We don’t live on the West Coast, so we haven’t had the chance to check out Green Day’s wildly popular American Idiot rock opera at Berkeley Repertory Theater as of yet. Luckily for New Yorkers, now there’s a trailer. And watching it makes us feel really old.
John Gallagher Jr., who won a Tony for his work as Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening, stars, and you can tell that many of the same players involved with that successful (albeit, over-caffeinated) production had a hand in this one; according to the New York Times “the show has set box-office records for Berkeley Rep, which extended the production’s run by three weeks, to Nov. 1, even before the first performance.”
It is currently set to run through November 15.
The show’s web site explains the plot (which is impossible to ascertain through the trailer): American Idiot follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration. This high-octane show features every track from the album, plus several new tunes from Green Day’s newest release, 21st Century Breakdown. With an on-stage band and a cast of 19, American Idiot will take you on an exhilarating journey borne along by Green Day’s electrifying songs.”
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who’s credited with the show’s lyrics and is co-author of the book with director Michael Mayer (who also directed Spring Awakening), says there is currently no plan to bring the show to Broadway, but it would be cool if it happened.
Do you it deserves a spot on the Great White Way? Or was something about the 21 Green Day songs that made the cut lost in translation?