Those video tapes can wait; ‘American Psycho’ thru Kokandy Productions must be heeded
Kyle Patrick and John Drea. Photo by Evan Hanover.
I am a reviewer for Chicagoland Musical Theatre in America's most livable city. I am wearing a gray T-shirt; a Hane's cotton-blend that compliments my long black socks of the same make and brand because Hane's is ubiquitous and affordable. My black Amplifoam Asics tread concrete as I descend the steps of the Chopin Theater. Black denim Old Navy jeans hit my seat as I immerse myself in Kokandy Productions's killer thriller of the season: American Psycho by Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, sourced from the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.
Kokandy’s production resurrects and revitalizes this musical only briefly seen on Broadway in those long-ago pre-Trump years. By the end of any night, this production will have every audience member under the hypnotic spell of exhaustive lists and threatening cataloging. Also, the beat of chopping axes.
Director Derek Van Barham, choreographer Breon Arzell, and music director Heidi Joosten spearhead the most compellingly intimate, tastefully violent iteration imaginable of this show. Fluid and precise, the ensemble becomes a coordinated mob flowing through the horrors of Patrick Bateman's psyche. While walking the walk, this ensemble talks the talk through tight vocals masterminded by Joosten's music direction. In conjunction with Arzell’s choreography, Joosten’s work unifies the chorus from ballroom blitz to slaughterhouse splits.
All culminates in Barham’s delightfully haunting approach to the piece. The ensemble creates Bateman’s world as ever-present specters: his victims, his lovers, his judges, his executioners. Here, it’s made clear that Patrick Bateman is as much a product of his society as he is an expression of it.
Designer G. “Max” Maxin IV, who has lined a runway with business cards and draped the stage in plastic sheets befitting a meat locker. Through the simple abstraction of these elements, Maxin IV’s set is extraordinarily versatile.
With a gorgeous set in place, it still takes a village carving a path for bodies to follow, as evidenced by the invaluable efforts of intimacy coordinator Kirsten Baity, choreography assistant Quinn Simmons, and fight choreographer Kate Lass for their facilitation of movement throughout. Whether the story calls for sex, murder, or partying like it's 1985, brutality becomes beautiful in the hands of such capable artists—capability matched by a killer ensemble of Chicago’s best and brightest.
At the center of it all is Kyle Patrick, whose dedication to a role as daunting and demanding as Patrick Bateman is nothing short of remarkable. One is helpless but to give rapt attention to his steely intensity and affecting vulnerability.
Complementing Bateman’s unreality is the magnificent Caleigh Pan-Kita as Evelyn Williams. Pan-Kita is an unrivaled character actress that brings refreshing levity to every scene she steals. The frenetic sociopathy she brings to Patrick’s psychopathy is a match made in heaven…or hell in this case.
Alongside them, John Drea sells smarmy and sinister in equal measure as Paul Owen. Unapologetically imposing and morally derelict, Drea’s Owen is the perfect picture of a slimy Wall Street stooge.
The praises of the entire production team are too many to encapsulate in so many words; all involved contribute impactfully through various their expertise, and the fruits of their labors are not to be missed. Kokandy continues to make the spooky season the most wonderful time of the year.
American Psycho runs through November 26 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. For tickets or more information, please visit kokandyproductions.com.
For more reviews on this or other shows, please visit theatreinchicago.com.