American Psycho cancels its NY Premiere at Second Stage
Second Stage Theatre has now announced that the New York premiere of American Psycho, with book by Roberto Aguire-Sacasa and music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik, at the Tony Kiser Theatre, which was to open in March 2015, following previews from February, has now been cancelled and removed from Second Stage's season.
There is no word yet on which production will replace it.
The New York Times reports that the show was pulled by commercial rights owners Act 4 Entertainment, as producers have recently been in negotiations about taking the production directly to Broadway instead.
The musical, based on the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, is directed by Rupert Goold, who directed the London premiere at the Almeida Theatre in 2013, where 'Dr Who' star Matt Smith starred as protagonist Patrick Bateman, but it is not yet known if the British actor will reprise his role in New York.
The musical features a book by Roberto Aguire-Sacasa, whose credits include the television series 'Glee', the Broadway musical 'Spiderman: Turn off the Dark', and 'Good Boys and True' at the Second Stage Theatre. Grammy and Tony Award winner Duncan Sheik provides both music and lyrics to the show, following up on his success with the 2008 musical 'Spring Awakening'.
"American Psycho follows 26-year-old Patrick Bateman who is sophisticated, rich and devastatingly handsome. Living the high life in his Wall Street job in 1980s New York he appears to have the perfect package. As his ambition begins to manifest in the most dramatic way possible, his thirst for killing gets out of control."
Bret Easton Ellis' novel was first published in 1991, and was made into a successful film in 2000 starring Christian Bale. The musical version opened at London's Almeida Theatre to a sell out run and mixed-to-positive reviews. Directed by Artistic Director of the Almeida, Rupert Goold, the production was part funded by a Kickstarter campaign, giving members of the public an opportunity to financially back the musical.
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