musicals

Legally Blond. The Evil Dead. Wicked. All of them defied the constraints of their natal mediums to become what many would consider popular stage musicals, with Evil Dead: the Musical introducing a splatter zone, something I feel would make Jesus Christ Superstar a hell of a lot more enjoyable. Jumping on the bandwagon is American Psycho, that 80's music-laden look at a Wall Street executive sporting a quirky love for Huey Lewis and dismembering call girls with a chainsaw.

Variety has reported that Patrick Bateman, the titular psycho who burst onto the screen in the 2000 adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, has finally found a creative team for the musical adaptation courtesy of the Johnson-Roessler Co., Aaron Ray of the Collective, and Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films.

Set to pen the music and lyrics is for some reason Duncan Sheik, known primarily for the 90s pop tune "Barely Breathing," while Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who has penned episodes of the HBO Mormon love fest Big Love, will write the book.

And who should play Patrick Bateman? My vote goes for....Christian Bale. I mean, did you SEE him in Newsies?

Many thanks to the kind folks at Shock Till you Drop for the heads up.

With the announcement of Carrie making a return to the Broadway circuit after a short-lived disastrous first go-round, I'm left holding my head and wondering, "Why?" Horror musicals are like your socially awkward cousin. You know, the one who talks too much and quite possibly bears an uncanny resemblance to Franklin from Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Is it fair to hold the horror musical to the same standards as the dastardly horror film remakes that seem to be happening in droves? I don't think I can help it. Few horror musicals have been born from an original idea which leaves me with the same funny feeling. I'm well aware that remakes have been happening since the dawn of time but this kind of remake is worse. When you add the word 'musical' to anything it evokes a horrible visceral reaction within many people. Adding it to the word horror just seems like a bastardized and shrieking kind of wrong.

Isn't the comical genius of Young Frankenstein and Evil Dead perfect as is? Young Frankenstein was a parody. So, is a mugging Dr. Frankenstein belting out a song called Transylvania Mania anything other than pointless and silly? The film Cannibal! The Musical, another intentional parody by beloved low-budget Troma Entertainment, has more class by comparison. Even Cronenberg's The Fly has been made into an opera, but they don't have me fooled. Adding the smooth vowel-ridden word to the title doesn't soften the blow. In fact, it's almost more cruel. However, Repo! The Genetic Opera would probably disagree with me.