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American Idiot (musical)

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American Idiot
The Musical
MusicGreen Day
LyricsBillie Joe Armstrong
BookBillie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer
BasisAmerican Idiot (Green Day, 2004)
Productions2009 Berkeley Repertory Theatre

American Idiot is a one-act, through-sung, stage musical adaption of rock band Green Day's album of the same name.

The book is by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer, the Tony Award winning director of Spring Awakening. The lyrics are by Armstrong and the music is written by Armstrong and band mates Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool.[1] Tony award winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) has provided the orchestrations.[2] The lead producers for the show are Ira Pittelman and Tom Hulce[3]

Green Day does not appear in the production, but the show has an onstage band.[4]

Production History

Berkeley Rep, 2009

The world premiere at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre began previews on September 4, 2009 and opened on September 15, 2009. It was initially intended to run through October 11, but before the premiere, the theatre announced a three week extension to November 1.[5] After becoming the top grossing show in Berkeley Rep history, the producers extended the run another two weeks to November 15.[6]

Original cast

The cast of 19 includes: [7]

Plot

The musical opens on Johnny, Will and Tunny, three teenage friends unhappily living in suburbia (identified as Jingletown, USA). The three feel numbed by their mundane lives and decide to escape. Johnny (aka Jesus of Suburbia) borrows money from his mother and buys bus tickets to the city for himself and his friends. Will, however, learns that his girlfriend, Heather, is pregnant and decides to stay with her. Johnny and Tunny leave for the city.

While Johnny wanders the city and pines for a woman he sees in an apartment window, Tunny finds it hard to adjust to urban life and decides to join the army. Lonely without his friend, Johnny falls in with a drug dealer named St. Jimmy. Under the influence for the first time, Johnny has the confidence to pursue the woman in the window, known as Whatsername.

As Johnny's story unfolds, the stories of Tunny and Will play out simultaneously. Tunny is deployed to a war zone, presumably Iraq (images of the March 2003 "shock and awe" campaign are seen on the TV screens in the background). He is wounded and ends up in a military hospital, where he hallucinates about the Extraordinary Girl.

Will has difficulty accepting the idea of fatherhood, and Heather becomes increasingly irritated with his immaturity. Despite his entreaties to stay, she eventually leaves him, taking their baby with her. Will laments that everyone he cared for has abandoned him.

Meanwhile, Johnny's drug abuse spirals downward, eventually leading him to heroin, an addiction he shares with Whatsername. His behavior becomes increasingly erratic, and he eventually threatens Whatsername, then himself, with a knife. Whatsername leaves Johnny, after revealing that St. Jimmy was merely a manifestation of his rage against his parents and the establishment.

Johnny is forced to admit that his stepfather, Brad, was right - his life had amounted to nothing. He cleans up and gets a desk job, but eventually realizes that that isn't his destiny either. He returns to his hometown and is reunited with Tunny (who has returned from war with the Extraordinary Girl) and Will (who has also been reunited with his child). At the end, Johnny laments that he lost the love of his life, Whatsername.

Musical numbers

The show features all of the songs from the album American Idiot, some B-tracks and a few of the songs from Green Day's latest album, 21st Century Breakdown. [8]

All songs are originally from American Idiot unless otherwise noted.[9]

  1. Jesus of Suburbia
  2. City of the Damned
  3. I Don't Care
  4. Dearlly Beloved
  5. Tales of Another Broken Home
  1. The Death of St. Jimmy
  2. East 12th St.
  3. Nobody Likes You
  4. Rock and Roll Girlfriend
  5. We're Coming Home Again
  • Whatsername

Reception

Reviews for the Berkeley Rep production were mixed. Karen D'Souza of MercuryNews.com called the production "a thrashing collage of songs fused together with hypnotic movement and eye-popping visuals" and noted that the show is "as compelling as it is abstract [and] channels the grungy spirit of punk while also plucking at the heartstrings."[10] However, Jim Harrington of the Oakland Tribune compared the show unfavorably to the original album by saying "[what] once a was fine Gouda, has been prepackaged as Velveeta", and continued sarcastically "In other words, it should do big business on Broadway."[11]

References

  1. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2009-03-29), "Punk CD Is Going Theatrical", New York Times
  2. ^ http://broadwayworld.com/article/AMERICAN_IDIOT_Opens_At_Berkeley_Rep_Run_916_20090916
  3. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/theater/18greenday.html?_r=1&ref=theater
  4. ^ Hurwitt, Robert (2009-03-31), "Green Day's hits turn into Berkeley Rep musical", San Francisco Chronicle
  5. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/theater/13wtheaterlist.html?ref=theater
  6. ^ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/133382-American_Idiot_a_Bay_Area_Smash_Will_Play_to_Nov._15
  7. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/08/berkeley-rep-announces-cast-for-green-days-american-idiot.html
  8. ^ http://www.berkeleyrep.org/season/0910/3634.asp
  9. ^ Kerrang! Magazine issue 1279 (published 16/9/2009)
  10. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_13356800
  11. ^ http://www.insidebayarea.com/theater-and-arts/ci_13356821
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