical but it did. It did really damn well. Incredibly well actually. I’m sad I didn’t get to see it live

This would have KILLED it off-broadway, I hope someone decides to bring it back because I’d love to see it!

I would love to see an actual production of this some day. Hopefully it'll make the "community theatre" rounds at some point as a lot of "flops" do. Maybe it'll even be made into a movie or streaming thing at some point and if so I hope that Benjamin Walker or Matt Smith are able to show what they initially gave to the production(s) when they were involved.

You actually got an interview with Duncan Sheik? That alone is super impressive. Well done. 👏

I saw American Psycho twice on Broadway. Ben Walker was brilliant, and brought so much physicality to the role. I really felt for him at the time when he was snubbed by the Tonys & ultimately had another Broadway flop. It’s a shame that his performance didn’t make it to a cast album. The London album is really underwhelming compared to Broadway. SO glad this channel brought on the actor who played Paul Owen, he was EXCEPTIONAL. It’s tough when actors put so much into a show that lets them down. Psycho should have never gone to Broadway, it would have done well at Second Stage.

Family friendly American Psycho? Sounds like a truly great idea. What could go wrong?

Having Matt Smith as Patrick, I'm honestly speechless. Not a bad choice

I’m so glad you covered this musical because I’m OBSESSED with it and it honestly is so underrated. I feel like if it had come out around now people would also love it

Super stoked for this. I worked the entire Broadway run of this show and miss it so much.

I'm not much of a musical fan, but I went to the last performance of "American Psycho" on Broadway. It wasn't a perfect show, but i LOVED it! It turned me into a Duncan Sheik superfan.

It’s one of my personal favorite musicals. With it’s success in Europe, I believe that the Broadway production just came out at the wrong time. If it stuck to its Off-Broadway run, and then came out maybe in 2016-17 Broadway season, it may have had a better chance. But I really wish we could have heard a Broadway cast recording. The Broadway version I find much better than the London production, and it’s really sad to see the show not get the love it deserved in New York. Who knows. Maybe a revival will come in the future for audiences to enjoy, but to me it’s an underrated and under appreciated gem

Came for Matt Smith, stayed for the content! Very well put together, and as a person who isn't into Broadway musicals, this really had me interested! Great job!

Do I think that American Psycho was a good warmup for Matt Smith to take on Daemon Targaryen in HotD? Yes. But then, what do we think about Benjamin Walker moving on to Gil-Galad in Rings of Power? Such a tone shift!

The hip to be square scene in the musical is legitimately so good, I remember watching a recording of it and being amazed by the curtain in front of the audience when blood was splattered

I'm so proud of you for sneaking that Morbius clip in.

I'm starting to believe that every thing in theatre history is related to Spiderman Turn Off The Dark

Impressive video. Very nice.

Really excited for this one! American Psycho really expanded the scope of musicals I would choose to watch and I was really sad when I heard they closed on Broadway all those years ago (and without a Broadway cast recording to boot).

The set-up for the "we'll send the bastard to England" joke was absolute perfection. I love this musical and wish it had truly taken off.

this video came out at the perfect time because my friends and i are doing an american psycho inspired dance number to 'hip to be square' for our school dance off in a few months and we've been absorbing any american psycho content we can, especially about the musical! plus your videos are always great :D

Gods I wish so much we got a cast recording of the Broadway cast. I was one of the younger people that this show got into musical theatre. Saw the second-to-last performance and wished I’d seen it sooner because I would’ve come back so many times

So I havent watched this yet but I wanted to comment before I watch a word of it to say: Thank you for making this. I feel really passionately about this project. I was one of the large donors on the original Kickstarter, so I felt really passionately about this musical. I still have the large og West End poster (the Knife) hanging in my home. I really wish they had just stuck to the off-broadway run as they originally intended and then, only THEN gone to Broadway--and I think they really should have stayed off-broadway. I never actually got to see it live (I donated enough to get tickets to the West End run but I couldn't afford to fly over there), but I hope one day I'll actually get to see it. So thanks again for making this video, and I'm off to watch it now (I'll edit with thoughts!) ETA: Finished watching, and again, what a great break down of what happened and an appreciation for the show. It deserved better than it got, and I really hope it gets a revival or a small tour at some point.

This is one of my favorite musical soundtracks ever. Not a Common Man was in my Spotify wrapped last year as one of my top songs, and I'm only a very casual musical fan generally - nothing else in my regular music rotation reflects a "theatre nerd" by any means. Love this channel, much love for this video specifically, I wish this show got so much more love than it did.

I will forever be devastated that American Psycho The Musical didn't get a video or soundtrack recording in New York. Benjamin Walker is amazing and 'I am Back' with the "rat king" is one of the most visually astounding dance numbers I have ever seen. The fact that I will only ever get to experience it as a grainy, blurry bootleg is a travesty.

I immediately clicked when I saw the video show up on my feed. This show has intrigued me since it first came out. As a mix of Doctor Who fan, Spring Awakening fan, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson fan, I really wanted to see it. I know someone who did and he loves it. It kills me that we never got a Broadway cast album.

American Psycho as a play would have been a total hit cause the show was even structured as a play.

I remember his most iconic line in the movie "It's American Psycho Time!"

With every adaptation, Patrick Bateman is becoming more human And that's bad

American Psycho is one of the few Broadway shows that really breaks my heart. I love it so much for all its flaws. It is so weird and interesting, and it was treated so poorly. (The comedy of affluent critics not liking it is not lost on me) I hope one day it'll get a revival or a tour or a new life in some way and finally find the audience it deserves.

This episode was like a pop culture bingo episode in the best way. Riverdale, Reeve, Glee, Spider-Man… and Roberto is the Free Space.

not learning that sheik was feeling horribly isolated in upstate new york when writing the second act......because i became obsessed (to the point of derangement) with this musical while feeling horribly isolated in upstate new york. i was full on wandering the streets at night chain-smoking and listening to "this is not an exit" on a loop. but i'm all good now. anyway...great video, super cool to hear the history behind one of my favorite musicals, with exclusive interviews, too!

It is so cool that you got to interview people involved in the show. Like, Duncan Sheik?? Congrats!

This show really should be revived on Broadway. This post pandemic era needs it. Bring us back to theatre. Duncan did an incredible job and we need this production.

I only clicked because of Matt Smith, but this was pretty interesting. I had no idea he did a musical, let alone something like this, however he was the perfect choice. I love what they did with the blood cannons, but they shot themselves in the foot by not having blood at all. I'm not someone who enjoys musicals, but this one sounds cool. Good video.

This would have been the perfect oppertunity for a broadway rendition of Hip To Be Scared by Ice Nine Kills

I will comment this on every video I ever see - we need more accessible theatre!! Theatre that shows diversity, theatre that uses multiple art forms, theatre that is affordable and recorded and distributed to those who don't have access to the theatre district.

You always make me appreciate shows I didn't know much about before 💕 you see the love that was put into these shows that don't get as much love back as they may deserve

I'm sorry but after you said "Matt Smith" and "dance lessons" I couldn't help but think of The Doctor dancing at Amy and Rory's wedding.

I can't escape Matt Smith, everywhere I go he's there.

I never knew this existed and I love that Matt Smith was up for it. I do not doubt he owned it. Wish I'd seen it.

I didn't get discounted tickets and I am SO glad I got to see this show. I overheard two guys in the row ahead of mine, and it was their second time seeing it. This musical was amazing and I am just happy I had the chance to see it live.

Every time you mention Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark i have ptsd. Not because of the show, because I'm afraid the next words put of your mouth are going to be "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark's....Julie Taymor." Every time I hear about that woman I become increasingly concerned. I respect her as a creative, she HAS done some incredible stuff but....wow she needs therapy.... I took a directing class centered on Shakespeare in undergrad and we were all tasked with writing a report on a different well-known Shakespearian director, i was assigned Taymor and wow....I'm pretty sure I have a look into her psyche after reading about her production of Titus Andronicus...it was so bad for me I kept writing in the margins of my handout "who hurt you Julie....?" I no longer call her Julie Taymor, she is just Julie. I feel like i know too much of her now. Bloody gory violence and creepy puppets are no substitution for therapy Julie......stop, get some help. Most of that was a joke but truly any time I hear Julie come up in a video I tense up like "oh God what have you done THIS TIME????"

Amazing video! I saw it twice and NOW understand why I fell asleep during Act II the first time. Still such a huge fan of the show and can’t wait for it to have a life again someday.

I saw this when it was still in previews, I guess before they decided to cut all the blood! funnily enough, pretty much my only complaint was that I would have LOVED a splash zone for the show, but there was definitely plenty blood used and staying on the stage. to date it's definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen- from the performances to the technical bits, everything seemed just absolutely perfect to me! and my mother, who usually hates anything slasher and horror related, still tells everyone it's her favorite show because everything about it blew her away! she posted about it online so much the team sent her free merch lmao. the bootleg clip for the rat king in 'I Am Back' absolutely does not do the scene justice, watching it live was mesmerizing, the way they were twitching and moving was so hauntingly unnatural it really stuck with me. also, when we saw the show the heater in the theater was on the fritz so everyone was sweating to death, but even in that....it definitely didn't FEEL too long? like, I'm actually surprised to hear it was 3 hours and that was a problem for them. this was the first show where I actually cared about the scenic design/lighting design/choreography, obviously I never thought they were unimportant before but if you give me a good acting performance I'll be satisfied with a person on an empty stage in a black box lol, but every bit of the show was so. GOOD. so CLEAN. I was floored by it! I was raving about the turn tables and the glass screen in front of paul's death for weeks! the glowing white of the walls was just enough to start making you feel a bit out of it, almost high and detached like patrick himself, and when the red splattered on it? indescribable. I literally woke up the next morning and briefly hallucinated a ton of blood in my hotel bathroom. that sounds bad, but a show has never made me hallucinate before or since, so I'm using it as high praise. the people working at the tckts booth in times square actually tried to talk us out of getting tickets for it- not sure if they just thought I was younger than I actually was or something, but I always found that weird. I also thought the show did a *great* job and humanizing patrick bateman while still keeping him firmly in his villain category- he seemed much more human in the stage show than in the movie to me! if anything, I would've thought that would be what people had a problem with, so that bad review is weird tbh. I would've loved to see matt smith in the role bc he's such a great actor, but benjamin walker was outstanding, and to date you don't want to bring up him getting snubbed a tony nomination around my mother lmao. opening when they did was DEFINITELY what damned them in my opinion- hamilton was just too big to compete with. it's a real shame! I feel like if it opened literally any other season it could've had an absolutely great run! anyway, great video! I was excited that you were doing one because ever since the book and movie started having a bit of a renaissance online I've been trying to hype up the musical more and it felt like no one knew about it 😭 I hope it gets another shot someday

I saw this live in NYC with my family. We were deciding between all the shows, and it just stood out as being something different. I'm so grateful to have had the chance to see it live, it was and is one of the absolute best shows I've seen. I've gone so far as to try and research ways to see if there's any way to watch a well produced archive show of the NYC production, but it would appear none are publicly available. What are the odds we'll ever be able to watch the NYC run in the future? I'm assuming the producers have long since moved on, but it would be amazing to be able to see the NYC production with Benjamin Walker again one more time. Great video, thank you so much for making it.

Can’t believe I just found this channel. Time to subscribe and binge everything you’ve ever posted. I love this musical so so much and I’m so glad someone is talking about it.

Loved this video! Also you chose the perfect time to release it because both Walker and Smith are starring in two of the biggest shows on TV right now, House of the Dragon and Rings of Power.

THE PEANUT BUTTER FKN UN-ALIVED ME SO FAST!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣💀

I *just* got into American Psycho only a month or so ago, so this could not be better timed!! I'm so glad this Criminally Underrated (hehe) show can finally get the fantastic Wait in the Wings treament it deserves

Exclusive interview with Duncan Sheik? You are CRUSHING IT with these videos!!!! Keep up the good work! 🏆

I really LOVED your video. As a big fan of this musical, I'm really sad that I didn't get to see it live. It was surprising to see a video this long on a musical that no ones talks about and that is so nice. I'm a big fan of the London Cast recording, so it's nice to understand the changes it went through when coming to Broadway (and why one of my favourite songs "Oh Sri Lanka" got cut :/ ). I didn't really get why it was such a flop until now, so I cannot express how awesome your video is!!

Thank you for this video! I love this musical so, so much. I really love how the musical takes more from the novel than the movie (while still including a few of the most iconic elements) Benjamin Walker is absolutely one of the greatest portrayals of Bateman to this day. I wish I could’ve seen it live. 😓

So cool to see the fully-fledged history behind my favorite musical! It was fascinating to learn about the struggles with stage blood and how much that ended up impacting the show's success. Also amazing to actually see a live clip from the London production, even if it was brief (and apparently from the V&A's archive)!! Hoping that someday soon, there'll be a production of American Psycho again -- maybe off-Broadway this time. (And with the original version of Killing Time intact.)

Great video! I was always intrigued by the prospect of a musical version of the book. This was fascinating! 👍

Been waiting for this!!! I saw the show in previews and fell in love. Always felt it deserved more.

I love your deep dives. So thorough and well-done.

I don't often comment, but I wanted to congratulate you on this video. I have been a fan of this show for a while - either because it was Duncan Shiek, or because I LOVED the book when I read it in the 80's, or because Matt Smith was Doctor Who, I can't tell. But this was so in depth and brilliant. Thank you.

You seriously need more subs. This channel is continuously entertaining and informative. Well done!

Oh man, this video definitely didn't disappoint! Never thought that what seems like such an outlandish idea had such an intriguing story! I'm wondering, however, if you'll consider doing a video on a french musical called "Mozart: L'Opéra Rock", if you look into foreign musicals that is. It was a huge success in France and Japan, got rave reviews, the songs were and still are wildly known and beloved, even started gaining traction overseas like in America, and yet it shut down with little to no real explanation. In fact, lots of French musicals gained and lost traction and opened and closed. If you're interested, they're pretty intruiguing to check out!

When I tell you I clicked IMMEDIATELY! Thank you for covering American Psycho, the Matt Smith run is one of my favorite stage productions ever!

Just starting the video, but I'm so excited for this! I saw it in London and have never stopped thinking about it.

Fantastic work! I'm so glad you got to talk with Duncan.

I watched it 4 times during preview and right before i bought the 5th ticket, it closed :( This show is just fantastic when you watch it in live, and no other show has captured the VIBE of it til now.

Watching this makes me imagine an alternate reality where they started off Broadway and became a wild controversial success that ran all the way up until Covid closed down the theaters. In this better world, there is a comically tone down version released by MTI: American Psycho jr.

Really sad I didn't see this when it was in London That cast was stacked! Ben Aldridge, Lucie Jones, Jonathan Bailey, not to mention Matt Smith

Thank you so much for making this!

I think this musical is amazing if you remove it as an adaptation, the songs are perfect though in capturing the vibe of the book but when you get to the changes that are made to the characters especially Patrick (which i feel was done to make him more marketable and palletable to a wide broadway audience) especially when looking at Jean and Evelyn. I feel ending with the wedding completely takes away from the fact that Patrick will never fit in no matter how much he tries because they give him the perfect american dream in the end which i feel takes away from the fact that Evelyn is a pawn to him, yes she still is at the end but them breaking up is vital to Patrick showing that no matter how he tries to fit in he will let it go even after trying. And yes the wedding is not seen as a good thing but it still feels wasted. Also the treatment of jean and Patrick i feel also undermines how Patrick views women, they turn it into an almost sweet forbidden romance that is an 'out' from thw world to Patrick where it is clear in all other versions that PAtrick only sees Jean as a last resort to getting the life he wante becasue he knows hes going to break up with Evelyn. Making a quite frankly predatory relationship into one that people root for rubs me the wrong way as it gives credit to Patrick's harrassment of jean and him taking advantage of her. Also just a fun one Patrick genuinely liking Les Mis is dumb Sorry for the long opinionated rant its just that American Psycho is a huge special intrest of mine and while i do think the musical shines in some aspects (it was the thing that got me int othe book/movie) i think tis not good as an adaptation (specifically the book) in terms of putting American Psycho on stage. But Matt Smith is an amazing Patrick Bateman

it would’ve been like a satirical sweeney todd without the cannibalism i wish i had seen it.

Wow, I didn’t realize I’d seen a preview for this and not the final run, but given how bloody the version I saw was, I guess I did??? I thought always thought it was so good and never understood how it closed so early, but the blood was a HUGE part of what made it so jarring/surreal. Thanks for solving a personal mystery I’ve had for years!!!

New subscriber here. As an avid Musical Theatre fan, I enjoyed your contents and detailed analysis. Keep on rockin...!

Man your videos are legit the best of the best 🖤🖤🖤

I've been binging a lot of content pertaining to Riverdale and all its offshoots recently, so seeing Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa provoked the most intense "God damnit not again!" I've ever mustered. Half of every bad idea or blundered good potential seem to trace back to the Unholy Trifecta of Aguirre-Sacasa, Michael Eisner, and EA. How the cultural world was able to survive the three of them is a mystery.

Great retrospective! I loved this musical!!! Glad I was able to see it on Broadway.