Green Day Takes on Broadway

My Northern California theater friends may already be acquainted with "American Idiot", as the rock opera premiered down the road at the Berkeley Repertory Theater last fall to rave reviews. The show has been tweaked, pimped all over MTV, and ready to open later this month at the St James Theater.

"American Idiot" is inspired by Green Day's 2004 concept album of the same name. Despite selling 17 million copies worldwide and winning the Grammy award for "best rock album", the CD was met with tepid reviews. In fact, Rolling Stone initially said the album was "a mess, although the songs are tough and punchy enough to work on their own". Entertainment Weekly said it was "based on a musical theater concept that periodically makes no sense".

As a Broadway show, continuity is not really the problem. It is staged expertly by Michael Mayer. The biggest problem with "American Idiot" is that we've seen most of it before. The show, in a subtle way, steals a little bit from other "Teen Angst" show that has come before it.

-Young man is seduced into a seedy underworld by a drug dealer?? We already saw that with the Acid Queen in "Tommy"

-Young man falls in love with a fellow drug addict. They make mad love after shooting each other up. Yep, saw that in "Rent"

-Young people being shipped off to fight in a war that they didn't choose? Diane Paulus' tribe did it better in the revival of "Hair".

-Elevated platform in the center of the stage?? Mayer used the same concept in his Tony winning "Spring Awakening".

There is one other significant issue with "American Idiot". The source material was Green Day's middle finger to the Bush Administration in a year where the apathy of the young voter had reached an all time high. In fact, among the sound clips used in the shows opening is the former President saying "you are either with us or you are with the terrorists". However, a mere 4 years later, Barack Obama was able to mobilize many of these "slackers" and convince them that "Yes, We Can" create change. One can argue exactly how much his administration has accomplished, but you can't argue that, more than ever, the young generation is taking part in the process. It's for this reason that parts of "American Idiot" just don't feel current.

The story is most effective and poignant as we watch the journey of Tunny, who joins the military and gets deployed to fight overseas. Part of this is because of our current administration's policy in Afghanistan, part of it is because Stark Sands (taking over the role in NY), is the most compelling presence and the best singer on the stage.

Despite an overall negative tone towards the prospects of young people, the show still has an amazing energy, largely in part to a passionate cast that is giving every fiber of their being to the performance. The orchestrations by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) are magnificent and played wonderfully by the 8 piece band onstage. The choreography amazingly combines a grunge club mosh pit with classical dance. Then there is the music, featuring a multitude of ear candy, radio hits, composed by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong.

In five years, "American Idiot's" greatest contribution to Broadway might not be the piece itself. The matinee I attended was brimming with theater newbies--- Green Day fans who would otherwise never see a Broadway show. My girlfriend and I were approached in the lobby by two girls asking us "how much we paid for a Playbill". The theater needs "American Idiot", much like we needed "Tommy" and "Rent" before it, to serve as an on ramp to the theater for new audiences.

Grade- B