American Idiot Musical (Theatrical Production)

[mallorymaloney]

I'd like a copy as well, please!

[Mari91]

can some one PM it to me too?!

btw i jsut read the recap on the play, it sounded great! i hope it comes to broadway!

[thoroughlyme]

may someone also pm a copy of this full version of 21 guns to me too?

[Modern Zero.]

I really am VERY proud of Green Day for this. And I agree with amy_runs. It must be incredible to see their album being performed by someone else. I would have loved to see their reactions to the whole thing, especially Billie. For anyone that was there first night, did you manage to catch a glimpse at their reactions or anything during the musical?

[J'net]

I really am VERY proud of Green Day for this. And I agree with amy_runs. It must be incredible to see their album being performed by someone else. I would have loved to see their reactions to the whole thing, especially Billie. For anyone that was there first night, did you manage to catch a glimpse at their reactions or anything during the musical?

Here's my recap on facebook (set up so everyone can see it). I mentioned Adie's reaction in the recap. Also, I could hear Tre's reactions from time to time. Everything I heard from him sounded positive.

[dolce]

^ I can't see it!!! It just takes me to my FB homepage.

[thoroughlyme]

^^

Same thing happens to me

[Sarahnade.]

^^Reading your recap now, J'net! I'm excited to read about their reactions!

Girls singing Green Day songs = strange, yet pleasing.

THIS. I'm in love with Whatsername's voice. Rebecca Naomi Jones is very talented, and super pretty. I like her voice better than everybody elses.

And for the 21 Guns thing, if anyone else wants it, PM me. I'm getting lost going through the thread and trying to get to everyone that wants it.

[J'net]

^^

Same thing happens to me

Hmmmm - I just double checked, and it's truly set to Everybody. Maybe if you log into facebook and THEN click the link it might open? Maybe facebook just wants you to be logged in. When I click the link, it takes me to the note with the recap, so I know the link itself is right.

Other than that, I don't know what the problem could be, but if you continue to have trouble, I'll just paste the recap in here. I've just stopped doing that because my recaps are so long! Let me know, though, if you can't get it to work, and I'll do that.

EDIT: Actually, I think I figured out the problem. I was editing the note when I grabbed the link. Everyone doesn't have rights to edit my note - just read it. So here's a corrected link:

EDITED AGAIN ... Okay - another Edit - another link ... try this one!

Recap

[dolce]

^ Yeah, my problem is I am logged in. When I click the link all it does is send me to my own Facebook Page.

[JAS0N]

Not sure if this was discussed before but found a link to what is supposedly video of the musical, i'll check it out and post back how it is.

[dolce]

Sorry J'Net - even the corrected link takes me to my own homepage.

[XusernameX]

It takes me to my homepage too

[JAS0N]

Sorry its not video but audio from the whole play....can I link it here or is that against the rules?

[J'net]

Sorry its not video but audio from the whole play....can I link it here or is that against the rules?

Please don't link it here. And thanks for asking first!

[dolce]

It takes me to my homepage too

I'm glad it's not just me!

EDIT: I tried the newest edit with still no luck.

[J'net]

Okay, the other link seemed to also have a problem, so I'm trying one more time.

If this doesn't work, I'll just paste the recap here. Sorry for all the aggravation!

Third-time's-a-charm recap!

[XusernameX]

Wait! Do i have to be friends with you to see it. Cause that may be the problem.

It didn't work for me either.

[Moxy Crimefighter]

It takes me to my homepage too

does that to me also.

can you copy it and paste it here so that those of us who aren't rad enough to have facebook can read it?

[dolce]

I feel awful for being a pain-in-the-neck but it's still not working! I'm so sorry!

[**nobodylikesyou**]

it doesnt matter how long it is jnet, no one minds.

i posted my tubby recaps and they were massive. Go for it.

[J'net]

I feel awful for being a pain-in-the-neck but it's still not working! I'm so sorry!

I'm thinking those of you who have facebook and aren't seeing it may have some odd security setting that's keeping you from seeing it. No one's ever had this problem with my recaps before, and I've been doing them this way for a while. Anyway, my facebook is J'net Newton, so feel free to friend me if you'd rather read it there. Otherwise, here goes >>>

Disclaimers:

If you are planning to see the show, be warned that this entire note is a big, fat SPOILER! Read it at your own risk.

This note is written by a Green Day fan for Green Day fans. It’s a factual accounting of all the details I can remember as well as containing some elements of a review. I’ll be writing a more objective review for the Green Day Authority web site. But this is for those who weren’t able to go and are craving an account of what it was like. Of course, most of this is from memory – though I jotted a few notes during the second performance. Please let me know if you’re aware of anything I’ve missed or stated incorrectly.

I've read very little of anything else that's been written regarding this show in an attempt to write my own thoughts without being influenced by others'. I'm sure I'll greatly enjoy reading everything now, but if you find that I've outright contradicted something written by someone else, this is why. I've just written my own thoughts and impressions.

In trying to get this out quickly for the folks who have been begging (nagging) for it, I haven't done a thorough check for grammatical or typing errors (Daniel!). Please let me know nicely if you find any.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can read these words and get some idea of the experience, but try to hear the music – remember the music is always there throughout all of this action. It’s the music that ties it all together and makes it make sense.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

American Idiot (the musical) - Berkeley Repertory Theater - September 4 & 5, 2009

The show began before the curtain was raised with audio of newscasters’ voices broadcasting snippets of news such as, “ … searching for weapons of mass destruction …” “ … Saddam Hussein … “ “ … more troops … “ “ … the war in Iraq … “ one after another and sometimes overlapping. It was an interesting way to set up the context of the show right from the start.

When the curtain was raised, it kept going up for what seemed like forever. The entire height of the theater was used for the set – right up to the ceiling, and the entire wall area was plastered with band posters (some are well-known bands – I saw Misfits, Social Distortion, a little band called Green Day, and more). I also saw Mikey’s Acid Ocean poster right in the center of the stage slightly above the height of the nearby bathroom door (just to stage right of center).

There were some platforms on the back wall – several to stage left with stairs connecting them. These also went all the way up to the ceiling. There were many televisions set into the walls. Throughout the show, the televisions displayed images/scenes that were pertinent to the song and action going on at the time. There was half a car suspended from the ceiling on stage left (the front half, but it gives the effect of a whole car).

The height of the set was the first thing that really made me feel the power of the production. As the curtain was raised and the set wasn’t ending, it became so HUGE.

***American Idiot

When this song started, it felt good right away. I wanted to do what I do at a concert - start jumping up and down and singing along (okay – I confess, I did sing along, but I managed to stay in my seat … just barely). I like the way the cast attacked this song with high energy and set the mood for me from the start. However, the first night I saw the show, I was still so fascinated by the set; I don’t think I immediately felt the full power of this song as it was performed here. The cast gave it everything they had – just as Green Day performing in concert always gives all their energy and commitment to every song. But this was not Green Day performing American Idiot. It was so different that comparing the two wasn’t the problem I thought it potentially could be.

The main character, Johnny, is central to this song and center stage for much of it. However, there was an incredible amount of action on stage from the other characters and the ensemble. During this song, we started to see the strong, close relationships amongst this large group of friends. In addition, Will and Tunny were both revealed as TV watchers. Will appeared to watch more out of boredom while Tunny seemed sucked in to whatever was happening as he flipped through the channels.

There is no dialog in this show. Aside from the music, the only speech consists of monologues between songs that are taken directly from the letters in the American Idiot special edition book.

Johnny started with the first letter, “Dear Me,” between American Idiot and Jesus of Suburbia. While it has elements of humor, they seemed to be lost on most of the audience. My guess is that the intense nature of the first song hadn’t worn off yet, and the humor came as a surprise. Most people probably had their own private delayed reactions to it.

***Jesus of Suburbia

I loved the way this song started with Johnny playing air guitar with gusto. How many of us can resist the temptation when we’re alone in our rooms and we hear the opening chords of JOS? That simple action made me identify strongly with Johnny’s character. He had me hooked right there!

During JOS, Johnny and his two friends, Will and Tunny, decided to leave town together. However, this was also the song where one of the three plot lines was revealed, and it caused them to change their plans. The “Dearly Beloved” portion of the song was sung by the character Heather, who is Will’s girlfriend. She ran out of the bathroom door singing this section with a worried look on her face and a pregnancy test in her hand. She kept checking it throughout this part but didn’t let Will see it (though she’s singing to him most of the time).

Later in the song, Heather also sang “I don’t feel any shame, I won’t apologize” while letting Will know that she was pregnant. Then the entire ensemble sang as a beautiful choir, “Running away from pain when you’ve been victimized – tales from another broken – HOOOOOOME.” Will stayed behind as Johnny and Tunny said goodbye to everyone and left town.

A note about the choreography here: I liked the very spare, subtle nature of much of the choreography for this show. I found the movements to be quite naturally human but strongly evocative of the emotions these characters were feeling. The words angry, intense, and tortured often came to mind.

The monologue between these two songs was the “To the city” letter from the AI special edition book.

***Holiday

The performance and the staging of this number were brilliant. At the beginning of the show, there was a tall metal scaffold sitting against the wall stage right (next to the bathroom door). It was used by several of the performers during the show to stand or dance on – it was just a plain, ordinary-looking scaffold. During Holiday, Johnny climbed to the top of the scaffold and several cast members pushed it to center stage. Then, while Johnny was still standing atop it, they began slowly tipping it over toward the audience, and it became a bus on wheels! The sensation of seeing that thing tilting towards us and Johnny on top singing away and not at all concerned about possibly falling off was unreal! He was standing in a position that enabled him to gradually tilt as well so that he was standing inside the bus when it touched down. The illusion of the bus was primarily achieved by the cast members who were constantly moving as if the bus were bouncing along (they were moving in rhythm with the vehicle and also moving as people on a party bus would be doing). At the end of the song, the bus was rolled off stage through a large door that opened stage left.

When Holiday was finished – I had cold chills and was looking at Mikey and Liz (sitting on either side of me) with my mouth hanging open. This song is certainly one of the highlights of the show. One of the ensemble members (Theo Stockman, if I’m remembering correctly), did an outstanding job of speaking as the “Representative of Jingle Town” doing the “Zeig Heil to the president gas man … “ section of the song.

***Boulevard of Broken Dreams

So, Johnny and Tunny left town together during the song Holiday while Will stayed behind with Heather. The next scene started with Johnny waking up in some anonymous room while Tunny continued to sleep. Johnny started Boulevard of Broken Dreams alone and playing an acoustic guitar. By the end of the song, the ensemble was there singing with him. It was beautifully done. Some sign language was incorporated into the chorus, and I found that enriched the experience (for me, at least).

I’m almost sure (but not quite) that this was the song where two windows were revealed in the back wall of the set. Whatsername opened the blinds in one of them and looked out. Johnny looked up and saw her and lifted his guitar above his head as if in a salute. She looked at him for a moment and then laughed, nodded, and disappeared.

After BoBD finished, Johnny gave us the monologue that begins, “Is life imitating me?”

***Favorite Son

This was an incredible surprise, beginning with the fact that it was this song. It started with television bombardment all showing the same face looking excruciatingly smug and self-satisfied with a huge smile. Tunny had woken up by now and was sitting on the end of the bed fascinated by the television. Suddenly, a “window” opened rather high in the back wall of the set, and an exceptionally fit man wearing nothing but his underwear grabbed the window sill and did a flip out onto the stage. He was flexing his muscles, and the toothy grin never stopped throughout the entire song. As he sang, five women in sequined dresses came out to dance around him, pet him, tease him, etc. At one point, they began to help him dress – all choreographed as part of the song – white dress shirt, trousers, black patent shoes – then they all gathered around him as he put on his jacket and turned to face the audience. He was now wearing full military uniform and saluted with precision – still with the huge smile. By the end of the song, Tunny was fascinated by the real man rather than just the image on the television. At that point, Favorite Son segued into …

***Are We the Waiting?

This song further developed the plot as it became obvious that the “Favorite Son” character was a recruiter and that Tunny had been sucked in. A row of ensemble members marched on to the stage wearing plain underwear – like recruits undergoing their physical exams. The marched out in slow motion (in time with the song) and stood in a row – the choreography for this number was very simple – they did some motions throughout the song that made it clear they were military – holding and firing weapons, for example. By the end of the song, as they all marched slowly off the stage, Tunny was one of them.

This song was so moving. This is definitely one of the places where I felt my eyes smarting with tears.

***St. Jimmy

Johnny began the singing of this song, and I believe he sang it up to “1, 2” and then Jimmy did the fast, “1, 2, 3, 4!” and began singing at “My name is Jimmy …” I can’t say enough about the perfection of Tony Vincent’s interpretation of this role. This was certainly one of the stand-out songs from a musical that I found to be exceptionally fine throughout. Jimmy’s appearance was tall, thin to the point of being skinny – completely black and white – very white skin – some black tattoos – all black clothing. His head was shaven on one side only and flopped over his eyes in front. His body language was edgy and caused a sensation of creepy discomfort. The song was brilliantly executed by Vincent and the rest of the cast. By the end of the song, St. Jimmy had introduced Johnny to drugs.

At this point, the scripting of the monologues started to deviate from the special edition book. Johnny gave us the first half of the letter that comes after “St. Jimmy,” ending with – “You were right, I did make a friend at camp.” He begins this monologue with Jimmy at his side and by the end, he finds Whatsername in his bed, undresses, and climbs into bed with her.

***Give me Novacaine

This song was so powerful on so many levels that my words will take away some of the magic. But I’ll try to describe it anyway. As the song was performed, we saw the plot lines of all three major characters unfolding. Will began singing. He was sitting on his couch, zoned out in front of the TV as Heather entered behind the couch. You know the words … “Take away this sensation” “bittersweet migraine” “I can’t take this feeling anymore.” Will was singing these words as Heather slowly tidied around the couch and then had trouble sitting down as she was so obviously pregnant by this time. As he sang these lines, there was some laughter from the audience in response to the irony of the scene.

Johnny and Whatsername were doing a slow, very sensual experimentation with drugs and sex throughout the song until, by the end, they were passed out on the bed.

Tunny and his fellow soldiers entered during the song, and performed a slow motion dance that evoked soldiers lying on the ground being shot at. At some moments, their bodies would jerk into the air as strobe lights accentuated the effect. It was horrific and distressing. It fit perfectly into the intense part of the music, right after the “Oh, Novacaine!” I’ll never hear that song in quite the same way again. At the end, Tunny was half-carried off stage by two of the other soldiers.

One thing I particularly noticed during this song was the beautiful voice of Matt Caplan (Tunny).

***She’s a Rebel

As Johnny and Whatsername started waking up and getting dressed, he began singing this song. However, they both sang parts of it, as did the ensemble. The action added some intensity to the song, but what really made me sit up and take notice was the appearance of St. Jimmy right in the middle of everything near the end of the song singing part of “St. Jimmy.” It’s hard to imagine, and I can’t even bring back the sound of it in my head now, but the two songs fit so well together. I loved the way this show was full of surprises like this one.

Johnny now gave us the letter that follows “She’s a Rebel” in the book. He then ran off the stage, stoned and laughing, with Whatsername.

***Last Night on Earth

This song was another surprise, as it was sung by St. Jimmy in the beginning. He was standing on one of the platforms – not too high, but somewhat elevated – and he sang in his beautiful, sweet voice – adding another dimension to St. Jimmy’s character. I have a lot to say about this character, which intrigued me even more than I expected. Later … though.

After St. Jimmy started the song, Heather joined in. She was holding her baby and completely enthralled with it. When she sang, “My beating heart belongs to you,” all her heart was directed at that baby.

***Too Much Too Soon

This song primarily focused on developing the Will/Heather story. There was too much emotional baggage between them, too much to do with a new baby, too much junk lying around the house – all basically telling us they were overwhelmed by everything going on in their lives before they were ready for it. During this song, they had a fight, and two of their friends came in to support them. It ended up with the two women leaving (a suitcase was involved).

***Before the Lobotomy/Extraordinary Girl

This song started out with four hospital beds being wheeled onto the stage by nurses. Four soldiers (one was Tunny) were lying propped up in the beds. Some tubes and stuff came down from the ceiling and were connected to each patient. Tunny began singing alone – “Dreaming, I was only dreaming …” He sang the entire “Dreaming” section of the song’s beginning and then started with “Dreaming …” On the first night, I was so distressed for him that he was messing up the words. But suddenly, one of the other patients started singing “Singing … “ and sang that part at the same time as Tunny continued singing the “Dreaming …” part. So it ended up with all four singing the four parts together (some of the parts were slightly altered to make this work). It was beautiful!

And as it was ending, something (an angel?) came flying down from the ceiling! It was actually a figure dressed in a pale blue long dress or robes, including having the face and head all covered. It reminded me of the burka worn by Muslim women and covering them from head to toe. As she came in she was wordlessly and slowly singing “Aaaah, ah ah ah, ah ah” to the tune of Extraordinary Girl. She flew around a bit while stripping off her robes in pieces to reveal a pink harem-ish outfit underneath. She landed on a bed or two before coming to rest standing on Tunny’s bed. She took his hand and they both rose into the air so that his feet were slightly off the bed.

So, as they sang Extraordinary Girl, Tunny and the girl flew and floated all over the space above the beds. It was extraordinary (hahaha)! It was really fun to watch, and I would love to try it sometime. It also captured the magic of falling deeply in love in a foreign country with someone of a completely different culture.

The song ended as Tunny returned to his bed, the Extraordinary Girl flew away, and the nurses came back in to remove the beds. As this was happening, the four patients sang the ending of Before the Lobotomy with the extra intensity as it’s done on the album.

This was an especially strong and moving number.

***When it’s Time

The scene changed to Johnny and Whatsername on their bed. She was sleeping and he was strumming his acoustic guitar. He leaned toward her and whispered “I wrote this song for you.” Then he started to play the opening notes for Wake Me up When September Ends. I mean, all the Green Day fans in the audience would have been convinced that he was about to sing that song. When he started singing “Words get trapped in my mind …” it was actually disorienting, and it took me a few seconds to realize what was happening. After starting, he messed up a few words (on purpose) and picked up a sheet of paper to check them out then continued. When he got to the part where he sang “And there’s no doubt – I’ve figured out …” Whatsername stirred in her sleep. He stopped for a second, and then sang very softly, “I love you.”

It’s a beautiful song, and it was beautifully performed. I was able to understand every single word (which was a treat, since there’s not really a perfectly clean recording in existence that I have access to). This one definitely brought tears to my eyes.

As Johnny and Whatsername stayed on the bed, St. Jimmy appeared and began to sing…

***Know Your Enemy

This song was greatly shortened for the show. He sang, “Know the enemy, do you know your enemy, gotta know the enemy WAHEY!” and immediately started into “The insurgency will rise …” Another interesting alteration occurred during this song when Will and St. Jimmy began alternating “There’s nothing wrong with me” (from JOS) with “The insurgency will rise.” While it might have been disconcerting for some to hear how some songs were “mixed together.” I found it to be a delightful surprise. Someone has really been listening to those songs to hear how they can fit together like that!

By the end of this song, Johnny’s self-destructiveness is peaking. He holds a knife to his neck – has a tortured look on his face, and then collapses on the bed. Whatsername walks over to him, sits on the edge of the bed and begins to sing…

***21 Guns

This song was so beautifully done, and throughout the show, I found the use of the ensemble at some moments as a “choir” to add a beauty and richness to Billie’s music. It’s a different kind of beautiful than hearing his solo voice singing it. I love to hear it both ways, but my point is that his music is so richly evocative that it can support many different interpretations.

Johnny goes up on one of the platforms when this song is finished and recites some lines from Before the Lobotomy (not in order – just random lines). I don’t remember the order or all the lines that were spoken, but I remember hearing “Life before the lobotomy” and “Christian’s lesson’s what he’s been sold.” I recognized the other lines – I just can’t remember which ones they were.

When Johnny finished the lines from BTL, he went through a door, and Heather strolled across the stage from stage left to stage right singing, “Nobody likes you, everyone left you, they’re all out without you, having FUN!” She finished just as she reached the other side of the stage (walking past Will’s couch). The audience obviously enjoyed this part – it was very well done!

***Letterbomb

I was BLOWN AWAY by the power and energy of this song. It started with Johnny and St. Jimmy stumbling down the stairs wearing some REALLY over the top party clothes – you know, like the kind of things Billie might wear during King for a Day (). They were obviously just completely wasted. Johnny fell on the floor, and Whatsername started singing Letterbomb to him. She was SO full of anger, her whole body was like an electrically charged wire. The other women of the ensemble slowly joined her in singing this song, and they presented a united front against Johnny. When they reached the part where they sang “You’re not the Jesus of Suburbia!” etc., her body language, her facial expressions, her voice – everything was used to convey an incredibly powerful anger at Johnny. It was so strong that it infected me, and I felt myself jerking around in my seat! This has to be seen to be believed.

Of course, at the end, she leaves him. He is devastated. He stands up and takes off his furry jacket and then recites the second half of the letter that follows St. Jimmy in the book. It starts with, “Dear Mom, Remember when dad (Brad) said that I would never amount to anything?”

***Wake Me up When September Ends

Johnny gets his acoustic guitar and starts this song on his own. Soon, Will (on his couch) picks up his acoustic and joins in. Then Tunny (in a wheelchair with one leg sticking out) on his side of the stage, does the same. This is only one of the places in the show where I realized how so much of Billie Joe’s music is universal. It can fit anyone’s story. Anyone can identify with it. No wonder Green Day has such a diverse fan base!

As the ensemble slowly entered the set, one at a time throughout the song, some were still wearing similar clothing to what they wore in the beginning scenes. Some were now dressed in suits or other attire that indicated they had changed. The line “becoming what we are” really resonated here. At one point in the song, the entire ensemble was there and the instrumental, loud guitars started. They danced to that, and then they all lay down on the floor. As they were on the floor, a few at a time would raise their heads, arms, and legs as if they were struggling to get up – trying to rise above what they had become – and then they would succumb and lie down again.

The letter that starts “Dear Dad or God or whatever…” was recited here by Johnny.

***Homecoming

So much happened during this song – well it is a long song.

In the first section – The Death of St. Jimmy – Johnny was standing on the stage, and Jimmy was on one of the highest platforms – he wasn’t wearing a shirt. During the song, Johnny took off his shirt. He and Jimmy both drew on their chests with red lipstick in synch with each other. They each drew a big, skinny heart (from almost at the neck to almost at the waist) then a cross with the upright bisecting the heart and the crosspiece near the bottom of the heart). They both exuded sadness and their movements were in slow motion. During this time, St. Jimmy’s face was on all the televisions and slowly morphed into Johnny’s face. At the very end of this section (after “Jimmy died today … “ Jimmy took a gun out of his pocket and slowly raised it to his head. He pulled the trigger and a flag popped out that said “BANG!” He then started laughing maniacally and left through a door at the side of the platform.

Johnny then put on a shirt and tie that were brought to him as members of the cast wheeled out a desk with phone and computer monitor. The East 12th Street portion of the song saw Johnny going slowly crazy while sitting at the desk and trying to control the endless flood of papers brought to him by a never-ending stream of workers. During the “Somebody get me out of here!” <guitar dun dun du dun dun dun dun dun> he typed or punched in phone numbers in rhythm to the guitar.

Will was sitting on his couch (which had been moved to center stage) for the next section. He had that pale, glazed-eyed look of someone who’s been staring at the television entirely too long without eating or drinking or sleeping. He sang the “I fell asleep while watching Spike TV” section.

At the end of the Nobody Likes You section after “Where’d you go?” one of the ensemble members popped up from behind Will’s couch with the energy of a three-year-old and sang “Rock and Roll Girlfriend.” He had a companion – a slutty girlfriend – who carried his drumsticks until it was time for him to “play the shit out the drums.” She sang the line, “And he can play the guitar,” and he demonstrated. This was a lot of fun!

During the final section of Homecoming, everyone slowly came home. First Johnny, Will, and Tunny all met and hugged each other. Tunny’s girlfriend (Extraordinary Girl) came out and shook hands (being introduced to the friends). Heather came in with the baby and she and Will obviously reconciled. He held the baby while she hugged people who were slowly drifting in. Soon they were a large group of friends who had found each other again. During this section, the two big drums (tympani?) were wheeled out on to the stage and pounded for the necessary effect. It was heart stopping!

At the end of this song, the entire audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation. Glancing behind me as I turned to sit back down in my seat, I saw Adie - the last person standing and still enthusiastically clapping. What a sweet moment!

***Whatsername

Johnny started this song very sweetly and clearly and was later joined by the ensemble. It was a tearjerker from the start. But one moment yanked my heart right out of my chest. After Johnny sang “The regrets are useless in my mind, she’s in my head from so long ago...” The entire ensemble sang SO crisply and powerfully and beautifully – in multiple-part harmony “And in the darkest night.” Just typing this and remembering it has brought tears to my eyes. So the song ended for me with tears streaming down my face!

Finally, Johnny gave us the last letter in the book, and the show ended. My heart was swollen with pride in Green Day and all they’ve accomplished AND gratitude for everyone involved in this show - not only did they NOT screw it up, they actually revealed new dimensions to some of this well-known, well-loved music. They’ve made me quite a memory and given me much to think about for a long time.

A final note:

I will review the main characters’ performances and discuss a bit more about the show as a whole in my write-up for the GDA, but for now, I’ll just say I couldn’t find a weak link. I’m not sure that’s ever happened before. But I'm not complaining .

[**nobodylikesyou**]

♥

[XusernameX]

j'net, i added you as a friend. Just so ya know

[J'net]

j'net, i added you as a friend. Just so ya know

And I think I accepted your friendship - so your name isn't really xusernamex ???