Welcome back to Musical Mondays!
In case you’re new here, this column is a peek into the depths of the Musical Theatre archive, where I will showcase a few musicals that I think deserve a little more love. You can read my past posts by clicking here!
They’re the smaller, niche shows that not everyone will be familiar with – and that’s the point! They deserve just as much love as the big name shows, so every second Monday I’ll list a few, give you some comparisons, and a few examples of songs for you to check out.
This week, we’re travelling back to the time of big hair, bright colour, and bitchy high schoolers: the 1980s.
Standout track/s: In; A Night We’ll Never Forget; The World According to Chris
You’ll like this if you enjoy: Heathers; Rent; the Carrie novel and film adaptations
Click here to listen to the Carrie cast recording.
Standout track/s: Safe in the City; Everything Taboo; Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
You’ll like this if you enjoy: Boy George/Culture Club; Bat Out Of Hell and other 80s Jukebox musicals
Click here to listen to the Taboo cast recording.
Based on the novel of the same name, American Psycho follows investment banker and serial killer Patrick Bateman through the menial and macabre movements of his life. The show premiered on the West End in 2013 with Matt Smith in the title role. It saw a brief Broadway engagement in 2016, closing after just 54 regular performances. The show had a sell-out Australian debut at the Hayes Theatre in 2019, with Ben Gerrard in the lead role. The score fuses an electronic score with 80s pop music, with music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale, Glee). It’s a great adaptation of the source material, and will be a definite favourite for any fans of the film.
Standout track/s: Cards; You Are What You Wear; Killing Spree
You’ll like this if you enjoy: Spring Awakening, 80s music, the American Psycho novel and film
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