American Psycho opens at Shenandoah Conservatory’s Glaize Studio Theatre in Winchester, Virginia on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, and I was in the room the night before to photograph the dress rehearsal. Guest directed by Andy Mientus, this production of the Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa musical thriller puts the audience right inside 1980s Manhattan, with the cast moving through the aisles and every corner of the space. Below you’ll find a mini playbill with the full cast, creative team, and musical numbers, plus what it was like to photograph a show that refuses to stay on the stage.
American Psycho Comes to Winchester
American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman, a young Wall Street banker whose life revolves around designer labels, exclusive restaurants, and the constant need to stay ahead of everyone around him. Behind the polished image, something much darker is waiting, and the mask he wears for the world is starting to slip. Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis, the musical features a book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale) and music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening), with a pulsing electronic score that mixes original songs with 1980s hits.
Shenandoah Conservatory’s production reimagines the show for the intimate Glaize Studio Theatre, so the audience isn’t just watching the excess of 1980s Manhattan. They’re sitting in the middle of it.
Mini Playbill: Show Details
Show: American Psycho, A Musical Thriller
Presented by: Shenandoah Conservatory, Shenandoah University
Venue: Glaize Studio Theatre, 620 Millwood Avenue, Winchester, VA 22601
Dates: Wednesday, October 28 through Sunday, November 1, 2026
Performances: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM, Sunday at 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Tickets: $24 through Shenandoah Conservatory’s box office
Suggested rating: R. The production contains violence, blood, sexual themes, adult language, theatrical haze, strobe lighting, and loud music, and performers use the aisles and audience areas.
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Creative Team
Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Music and Lyrics by Duncan Sheik
Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Guest Director: Andy Mientus
Choreographer: Rommy Sandhu
Music Director: Joshua Tregre
Co-Scenic Designers: Helena Gryder and Bethany Kasperek
Costume Designer: Eleanor Hawkins
Lighting Designer: Zoe Anderson
Sound Designer: E. Stapes Stapleton
Production Stage Manager: Emerson Stark
Assistant Director: Justin Gulbranson
Assistant Music Director: Erin Shields
Guest director Andy Mientus brings serious Broadway and television experience to Winchester. On Broadway he played Marius in the revival of Les Misérables and Hanschen in Deaf West Theatre’s revival of Spring Awakening, which he also co-conceived. Television audiences know him as Kyle Bishop on NBC’s Smash and as the Pied Piper on The CW’s The Flash. Having a director with that background working with conservatory students is a big deal, and it shows in how confident and committed this cast is.
Meet the Cast
Jake Bieniewicz as Luis, Patrick, and Company
Riley Broshears as Tim Price, Patrick, and Company
Xavi Campos as Paul Owen and Patrick
Kyla Carter as Sabrina, Vanden, Hardbody Trainer, and Patrick
Jackson Chase as McDermott, Patrick, and Company
Aubrey Dunbar as Van Patten, Patrick, and Company
Gabriella Estabrook as Courtney, Patrick, and Company
Indigo Gabriel as Clerk, Patrick, and Company
Trace Herrera as Sean, Patrick, and Company
Morgan Smith as Victoria, Patrick 7, and Ensemble
Ella-Jo Reinhart as Svetlana, Homeless, Patrick, and Company
Josephine Pantoja as Jean, Patrick, and Company
Celia Stafford as Mrs. Bateman and Patrick
Swings: Dara Gordon, Benji W. Josefsberg, Quinlan King, and Lydia Rouse (Dance Captain)
One Role, Many Patricks
If you read the cast list closely, you’ll notice something unusual. Almost every actor in this production is credited as Patrick. I won’t spoil how it plays out on stage, but it’s one of the boldest choices in this staging, and it makes for some of the most striking images in the gallery. Go see it for yourself.
Musical Numbers
Act I
Selling Out
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Cards
You Are What You Wear
Happy Birthday
True Faith
Killing Time
In the Air Tonight
Hardbody
You Are What You Wear (Reprise 1)
If We Get Married
In the Air Tonight (Reprise)
Not a Common Man
Mistletoe Alert
Act II
Killing Spree
Nice Thought
The End of an Island
I Am Back
You Are What You Wear (Reprise 2)
A Girl Before
Don’t You Want Me
This Is Not an Exit
Photographing American Psycho in the Glaize Studio Theatre
The Glaize Studio Theatre is not a traditional proscenium stage. For this production the action surrounds the audience, and the cast moves constantly, through the aisles, past the front row, and into spaces you wouldn’t expect a performer to be. That makes it one of the more exciting shows I’ve photographed at Shenandoah, and one of the more demanding.
In a typical theatre I can pick a spot, learn the blocking, and anticipate where the light will be. Here, the moment I settled into one angle, the scene would move behind me. I spent the night tracking performers across the whole room and repositioning between numbers, so the gallery shows the show from many sides instead of one fixed seat.
The lighting is part of the storytelling too. Theatrical haze, hard spotlights, and strobe effects create a sharp, cold, 1980s nightclub feeling that looks incredible in still images, but it changes from second to second. Timing mattered more than ever.
Glaize is a unique studio to shoot in. It doesn’t always have the same lighting the main stage has, so studio shows can be tough to photograph. This one was different. Before the run, I worked with lighting designer Zoe Anderson and her team to dial in the light for the photo call, so the room was more camera ready than it normally is. That collaboration helped so much. Skin tones stayed even from scene to scene and everything looked great on camera. The lighting team did a fantastic job on this show.
Keeping the Gear Safe When the Show Comes to You
When the actors share the aisles with you, your camera setup becomes part of the space. Before the run started, I planned where I could stand without blocking an entrance or crossing a performer’s path, kept my bag and spare gear tucked completely out of the walkways, and stayed small and mobile instead of setting up anything with legs on the floor.
There are also a few effects in this show I’m not going to give away. Let’s just say I planned my positions so my cameras stayed clear of anything coming off the stage, and the haze meant checking and cleaning my lenses throughout the night. Protecting the equipment and staying out of the way of the actors is part of the job when a production goes this immersive.
Production Team
Assistant Director: Justin Gulbranson
Assistant Music Director: Erin Shields
Assistant Sound Designer: Madison Eismeier
DJ/A1: Peyton Foranoce
Spotlight Operator: KC Provost
Light Shop Manager: Emily R. Smith
Technical Direction Mentor: Matt Hapeman
Assistant Technical Director: Brady Patterson
Scenic Charge Artist and Paint Shop Supervisor: Bethany Kasperek
Deck Stage Managers: Joseph Cecil and Ellary Hileman
Props Supervisor: Marianna Ona
Assistant Props Supervisor: Emma Michelle Luyties
Production Assistant: Tess Tomlinson
Wardrobe Crew Head: Claire Guerber
Wardrobe Crew: Percy McGhee and Eudora Neal
Run Crew: Aidan Espinosa and Konnor Sheffield-Colbert
Several members of the design team, including Helena Gryder, Eleanor Hawkins, Zoe Anderson, and Emerson Stark, are working on this production in partial fulfillment of their B.F.A. in Theatre Design and Production.
More Than a Decade Photographing Shenandoah Conservatory
I’ve been photographing and filming productions for Shenandoah Conservatory for more than ten years, from large musicals on the main stage to the BFA Acting Showcase and intimate studio shows like this one. Every production is a chance to capture students at the start of their careers, and many of them go on to work professionally. American Psycho is one I’ll remember for a long time.
See American Psycho Before It Closes
American Psycho runs for just seven performances, October 28 through November 1, 2026, at the Glaize Studio Theatre in Winchester. With an intimate space and a show this immersive, seats are limited. Get tickets through Shenandoah Conservatory, and take a look at the full photo gallery from the dress rehearsal below.
