Variety: If you’re making a stage musical of “American Psycho,” one thing’s for sure: There will be blood. But that raises a whole host of questions: How do you make stage blood? How much of it does the show go through each night? And how does the production manage all that plasma on a mostly white set, full of actors clad in vintage 80s couture? In the run-up to the April 21 opening night of show on Broadway, Variety checked in with “American Psycho” director Rupert Goold, SFX specialist Lillis Meeh and theatrical fabric painter Jeff Fender to get answers.
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I'm a big American Psycho fan, having read the book and seen the movie multiple times. I believe that there is a darkness in the novel that very few other pieces of media have portrayed, showing the dark, decayed heart of the consumerist society through the eyes of the monster it has created. It plays on your expectations of reality, and attempts to make you question about how you would behave in the same situations by having most, if not all characters terrible people. All of this sounds diametrically opposed to what Broadway stands for, and I have been following the attempts to get this musical off the ground for a while out of pure curiosity for how they would be able to pull it off. This article gives me a lot of insight into how the show was possible, and how much sweat, tears, and blood go into the show. Blood isn't necessarily an important symbol in the book, but I can see the need for the visual metaphor onstage. I think it's important that the director has acknowledged this, and explored what he wants the blood to say, and I think that the 4 different moods blood portrays in the show is a little genius in it's ingenuity.
I think it's particularly wonderful that the New York production's designers took advantage of unique circumstances in the costume department. Instead of beating a dead horse and attempting to salvage already time-worn garments, they chose a unique and more improvisational, transformative route, which I think really reflects the mood of 80s fashion. In doing so, they help the show to evolve and grow with the passage of time as it naturally would. More so, the 80s were a time of vintage revival, when resale shops and thrift stores thrived. By utilizing the resources at hand in a similar way, the production gives new life to an already beloved story and lives truthfully to the time period. Most of all, they make the best of a challenge. It is one thing to bear the weight of a challenging show and attempt to string along what simply can't be avoided. It is another thing altogether to take advantage of the situation, utilize resources one might not always have, and rise to the occasion with a whole new take on the problem. Special effects are no easy thing for anyone involved in a production which utilizes them, as in some small way they must always be accommodated. The New York production of American Psycho's costumers did more than accommodate special effects - they utilized them in a wholly different way.
I’m surprised to hear they didn’t use much fake blood in their London performances. I never would have expected this to be something you could do with projectors (I’d love to read an article about how they did that, the amount of work involved must have been incredible). I normally enjoy most of the props related articles on this blog but they don’t often touch on how the props/special effects work affects other departments, that this one did was a nice change and a good reminder as well. I’m also surprised that their costumes would actually last an entire run. I would have expected them to wear out before that given the amount of washing they must go through. The change over in costumes could be a really cool part of this show. It would be interesting to see it a few times with several months between performances and see if it looks any different or if different costumes lead to any other differences in the show.
After working on A is for Apron, I am particularly well acquainted with the perils and pitfalls of using copious amounts of fake blood in a show. Since some cast members were utilizing some of their own clothing, a great deal of attention was devoted to ensuring that the blood would be truly and wholly washable. Incorporating soap helped a great deal, but even this was not a problem free solution. With detergent added to the mix, now the slinging of the blood-soaked clothes had to be monitored as detergent in the eyes of an actor was a particular concern. A great deal of effort was required each night in order to launder all of the items, an endeavor I am sure is amplified for 'American Psycho'. It was interesting to hear how the SFX person and the costume department dealt with the particular dangers of dealing with blood. Renewing the wardrobe periodically is a novel, and effective idea.
First of all I have to say- sometimes you just shouldn't just make a musical out of things. I know it's hard when some things are so tempting, Broadway people. But this... The Scottsboro Boys? Some things just aren't meant to be sang and danced about. American Psycho is the most disturbing book I've ever read. It made my skin crawl as I thought about the heinous acts. And last year when this was doing its thing in London, I felt compelled to listen. It's alright... But no Broadway number will ever encapsulate how disturbing the story in the book is. Especially coated in blood.
But, regardless of that opinion, after doing Lord of the Flies, I am so impressed. Blood is so difficult to deal with, but it's smart that used blood and soap and water together in the mix to make it easier to clean, because good lord blood cannons? Imagine being on run crew for that.
I don’t know anyone who isn’t interested in how theatrical and television performances execute complicated special effects, especially those involving blood and gore. I think in terms of theater, blood tends to be a much bigger deal, because effects usually need to be much bigger and obvious in order to be clearly read from the house (at least for the few shows I’ve done/ seen with a small reference to blood, actors might just reference to a handkerchief or point to a part of their body, and it was such a small moment that there was no need for a convincing effect. However, for shows like American Psycho and Sweeney Todd, blood is a huge spectacle that needs to be grand, impactful, and perhaps most importantly, washable. I think it’s so crazy that this show needs to occasionally repurchase vintage clothing to supplement the costumes that become too worn out by constant laundering. I think that would be very painful for a costume designer to go through, but I suppose it’s good that the nature of this show doesn’t require super- specific individual pieces, so as long as the period look is achieved it can be successful.
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