"Don't wanna be an American Idiot..."
Sep. 11th, 2010 08:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oritsu_luvLast night Cy and I went to go see 'American Idiot', the new musical by the director of Spring Awakening, based on the Green Day's album of the same name. I felt so lucky to live in the town where the show is making its world premiere.
I went it not knowing what to expect beyond the basic plot outlined in the songs on the album: Boy named Jesus of Suburbia moves to the Big City, falls for Whatshername and also for a charismatic, but ultimately false idol, the drug dealing 'patron saint of denial', St. Jimmy.
The musical fleshes out the storyline, and gives Jesus (now renamed Johnny) two friends, Will and Tunny, and follows the three friends as they take their different paths, trying to find meaning and love in the midst of the rage and frustration of modern day life.
The three friends, twentysomethings stuck in the monotony of the suburban Jingletown plan to move to the big city to make a new life for themeselves. However, just as they're about to leave, Will's girlfriend tells him she's pregnant, so he stays behind with her. Johnny and Will head to the city, where Johnny falls in love with the punky Whatshername, and meets the charismatic drug dealer called St. Jimmy, who has legions of girls and boys swooning for him and his wares, which Johnny is quick to try. By contrast, Tunny is unable to find what he's looking for in the city, and ends up joining the army and going off to war. Meanwhile, Johnny falls deeper in love with Whatshername, and deeper into the thrall of St Jimmy and his drugs. Whatshername tries unsucessfully to get Johnny off the drugs, but the hold of St Jimmy and the drugs is too strong, and after being disappointed by him too many times, the furious Whatshername leaves Johnny. This turns out to the be the kick in the balls he needed to quit the drugs and start a 9 to 5. Soon after, St Jimmy kills himself with a wicked smile on his face. Back in Jingletown, Will's baby mama leaves him in frustration after trying to work things out, and finds herself another, apparently better guy. Tunny is wounded in the war, and at the hospital he meets an Extraordinary Girl, who nurses him back to health. The shows ends with the three friends reuniting as both Johnny and Tunny head home to Jingletown to start anew, wondering 'Is this the end? Or is it only the beginning?'
Seeing the old familiar Green Day songs in a new context was a lot of fun, and impressed upon me again just how good the songs are. They're dynamic and full of emotion, and the fact that most of the audience knows at least the most popular singles, if not every song sung, really helps to reinforce the universality of the themes and storyline.
I knew John Gallegher Jr. from his role as Moritz in Spring Awakening, and I thought he did a great job playing every boy Johnny, the Jesus of Suburbia, especially his frustration with things and his struggle to make sense of it all. Tony Vincent was perfect as St Jimmy, charismatic and dangerous and ultimately a coward, and he had an amazing voice (which incidentally, sounded the most like Billie Joe Armstrong's). Rebecca Naomi Jones, who played Whatshername, had a really great voice, and as the Extraordinary Girl, Christina Sajous put a lot of heart into her role as savior of Tunny. (And did some amazing wirework!) Also, an actor named Theo Stockman, who did the monologue in 'Holiday', among other solos, really stood out to me. I loved him!
There were a lot of similarities to Spring Awakening in terms of the way the set was done and all of that, and they made really effective use of hundreds of TVs all over the walls showing different images.
All in all the show was very well done, and really capture the desperation, frustration and passion of youth, and of the pop punk spirit.
I went it not knowing what to expect beyond the basic plot outlined in the songs on the album: Boy named Jesus of Suburbia moves to the Big City, falls for Whatshername and also for a charismatic, but ultimately false idol, the drug dealing 'patron saint of denial', St. Jimmy.
The musical fleshes out the storyline, and gives Jesus (now renamed Johnny) two friends, Will and Tunny, and follows the three friends as they take their different paths, trying to find meaning and love in the midst of the rage and frustration of modern day life.
The three friends, twentysomethings stuck in the monotony of the suburban Jingletown plan to move to the big city to make a new life for themeselves. However, just as they're about to leave, Will's girlfriend tells him she's pregnant, so he stays behind with her. Johnny and Will head to the city, where Johnny falls in love with the punky Whatshername, and meets the charismatic drug dealer called St. Jimmy, who has legions of girls and boys swooning for him and his wares, which Johnny is quick to try. By contrast, Tunny is unable to find what he's looking for in the city, and ends up joining the army and going off to war. Meanwhile, Johnny falls deeper in love with Whatshername, and deeper into the thrall of St Jimmy and his drugs. Whatshername tries unsucessfully to get Johnny off the drugs, but the hold of St Jimmy and the drugs is too strong, and after being disappointed by him too many times, the furious Whatshername leaves Johnny. This turns out to the be the kick in the balls he needed to quit the drugs and start a 9 to 5. Soon after, St Jimmy kills himself with a wicked smile on his face. Back in Jingletown, Will's baby mama leaves him in frustration after trying to work things out, and finds herself another, apparently better guy. Tunny is wounded in the war, and at the hospital he meets an Extraordinary Girl, who nurses him back to health. The shows ends with the three friends reuniting as both Johnny and Tunny head home to Jingletown to start anew, wondering 'Is this the end? Or is it only the beginning?'
Seeing the old familiar Green Day songs in a new context was a lot of fun, and impressed upon me again just how good the songs are. They're dynamic and full of emotion, and the fact that most of the audience knows at least the most popular singles, if not every song sung, really helps to reinforce the universality of the themes and storyline.
I knew John Gallegher Jr. from his role as Moritz in Spring Awakening, and I thought he did a great job playing every boy Johnny, the Jesus of Suburbia, especially his frustration with things and his struggle to make sense of it all. Tony Vincent was perfect as St Jimmy, charismatic and dangerous and ultimately a coward, and he had an amazing voice (which incidentally, sounded the most like Billie Joe Armstrong's). Rebecca Naomi Jones, who played Whatshername, had a really great voice, and as the Extraordinary Girl, Christina Sajous put a lot of heart into her role as savior of Tunny. (And did some amazing wirework!) Also, an actor named Theo Stockman, who did the monologue in 'Holiday', among other solos, really stood out to me. I loved him!
There were a lot of similarities to Spring Awakening in terms of the way the set was done and all of that, and they made really effective use of hundreds of TVs all over the walls showing different images.
All in all the show was very well done, and really capture the desperation, frustration and passion of youth, and of the pop punk spirit.
