American Idiot Musical (Theatrical Production)

[HoneyDo666]

http://www.accesshollywood.com/green-day-brings-american-idiot-to-broadway_video_1211712

Thank you! Rage, love, and ponies!

[sallysimpson]

Hope everyone enjoys the show this weekend! i'm not sure when I'll see it again, but I'm quite confused by the talk of the 'Good Riddance' finale. Neither Wednesday nor Friday night did they have it...

I bought another copy of American Idiot (the album) to replace the copy that mysteriously disappeared the day of the first preview (I seriously have no idea where it went) - my mother said my neighbors probably stole it because I wouldn't stop playing it loudly in the morning. I also picked up a copy of the book 'Nobody Likes You' - has anyone read it? I'm [kind of] a bad fan in that I know their names, their music, and where they're from, and really nothing else.

Someone please explain the Good Riddance thing!! Thanks!

BTW, here are some links to some other pictures I've taken over the past 2-3 days:

http://tinyurl.com/yc5p259

http://tinyurl.com/yeodste

Ok, the good riddance encore was really part of a deluxe curtain call. The cast all had guitars and all played (or pretended to play) the song to some extent. It wasn't in anyway incorporated into the show itself -- they weren't in character. To me, it seemed more like a tip of the cap to the band. I suspect the cast and everyone involved in the play are concentrating on getting the show perfect -- they are still ironing out bits (plus that is one energy-intensive gig) before they even consider rehearsing a second or third curtain call. Which seems appropriate to me. I suspect it'll show up eventually, possibly on particular nights.

[sundaymorning6am]

Ok, the good riddance encore was really part of a deluxe curtain call. The cast all had guitars and all played (or pretended to play) the song to some extent. It wasn't in anyway incorporated into the show itself -- they weren't in character. To me, it seemed more like a tip of the cap to the band. I suspect the cast and everyone involved in the play are concentrating on getting the show perfect -- they are still ironing out bits (plus that is one energy-intensive gig) before they even consider rehearsing a second or third curtain call. Which seems appropriate to me. I suspect it'll show up eventually, possibly on particular nights.

Ah yes! I thought this is what people meant. It would be QUITE strange to tack it on to the end of the show after Whatshername. It wasn't in the show either time when I saw it in Berkeley, nor was it in the show when I saw the first and third previews last week. But I can't wait to see it if/when they add it in!

And side note, I'm in the middle of chapter one of "Nobody Likes You" and i'm loving it!!

[Jet Taman]

I had a tough time scrolling through 132 pages to find the answer to this so could somebody please tell me about how long the show is? 2 hours maybe?

I'm taking the Megabus up to NY from Baltimore and I need to make sure I get the right bus back home. Overnighting is not an option considering my 3 year old is home with Nana so I need to be back that night.

Thanks!

BTW, getting my "Blue" tattoo this week!

[jetsrule128]

I had a tough time scrolling through 132 pages to find the answer to this so could somebody please tell me about how long the show is? 2 hours maybe?

I'm taking the Megabus up to NY from Baltimore and I need to make sure I get the right bus back home. Overnighting is not an option considering my 3 year old is home with Nana so I need to be back that night.

Thanks!

BTW, getting my "Blue" tattoo this week!

1 hour 30 minutes

[GDM]

Ah yes! I thought this is what people meant. It would be QUITE strange to tack it on to the end of the show after Whatshername. It wasn't in the show either time when I saw it in Berkeley, nor was it in the show when I saw the first and third previews last week. But I can't wait to see it if/when they add it in!

I said it was the encore, guys. Sorry if I confused anyone. And I'm still not sure about it. I guess I'll have to wait until I see it to make up my mind.

[sundaymorning6am]

I said it was the encore, guys. Sorry if I confused anyone. And I'm still not sure about it. I guess I'll have to wait until I see it to make up my mind.

I think it makes total sense - they bow and then sing 'Good Riddance [Time Of Your Life]' as you exit the theatre? It's perfect.

[GDM]

I think it makes total sense - they bow and then sing 'Good Riddance [Time Of Your Life]' as you exit the theatre? It's perfect.

I've seen the show four times without it. So I am pretty happy without it. I'll make up my mind when (and if), they do it the next two times I see the show.

[**nobodylikesyou**]

I like Frank better. He'll always be Frank to me.

me tooooo.

[plaid ducky]

I think it makes total sense - they bow and then sing 'Good Riddance [Time Of Your Life]' as you exit the theatre? It's perfect.

Well, no... not as you exit the theater. It's not the closing credits song. Heh...

In Berkeley, after "Whatshername," the curtain closes, the curtain rises again & the cast bows, the curtain closes & rises again and the cast all appear with guitars, they sing/play "Good Riddance" as the audience still stays at their seats, the cast leaves the stage and then the audience leaves. It's proper theater etiquette to not leave until after the cast has left the stage.

[sundaymorning6am]

Well, no... not as you exit the theater. It's not the closing credits song. Heh...

In Berkeley, after "Whatshername," the curtain closes, the curtain rises again & the cast bows, the curtain closes & rises again and the cast all appear with guitars, they sing/play "Good Riddance" as the audience still stays at their seats, the cast leaves the stage and then the audience leaves. It's proper theater etiquette to not leave until after the cast has left the stage.

Yeah, I understood that, but is there anything more appropriate than singing 'Good Riddance' right before you're expected to exit? I don't care either way, but I'll be interested to see/hear it if they put it in place.

[sallysimpson]

Many know I have strong opinions on this show – most good, but some more critical. I’m not going to rehash my overall views or the storylines, but I thought I’d pull out my notes and just give my impressions from the 27 March performance.

A few small changes that I found interesting at the opening: The cast now faces the back wall while the news montage occurs rather than having Will, Johnny and Tunny face the audience and watch their individual tvs. The swing players sang the majority of “American Idiot” and the three principles joined toward the end. They share the spotlight a bit more, setting the stage for a less Johnny-centric show and resulting in subtle changes that led to substantial development particularly in Tunny’s character. As has been noted, Johnny’s monologues have been divided to give both Tunny and Will a bit more to say. So from the beginning of the show, the three principles are on even ground. And I think that’s key, because the staging and storylines are structured to compare the paths of the three guys. Tunny also sings a good chunk of JOS, and escaping Jingletown is clearly a dream Tunny, Johnny and Will share (though the latter feels forced to abandon that dream). Johnny’s dream is an undefined ideal, but he and Tunny are running away from something rather than towards something, and this has negative consequences for both of them.

A good portion of the new and improved characterizations occur in the background. During BoBD, while Johnny contemplates his isolation and meets Whatshername, Tunny thrashes in bed and awakes singing the “city of the damned” refrain from JOS. Leaving changed only his location – it hasn’t eradicated his overall frustration.

Although I believe Will was on stage for the entire show in Berkeley, his constant presence on the couch – first with Heather, then with his replacement buddies – highlights his stasis. And that stasis is even more poignant when Will and his buddies are watching the military commercial at the same time Tunny watches it, but their reaction is vastly different: they mocked it while Tunny, desperate to move toward something, joins the military, I believe, to escape this new city of the damned, not to embrace the war or a military paradigm.

Johnny doesn’t find his ideal, and, similar to Tunny, opts to escape his consequent frustration but does so through drugs. Novocain explores the guys’ diverging paths: Will feels overwhelmed and abandoned (feelings he numbs through pot and alcohol); Johnny’s drug use at first results in a sense of belonging as he is now free to pursue Whatshername, who embodies Johnny’s ideal (as articulated in LotAG and She’s a Rebel); and now in the military overseas, Tunny ends up truly needing anesthesia after he experiences battle and is wounded.

They’ve also strengthened Tunny’s relationship with The Extraordinary Girl (his nurse). In During the Lobotomy/Extraordinary Girl, she wheels him out while dressed in fatigues – and she is obviously emotionally invested in Tunny’s emotional and physical recovery. Other similarly clad nurses wheel in the other three soldiers, but they are far more pragmatic in their interaction with the patients. While I’m still not in love with the flying scene, it now has a premise, and Tunny desires The Extraordinary Girl physically and psychologically. He needs her to save him. While I still don't LOVE the hallucination scene, it's now considerably less jarring than it was during the Berkeley run. The psycho Nurse Cratchits only appear after Tunny’s wound is so painful that the morphine can no longer control it.

Although the clear focal point of 21 Guns is Johnny and Whatshername, the presentation of the three principles’ relationships highlights how far each has progressed (or digressed) in their respective emotional journey: Will’s refusal to grow with Heather as parents isolates him; despite Whatshername’s efforts to refocus Johnny on “what’s worth fighting for”, he rejects her for drugs; and after Tunny’s amputation, he first resists, then allows himself to be emotionally vulnerable with his nurse.

Tunny’s emotional journey is even more pronounced in Homecoming. Upon seeing Tunny, Johnny is angry and tries to fight with him. Will tries to restrain Johnny, but it’s not until Tunny places his hand on Johnny’s shoulder (reminiscent of the “I don’t care if you don’t care . . .” choreography during JOS that implied the group’s rejection of conventional authority) that Johnny allows himself to acknowledge the pain he’s experienced and be empathetic to his friends’ pain (Tunny’s loss of his leg, Will’s loss of his child). Though this is Johnny’s story (“my love, my war, my life”), I believe Tunny is the most dynamic character of the three principles when the curtain falls. And because Tunny’s and Will’s character arcs now stand on their own, Johnny’s struggles are all the more poignant because the comparisons between the three are fuller, more meaningful.

It’s a much stronger piece than the show I saw in Berkeley in September and November, and certainly worthy of Tony nominations (I expect best musical, music, book, and direction -- likely at least a nod to Tony Vincent). They are still tweaking bits. I was amazed that small changes

(eg, Tunny thrashing about in bed and singing city of the damned refrain in BoBD)

had such significant impact. For me, seeing the evolution of this piece has been the most gratifying part of my experience. That and hanging out with J'net, Tanya, Abbey and other lovely fellow Idiots.

[sundaymorning6am]

YESSS!! Sallysimpson, that part of Tunny at the end of BoBD is a GREAT addition! I got chills when I saw it on Friday and could actually figure out what he was saying!

[J'net]

For me, seeing the evolution of this piece has been the most gratifying part of my experience. That and hanging out with J'net, Tanya, Abbey and other lovely fellow Idiots.

Me, too, Dawn ... on both counts .

[plaid ducky]

It’s a much stronger piece than the show I saw in Berkeley in September and November, and certainly worthy of Tony nominations (I expect best musical, music, book, and direction -- likely at least a nod to Tony Vincent). They are still tweaking bits. I was amazed that small changes

(eg, Tunny thrashing about in bed and singing city of the damned refrain in BoBD)

had such significant impact. For me, seeing the evolution of this piece has been the most gratifying part of my experience.

Actually, that Tunny thing was in the Berkeley production at one point; I've "seen" it done with Matt Caplan around October... However, that part wasn't there when I actually saw it the last weekend.

ETA: Really crappy video proof

[jetsrule128]

HAS ANyone seen Jason W Jason F OR Jeff at the shows yet?

i wonder where they are

[GDM]

HAS ANyone seen Jason W Jason F OR Jeff at the shows yet?

i wonder where they are

I don't know about Freese, but White just played a gig in California this past weekend and 1234 Go Records just announced on FB that he'll be opening for Exene on April 10th in California. Maybe they will all come in for the opening.

[Katarina.]

YESSS!! Sallysimpson, that part of Tunny at the end of BoBD is a GREAT addition! I got chills when I saw it on Friday and could actually figure out what he was saying!

Yeah I heard that too. I love that addition, it sounds like that part is supposed to be sung at the end of BOBD <3

[Abbey.]

Hello friends. I saw the show Saturday night 3/27 with the lovely J'net and Dawn (sallysimpson) and Dawn you captured so many brilliant point with your note.

This was the first and probably only time I will see the show and I just want to mention to all of you here that if you are sitting on the fence whether or not to go see it, YOU MUST GET A TICKET AND GO SEE IT NOW. i cannot implore you enough to buy yourself a ticket whether it be via the student lottery, the last row in the balcony or the $$$ orchestra seats.

YOU WILL BE ASTOUNDED as to what Michael Mayer, Tom Kitt, our Green Day boys, these actors, and the many many talented people behind the scenes created in AMERICAN IDIOT BROADWAY. Hearing the album live front to back with the enhancement of this linear story and these mind-blowingly talented actors will leave you with a greater love for the AMERICAN IDIOT album. It is a brilliant interpretation of the music. How Michael Mayer and Billie Joe fleshed out this story left me in shock. (I briefly met Michael Mayer and Tom Kitt after the performance and they were such gracious human beings to share a moment of their time with a stupid fan-woman like myself.)

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go see it. DO NOT HESITATE. GET OFF THE FENCE AND GO BUY A TICKET.

Maybe you will love it, maybe you will hate it....but as a GREEN DAY fan you will, without a doubt, appreciate it.

[jetsrule128]

I don't know about Freese, but White just played a gig in California this past weekend and 1234 Go Records just announced on FB that he'll be opening for Exene on April 10th in California. Maybe they will all come in for the opening.

where can we hear his solo stuff?

[pattifan]

First (partial) week of Broadway Grosses:

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138283-Broadway-Grosses-March-22-28

This is pretty good given the lack of stars in the production.

[christycard]

Greendayloveat38, thank you for that! I haven't seen the show yet, but will be heading out for the April 19th show and am now even more excited to see it! It's nice to get an opinion of someone who is seeing it with fresh eyes. (Nothing against you all who were lucky enough to see it in California, except jealousy!!!)

[sundaymorning6am]

So, at 7pm tonight, my friend texted me and told me he had an extra ticket for the show tonight. I asked him how much, he said 'free,' I said, 'see you in 20.' Row C of the orchestra on the right side. It was awesome.

Michael Esper had his high notes back, I noticed that they've started using multi-colored strobe lights during the military choreography in 'Give Me Novocaine,' the choreography in 'Extraordinary Girl' gets tighter and tighter each time I see it, and the choreography by the nurses during the reprise of 'Before the Lobotomy' still seems disjointed. I wondered again where is the other half of Stark's leg after he 'loses' it in the show.

Tobey McGuire was there, standing on the side walk before the show and being mobbed by NO ONE, and when I walked into the theatre, Mike was at the merch booth buying a t-shirt and Tre was at the bar getting a drink. No one was being mobbed, it made me smile.

The audience began to stand before the curtain even came back up! Oh, and no trace of Good Riddance at the end yet either!

I love it, but I think three times in six days is a bit much. I'm putting myself on at least a two week break!

[TAG]

is anyone going to the show tomorrow? idk where im sitting but i got the free tickets from having the pink wristband last tues =]

[jetsrule128]

Tobey McGuire was there, standing on the side walk before the show and being mobbed by NO ONE, and when I walked into the theatre, Mike was at the merch booth buying a t-shirt and Tre was at the bar getting a drink. No one was being mobbed, it made me smile.

wow that's awesome

did tobey at least have an umbrella?