Thirteen years after the release of the cult movie "American Psycho," Jesse Singer '02 will produce a new theater adaptation of the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel that inspired the film. "American Psycho: the Musical," which revisits the story of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, young investment banker with a taste for the violent and racy, is sure to make waves when it hits the stage in London's West End this winter.
About five years ago, Singer and a friend had the idea to turn one of their favorite books and movies into a musical. Adding song seemed to make sense because of music's integral role in the story's plot.
"Music plays a really big part of it," Singer said. "There are entire chapters dedicated to Huey Lewis and the News and Whitney Houston and Genesis."
Hugh Sagona '15, a film studies major, looks forward to the adaptation.
"If it's still successful as a piece of art, I think that's cool," he said.
New versions of popular classics can be challenging because viewers often expect carbon copies of the original.
"People always cry about how it's not a one-to-one adaptation," Sagona said. "But I think as long as the people in charge of it make cool artistic decisions, it will be a good piece of art."
The first step in transforming "American Psycho" into a musical was acquiring the novel's stage rights. While Singer knew Ellis, and used this connection to secure the rights, he still described the legal process to be "very intricate."
"That took about a year and then it became putting the rest of the team together," Singer said.
In addition to Singer, the production team includes writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who has worked on "Glee," Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Duncan Sheik and director Rupert Gould.
"The team has been great to work with," Singer said. "I'm extremely fortunate that we have such a high-caliber, multi-talented team behind us."
The musical has progressed greatly in the past few weeks. On Oct. 7, Matt Smith, a British actor known for portraying Dr. Who on the eponymous BBC drama, was announced as Patrick Bateman, and rehearsals have officially begun.
"It finally came to life in front of what will be its first public audience," Singer said.
Working in the performing arts is nothing new to Singer, who majored in film studies at Dartmouth.
"Jesse was a very determined, organized guy," film and media studies professor Jim Brown said of his former student. "He was as creative as anyone else here, but what gave him a leg up was his awareness that in film in particular, there's a tremendous amount of planning that goes into it."
These organizational skills translated over to Singer's work as a producer, where it is imperative to have everything planned out in order to achieve a complete product.
"I put projects together from the beginning to the end," Singer said. "It's bringing on the rest of the team and then finding the money."
Though Singer often produces for film and television, his company, Act 4 Entertainment, aims to branch out to all types of media.
"The whole mandate of our company is to create projects in different medias that have a current social and political relevance," he said.
Singer said "American Psycho" fit the bill in its content and message for his company's next project.
"The book was very forward-thinking when it came to where we are as a society and what matters particularly at a time when a few people in this country have everything and most people have very little," he said
Though the underlying messages of the novel are profound, much of the drama involves sex and bloody violence.
"The wraps are off in terms of subject matter, almost anything is okay," Brown said. "It's just a question of Can you do a good job?'"
Much of being able to "make it work" depends on the amount of publicity that the musical receives leading up to its opening. With the lead secured, many entertainment websites and publication have started to take more notice of the production including The New York Times, Variety and The Telegraph.
"American Psycho: The Musical" premieres Dec. 12 at the Almeida Theater in London.
