Actor Benjamin Walker and fellow cast members of the new Broadway musical, American Psycho, dropped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Friday to perform the number "Selling Out" from the production.
American Psycho, originally a 1991 novel by author Bret Easton Ellis, is a transgressive satire on American consumer culture driven by a lunatic Wall Street investment banker. The text received much controversy upon release, eventually becoming an acclaimed work of postmodernism. A later film adaptation broadened its commercial appeal.
As we previously reported, the musical first opened at London's Almeida Theatre in 2013. The U.K. production was helmed by director Rupert Goold and starred Doctor Who's Matt Smith as lead character, Patrick Bateman.
For the Broadway production, Georgia-born Walker was tapped to renew the sinister lead's grotesque transformation. Actor Christian Bale gained mainstream popularity as the character in the eponymous 2000 film. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Walker was made to bulk up his physique for the physically demanding part:
"Walker has shed his Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter skin, and his new role is far more shirtless and ripped. Accompanied by back-up singers and dancers, the actor flaunted his 'utterly insane' abs of steel in performing 'Selling Out.'"
The production's music and lyrics were penned by singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik, best known for his 1996 hit single, "Barely Breathing." The play's dialogue was conceived by playwright and screenwriter Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Glee, Big Love).
The original book and subsequent film were both heralded by critics for their depraved plunge into the human psyche. As Walker told the New York Times, the story's villain protagonist represents a primal urge lurking inside all people:
"I think it is counterproductive to look at someone and go, I would never do that, I would never be like that." [...] "There's a bit of Patrick Bateman in all of us."
American Psycho began its Broadway stretch at the Schoenfeld Theatre in March. The musical will run until late September.
View Walker's rendition of "Selling Out" on The Late Show below. Let us know what you think of the performance in the comments field below. We would love to hear from you.
