IN A high-camp assault on conventional good taste, the Hayes Theatre Co will soon be coming to Canberra from Sydney with a production of “American Psycho: The Musical”.

Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis and the 2000 film, it’s a satirical riff on the American culture of greed seen in movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street”, but this is satire on steroids – or ice.

Partly a jukebox musical, it includes 1980s hits by Phil Collins, Tears for Fears, New Order and Huey Lewis, interspersed with original music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik, the composer of “Spring Awakening”.

It also features endless rounds of pumped-up sex, excessive consumption of food and alcohol and, oh yes, a swathe of murders. 

For the body-perfect protagonist, Patrick Bateman, a 26-year-old investment banker and serial killer whose aspirations to be caught are thwarted in an ambiguous ending – the closing song is titled “This Is Not An Exit” – which makes it look as if he’s got away with murder, only to be punished with a boring married life to his girlfriend Evelyn.

“American Psycho” is a fast-moving kaleidoscope in which Patrick climbs the greasy pole but never manages to make it into the poshest restaurant in town. 

At one level it’s a biting satire on the ‘greed is good’ ethos, as the vain, superficial characters chat about homelessness and the Sri Lankan Civil War while exposing what they really are – empty. But there’s comedy too, as Patrick‘s efforts to become a notorious killer are frustrated at every turn.

According to cast member Amy Hack, one of the exciting parts about the musical is the balance between original and old music, achieved by sound artist musical director, Andrew Worboys, a regular with Hayes productions and seen here in 2018 with “The Wharf Revue”.

“Andrew has pulled the music together to make an amazing sound, the great hits are really evocative and there are great dance numbers,” she says.

Hack, a familiar face to Canberra from previous Hayes productions, including “Spamalot”, gets to play seven different characters as they rush by.

The practice of multiple casting has become commonplace in contemporary musicals, and Hack says, “I really enjoy playing multiple characters”.

One of her characters is Sabrina the sex worker, who gets involved in a threesome with Patrick and is later implicated in what she calls “doing some incredibly harmful things”.

Then there’s Mrs Bateman, Patrick’s alcohol-soaked mum, a role created for the musical. 

It’s a plum part for Hack, as the mother, intoxicated throughout the show, must seem disconnected from the real world, thus making Patrick more three-dimensional by showing how he’s been raised to become a monster. 

That is, Hack is quick to cut in, if you think Patrick is a monster. He could also be perceived as likeable or normal, as he is by his loving secretary, Jean. 

Surprisingly, Hack is adamant that “American Psycho” doesn’t go down the path of “gratuitous violence”, relying more on the comedy that brings to life the vulgarity of the world Patrick lives in. 

“It’s not just about violence – violence is just the tipping point,” she says.

Hack also raises a question which has puzzled critics of the musical as to whether the violence is real or just a reflection of the narcissism, greed and vanity of the protagonist.

The environment of the play is more, she says, “a vicious game, climbing this horrible ladder where there is no room for empathy or real humanity”.

In the end, she believes, the musical speaks of moral ambiguity. 

“We hope people will leave the theatre a little bit rattled,” she says.

“American Psycho: The Musical”, The Playhouse, June 30-July 3. Book here or 6275 2700.