Review: American Idiot

Musical: American Idiot
Date: 10th April 2011 at 19:30
Cast: Van Hughes (Johnny), David Larsen (Tunny), Justin Guarini (Will), Rebecca Naomi Jones (Whatsername), Jeanna de Waal (Heather), Libby Winters (Extraordinary Girl) and Billie Joe Armstrong (St. Jimmy)
Rating: *****


Review: I didn't plan to see or like this show at all but it ended up blowing me away. It's my last night in NYC and I just finished watching Mary Poppins, my 5th show on the trip, and I thought that should be enough. It was Sunday evening and there wasn't a lot to see. Then, I found out that American Idiot had Sunday evening performance and it also had lottery ticket, so I thought to myself, I would go for the lottery and if I meant to see the show, then I would get to, if not, I would go do something else. So right after Mary Poppins, I ran over to St. James Theatre on 44th Street and the lottery was in process. I took a paper, wrote my name and submitted it and then waited... After about 20 minutes, they started to call out names and to my surprise, my name was called out third. (Of course, the lady couldn't pronounce my name but it was still me!) Now I'm still kicking myself for not writing down 2 tickets and taking my brother along for the show. So I ended up in the front row seat for $27, how cool is that!!??!!

The Lottery

St. James Theatre on 44th Street

Let me tell you my background with Green Day. I only heard the song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and then I got hold of the cast recording but I never made it through. But I absolutely loved "21 Guns" and saw Green Day and the cast performed it at the Grammys. Then, I saw the cast performed the title song at the Tonys and saw Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day's leading man, performed "Holiday" and "Know Your Enemy" at the Tonys as well. But I really didn't care much for the rest of the album so I wasn't really sure what I was in for.

GREEN DAY

For those of you who don't know, American Idiot is a musical based on the songs of Green Day from albums "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown". I guess it is kind of a jukebox musical but the difference here is that American Idiot was written as a rock opera with storyline so it wasn't technically a jukebox musical. Still, new characters and extended storyline were developed to go with the existing songs.

Green Day's "American Idiot" album

Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown" album

I took my seat in the front row and it was very front. The stage at St. James Theatre is very tall and I wasn't sure whether the perspective from where I sat would be a good one. But once the show began and the curtain rose, I found that it was a really good seat since I could see everything very clearly. I don't think there were anything that was restricted from where I sat. Before the show started, there was an annoucement, "for the performance, the role of St. Jimmy..." I thought to myself, what the heck! Isn't Billie Joe gonna perform today? "...will be played by Billie Joe Armstrong" and what followed was a thunderous applause and cheers from the audience including me.


The show started off with the whole company performing "American Idiot" which was a really powerful way to begin a show. Once the drum started to play, you know that this was going to be a great theatre experience. There was only 1 scene in the show with lots of TVs projecting different news, photos and live video of on-stage actors from time to time. There was a tall staircase to the right of the stage, hidden high up above was the cellist and violinist. The 4-piece band was on stage with the actors  at all time. As the story moves on, different props were moved in and out to symbolic different places and locations. This reminds me a lot of Rent.

The scene of American Idiot

I must say that the best thing about the show was the music and the cast. The music throughout the show was just incredible. It was powerful, rocking as well as emotional and touching. I can't imagine anyone who came to see this show and not leaving with Green Day as their new favorite band.


The cast was also simply amazing. I was sorry to miss the 3 original leading men: John Gallagher, Jr., Michael Esper and Stark Sands, but those whom I saw didn't disappoint me at all. Van Hughes was our Johnny and I just found out that he had been with the show since the beginning as the swing for all three leading male roles. And he was really good in the role. He portrayed a very believable wasted irresponsible American teenager very well and and his singing was really good. I really like when he sings "When It's Time" to Whatsername who was sleeping and when he suddenly jumped during the song because he thought she woke up.

Van Hughes as Johnny
during "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"

American Idol's Justin Guarini was our Will and he was very good too. The role of Will doesn't require a lot of dialogue and singing but he was on stage very often (on his couch on stage left) while other things were happening simultaneously. I think Will is a role which requires a lot of non-verbal emotional expression and Justin's expression throughout the show was just spot on.

Justin Guarini as Will
during "Wake Me Up when September Ends"

Portraying Tunny, Johnny's best friend-turned-soldiers was David Larsen. I think he got the least complex role of the three leading men and he did it well. His "Are We the Waiting" was really haunting and the flying sequence in "Extraordinary Girl" was really well done. I still don't know how he hid his leg when he was amputated. And when all three of them got together during "Wake Me Up When September Ends" was just a really beautiful moment in the show.

The Three leading men
(Justin Guarini, Van Hughes and David Larsen)

Moving to the ladies who were equally amazing, Rebecca Naomi Jones was Whatsername and from what I saw her at the Grammys and Tonys, she didn't disappoint here at all, her "21 Guns" sent chills down my spine. Libby Winters and Jeanna De Waal was Extraordinary Girl and Heather and both of them had beautiful singing voice and strong acting skills.

Rebecca Naomi Jones leading the girls in "Letterbomb"

Libby Winters as the Extraordinary Girl/Army Nurse
(seen here with original Tunny, Stark Sands)
during "21 Guns"

Jeanna de Waal as Heather (with Justin Guarini)
while they read the postcards of their friends who were on "Holiday"

Since I didn't know much about the plot and actors from the show, I didn't realize that we got an understudy for the role of "Favorite Son". Ben Thompson was our favorite son and he performed the hell out of the role. His singing voice and stage personality was great. The whole number was really fun to watch and I really wish I could have a body like his too but that's a different story. What I didn't know until after was that it was supposed to be (recent Tony-nominee) Joshua Henry who sings that song. Though I regret a bit not seeing him, I think the song actually works better with favourite son being a skin-headed white guy. I'm not being racist or anything here but my first impression with the song was "wow, that was cool, he found someone who looks exactly like Tunny but just bigger" and I think it worked really well for the audience that way. I also need to applaud the whole ensemble cast who were just beyond amazing and without them, the show wouldn't have been this great.

Special mention: Ben Thompson as the "Favorite Son"

Then, we had Billie Joe Armstrong as the villainous St. Jimmy, Johnny's alter-ego, and he was just fantastic. I was expecting another stunt casting and didn't really have my expectations up too high for him. I was wrong. His singing voice was out of the question, it was perfect. What surprises me was his ability to act. The role of St. Jimmy really suits the weird and quacky personality of Billie Joe and it was totally believable. No offence to previous St. Jimmys, I think the show would have been quite different without Billie Joe (but again, I could be wrong). After the show, I couldn't stop listening to "St. Jimmy", "Know Your Enemy" and "Death of St. Jimmy" and thinking back to his performance.

Green Day leading man, Billie Joe Armstrong as St. Jimmy

Now it's the weaker part of the show which was the book. I heard a lot of bad comments that the show was only about music and I do agree to a certain extent. It was clear that the producers rely on the songs to keep the show going because the storyline here was very loose and uninspiring. To sum up the story, American Idiot is about 3 friends who plan to go to the city but one got a girl pregnant so he couldn't go and then got wasted and his girlfriend left him for a rock and roll musician. One went to the city and enlisted into the army and got injured and got his leg cut off and fell in love with a nurse. One conjured up his alter-ego and got so wasted that he jeopardized his relationships with the city girl. At the end, all three reunite at home. If not for Green Day's music, the show would never have happened.


Also, the way the present the storyline was quite confusing at times. I was trying really hard to follow the lyrics and all the symbolics in the show to understand what the show was about. I mean I got the whole gist of it but once I read the synopsis afterwards, I found that I missed out on a lot of details.


Still, it was one of the greatest theatre experiences I have had. Too bad it lasted only 90 minutes but it was a really good 90 minutes. After a while, I actually found myself letting go and choosing to enjoy the music and the story at hand rather than trying to understand the show. The show ends with "Whatsername" which was a bit strange in terms of storyline but it was great musically. Then, there was a curtain call and all the cast had their guitars on and together they played "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". The show received a full house ovation and Billie Joe was right in front of me during his curtain call so I reached up and he shook my hand. How cool is that!!

I'm really sad that the show has closed on Broadway but glad to see it embarks on a national tour. This is a show that I would certainly love to see again if I have the chance. Go see it if you can. (Warning: the show might not appeal to old-fashioned adults and it contains lots of strong language and sexual and drugs content so not for children)

Justin Guarini and Van Hughes during "Jesus of Suburbia"

"Are We the Waiting" with Stark Sands as Tunny

"When It's Time" a love song sung to Whatsername by Johnny (Van Hughes)
observed by the unhappy St. Jimmy (Davey Havok) before bursting out into "Know Your Enemy"

"Death of St. Jimmy"

"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by the entire company

MUSICAL NUMBERS
American Idiot... Company


Jesus of Suburbia:
Jesus of Suburbia... Johnny and Will
City of the Damned... Tunny, Johnny, Will and Company
I Don't Care... Johnny, Will, Tunny and Company
Dearly Beloved... Heather and Men
Tales of Another Broken Home... Johnny, Will, Tunny, Heather and Company


Holiday... Johnny, Tunny with Miguel Cervantes and Company
Boulevard of Broken Dreams... Johnny, Whatsername, Tunny and Men
Favorite Son... Ben Thompson and Women
Are We the Waiting... Tunny, Ben Thompson and Company
St. Jimmy... Johnny, St. Jimmy and Company
Give Me Novacaine... Will, Tunny and Company
Last of the American Girls/She's a Rebel... Johnny, Whatsername, Will, St. Jimmy with Chase Peacock and Company
Last Night on Earth... St. Jimmy, Whatsername, Heather and Company
Too Much Too Soon... Will, Heather with Gerard Canonico and Alysha Umphress
Before the Lobotomy... Tunny and Men
Extraordinary Girl... Extraordinary Girl, Tunny and Company
Before the Lobotomy (Reprise)... Tunny and Men
When It's Time... Johnny
Know Your Enemy... St. Jimmy, Will, Johnny and Company
21 Guns... Whatsername, Extraordinary Girl, Heather, Tunny, Johnny, Will and Company
Letterbomb... Whatsername and Women
Wake Me Up When September Ends... Johnny, Will, Tunny and Company


Homecoming:
The Death of St. Jimmy... St. Jimmy and Johnny
East 12th Street... Johnny with Gerard Canonico, Jason Kappus and Company
Nobody Likes You... Will and Company
Rock and Roll Girlfriend... Heather, Will with Miguel Cervantes and Company
We're Coming Home Again... Johnny, Will, Tunny and Company


Whatsername... Johnny and Company


Curtain Call:

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)... Company