American Idiot Musical (Theatrical Production)

[MassHysteria]

Hey guys - what'd you have to search on iTunes to find the single?! I feel like an idiot that I can't find it!

Its not on iTunes yet. You can listen to it here: http://www.spinner.com/2009/12/03/green-da...-song-premiere/

[**kookai**]

that was fantastic... love the song 21 Guns even more now....

[sundaymorning6am]

Thanks, I realized after I posted here that it wasn't on iTunes yet. I'm a dumbass sometimes.

I just saw Alysha Umphress in the Starbucks next to my office building, but I didn't say anything to her. I did find out though that it's unlikely that any of the cast is going to change for Broadway, as far as the stars go (and I'm assuming this), because based on what contracts they had while out in Berkeley, if it included a right-of-first-refusal should it transfer to Broadway and the producers want to go with someone else - they have to pay that actor 6 months salary to replace them (comes out to around $40k). That is a LOAD of money to just say 'no, thanks!' I think the leads probably had this in their contracts being that a lot of them are seasoned actors, and in some cases TONY winners, but I'm not so sure if that applies to the ensemble. I believe the band members, who all, I believe, were New York musicians, also have a right-of-first-refusal in their contracts.

Just something to think about

[Liam]

does any one here have a copy of the program and are willing to sell it to me i really want one

[J'net]

Here's a link to my recap of the final performance on my facebook. It should be accessible for anyone to see, but if you have troubles, I'll paste it in here. Just let me know .

[Jacob.]

any of the musical in audio or video? please post

[Mari91]

Here's a link to my recap of the final performance on my facebook. It should be accessible for anyone to see, but if you have troubles, I'll paste it in here. Just let me know .

J'net it came up in my news feed and i just finished reading it.

Amazing recap!

The show sounded amazing and your conversations with the members are too sweet.

your recap made me so excited for it to hit broadway.

thanks for the recap!

[Princess Consuela]

Here are two videos from AI musical (thanks to Ola who found them)

Enjoy

[incendiary girl]

Thanks for sharing! And thanks to Tanya for telling me to check this thread!

You can find all the uploaded videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/americanidiotg...u/3/qxERff4ZwxQ

[Princess Consuela]

Great, thanks! I was looking for more videos but nothing came up.

[CrimsonRegret]

Here's a link to my recap of the final performance on my facebook. It should be accessible for anyone to see, but if you have troubles, I'll paste it in here. Just let me know .

I don't have a facebook account so I cannot read nor view the pics. :down:

[J'net]

I don't have a facebook account so I cannot read nor view the pics. :down:

Here you go. I'll have to upload the photos to my flickr and link them here. I'll try to get that done this evening.

Finally! I think I've figured out what was causing Word to crash, and I've managed to finish this recap ... now on to Rocktober (much of which is already written).

It was my good fortune that the American Idiot musical at the Berkeley Repertory Theater was extended a second time for two additional weeks. If it had ended the first weekend in November, I wouldn’t have been able to revisit this amazing show at the end of its run. As it was, though, I was able to see two performances on November 14 and the final show on November 15. Having attended the first two preview performances, I was interested to see what changes I would notice in the final version to be performed at the Berkeley Rep.

The changes were significant. I understand that many of the alterations were made throughout the run, but for me they all happened at once. I think it was an advantage to be able to see all the changes in one performance because it really emphasized the huge improvement in the production’s strength more than watching it take shape over time would have done.

I’m going to discuss just the final show, since the three were so similar; however, I did notice slight changes between the Saturday shows and the Sunday performance I saw.

Pre-Show

I’ll discuss the Rudy’s meet ups in a separate note in the forum thread, since we had three of them in two days!

When I arrived at the theater, I hung around chatting with people for a while and was just thrilled to find that Kat had managed to get a ticket for the final evening show. Justin and Morgan were there, too. I can’t remember who all went to which show, since I went to three that weekend, but we had a good group of Green Day fans without being overwhelming to the rest of the crowd.

At one point, I noticed Pat Magnarella in the lobby. I had to go over and say, “Hi.” I explained to him who I am and had a lovely long chat with him. We agreed that the second London show at the O2 (October 24) was one of the best ever. He is an incredibly nice person.

Soon after that, I was at the bar and said, “Hi,” to Mike! He looked at me and said, “Okay, how many shows have you been to?” It might be easier to do the rest of our (paraphrased) conversation in the form of a dialogue:

J’net: Well, I’ve been to 19 this year, but I have to tell you that I get more excited with every show. I think it’s because I already know how good it’s going to be. People who are seeing you for the first time on this tour just have no idea, so they can’t have my level of excitement. And the shows just keep getting better and better. You guys give SO much to your fans. I don’t know how you do it. <forced self to stop talking at this point>

Mike: <smiles> Thank you. We’re really worn out after this last tour.

J’net: I hope no one got sick (because a lot of your fans got sick).

Mike: Well everyone always gets sick to some extent on every tour. As a matter of fact, one of our tour managers was going to be here tonight, but he’s too sick to make it.

J’net: Oh, not Bill Schneider, I hope!

Mike: Yeah, Bills’ really sick.

J’net: Well, I don’t want to take up any more of your time, but I just wanted to say, “Hi and thank you.”

Mike: Awww, thank you.

As I turned around to rejoin Kat, I saw a mob of people standing behind me waiting to pounce on Mike. I heard people saying, “Can I get a photo with you?” and “Will you autograph my … <fill in the blank>?” Mike said something like, “You know, this is my date night with my wife. We don’t get to do this very often lately, so I’m not going to turn it into a meet and greet.” I felt sorry for all those people, but I completely understood how Mike must feel. And I felt doubly honored that he took the time to chat with me for a minute.

Soon after that, I saw Jason Freese walking by and just very quickly said, “Hi and you guys are amazing – this tour is wonderful!” or something like that. I’m sure Jason doesn’t remember me like the other guys, because he’s almost always behind his pianos, but he was very pleasant (as always) and thanked me – shook my hand and smiled.

At that point, it was time to go find my seat, and I went into the theater and got comfortable. I had a wonderful seat with a whole empty row in front of me. Of course, I didn’t realize that the empty row was going to be occupied entirely by Armstrongs and their friends. I looked up and saw Billie Joe, Adie and Joey walking into the row and heading right toward me. I looked at the woman sitting next to me and didn’t say anything – just opened my eyes wide. Then, Billie and Adie made their way over to the two seats right in front of me! Billie looked at me and said, <okay – here we go again with the dialogue>:

Billie: Hi

J’net: Hi <What a witty response - I’m so clever, you know!>

Billie: Last time I saw you was in … Glasgow???

<at this point one of us stuck out a hand, so I stood up to shake his hand>

J’net: Actually it was Sheffield, and you would have seen me in Birmingham, but I was getting really sick, and I didn’t want to make anyone else sick, so I stood in the back.

Billie: Well that was nice of you!

J’net: <hahaha> Well, I’ve always wanted to say, “Thank you” for everything you give to your fans. You guys are incredible.

Billie: Well thank you! <the lovely way he said this is something I will always remember>

J’net: No, thank YOU! <this is what I always want to say when he thanks everyone before they do Minority at their shows, so it was a real thrill to me to be able to say it finally>

Billie: <smiles>

J’net: So will you be surprised by all the changes in the show tonight, or has Michael kept you up to date?

<Michael Mayer walks up at this moment on my row and stands next to me>

Billie: Well, I think he’s kept me pretty up to date.

Michael: You know Andrew’s doing St. Jimmy tonight? He’s really … <can’t remember the word he used – confident? energetic? attacking it? – I just can’t remember – it was a word that would normally sound positive, but Michael’s tone of voice prompted Billie to say:>

Billie: You mean he’s not good?

Michael: Oh no, no, no … <leans over to whisper in Billie’s ear>.

So, I waited for a moment and during a pause leaned over and said to Billie, “I enjoyed chatting with you.” He smiled and said something nice back.

I also said a few words to Adie, but I can’t remember what – people were starting to walk into both rows, and it was harder to just stand there talking.

Finally, we all sat down in our seats, with Billie and Adie right smack dab in front of me and Joey on Billie’s right side. The rest of the row was filled with other Armstrongs and friends of the family. I reached in my bag for something and found the lushotology pin that I’d stuck in there last time I wore it (probably Birmingham). I leaned over and touched Billie’s arm and said, “I forgot I have something for you and handed it to him. He looked at it and said something like, “Oh cool.” I told him that, “A friend of mine in Seattle had these made for a group of us who attended the Seattle show – since it was the first show. I don’t think she’d mind me giving it away to you.” He said, “Thanks,” and then kept looking at the pin for a while before he put it in his pocket.

After that, Joey decided he wanted to sit next to a friend who was on Adie’s left side, so Billie and Adie moved over to the right and Joey and Adie were in front of me with Billie to Adie’s right. This was great, because it gave me more of view of Billie’s profile instead of the back of his head. As much as I tried to respect his privacy, there were a few favorite moments in the show when I couldn’t help looking over to see his reaction. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if he’d stayed in his original seat.

The Show

Overall, I found the show greatly strengthened since I saw the previews. The relationships between the three male leads and their female significant others were given much more depth. This was accomplished while staying true to the original plan of the show – i.e. no dialogue was added, and the monologues between songs were not lengthened (though a few of them were altered slightly). The increased insight into each relationship was provided almost entirely by action rather than words, but it was incredibly effective.

The major changes in the show were in the actions of the characters, with the exception of one song being added – Last of the American Girls started after Give Me Novacaine and then morphed into She’s a Rebel. I thought this was exceptionally effective in adding more layers to the character of Whatsername. Previously, She’s a Rebel was performed as a high energy number, but didn’t really give much information about Whatsername’s personality. With this modification, during Last of the American Girls, Whatsername was seen as a character full of joy and love. These traits then carried over into her performance during She’s a Rebel. So a more 3-dimensional personality was developed, and stronger identification with the character was possible.

I felt that each song and monologue in the show had been analyzed and tweaked to add to the story line. Jesus of Suburbia was a much angrier song than what I saw at the preview performances. There was much more pronounced interaction between the main characters during almost all the songs. Johnny’s monologue after Tunny’s departure mentioned what had happened in so many words rather than leaving the audience to understand it themselves. In the Rock and Roll Girlfriend section of Homecoming, the triangular relationship between Heather, Will, and the rock star was strongly clarified. And in the We’re Coming Home part of Homecoming, all the relationships were confirmed and still more insight was possible for the audience.

St. Jimmy's death had been altered so that he was closer to the floor of the stage (on one of the movable stairs) and was carried off at the end. This was the only thing I still wasn’t 100% happy with. I felt that his isolation on the high platform added another layer of emotion to the song. However, given that Tony Vincent was ill on that weekend and the part was performed by his understudy, Andrew Call, my opinion could have been influenced by the change in actor as well as the change in staging. Andrew did a fine job as St. Jimmy, but having seen the part performed by Tony Vincent left me disappointed. Tony seems made for the role and is an incredible talent to begin with.

It was very odd to be sitting behind Billie, Adie, and Joey to watch this show. I felt almost like I was spying whenever I looked at any of them. I’m not going to go into detail about everything I noticed, because that seems almost like an invasion of privacy. I will say, however, that Adie absolutely loves this show and was often bouncing up and down in her seat just like any fan (just like I was!). I also thought it was great when Billie laughed out loud at the way Alysha Umphress ended the song Too Much Too Soon (she sings this long, incredible Yeeeeeah, and does a really sassy little short Yeah while sticking out her tongue). It’s hard to describe, but it was so perfectly done that I waited for and enjoyed it at every one of the three performances I saw that weekend. I hadn’t remembered this bit being quite like that in the previews, and now I’m convinced it wasn’t because Billie’s laugh was so spontaneous, delighted, and surprised that he had to have been seeing that part for the first time.

When the curtain came down after Whatsername, there was no doubt at all that this show is Broadway ready. And the announcement that had been recently made – that it will move to New York – seemed almost something that could be taken for granted at that time.

After the (multiple) curtain calls, which went on for some time, the final curtain rose on the entire cast standing on stage in their curtain call positions. Every one of them was holding an acoustic guitar. As the audience applauded louder with delight, the cast waited until the right moment and then started picking something beautiful - something familiar - something that caused many of the audience members to gasp with joy. One of the ensemble members sang the first line of Good Riddance, and then different members took it in turn to sing different lines (or at times all sang together). The joy and love in the room was palpable. What a finish!!!

I had tears pouring down my face and I was hardly even aware of them. The Armstrongs all seemed to be similarly affected, and Micheal Mayer was overcome. As we slowly made our way out of the theater, I ended up walking (or trying to) right in front of Billie and Adie, who were trying to find Joey. The crowd was so intent on standing around discussing the show (and/or trying to get to the Green Day guys) that it was impossible to make much progress for a while. I felt so bad for them that they couldn’t just walk out, but the exhilaration in the air was intoxicating, so I could understand why people were somewhat unaware of what was going on around them. I felt dazed and confused myself.

After Show

I went out into the lobby and found Kat, Justin, and Morgan. Again, I can’t remember who else I might have seen that night or whether I might have people confused with another night. I did see Dawn right at the inner door as I walked into the lobby. She had a gift bag that she really wanted to give to Adie (Dawn crochets the cutest little baby booties made to look like Converse shoes). Since Adie had been right behind me all the way, Dawn was able to quite naturally just hand her the bag and remind her that they had once discussed knitting together. Adie very graciously took it and then explained that she was trying to find her son and walked off.

I was not planning to hang around long. Kat and I had decided to go get drinks together, and neither of us felt like we needed to wring any further excitement out of our theatrical experience. I did want to say goodbye to Ben Thompson, as I’d seen him the night before and he specifically asked me if I’d be back for the final show. We waited till he came down, and I got to give him a quick hug and tell him how amazing the show was. I looked at Kat and said, “You ready?” She nodded, and we made our way toward the door.

Before we got there, I saw Billie’s mom, Ollie, standing right in my path. She was just standing on her own – not talking to anyone – so I walked over and said “Hi, are you Billie’s mom, Ollie?” She smiled and said yes, so I said “You must be so proud.” She sweetly said, “Oh yes! I’m proud of all my kids.” Then we talked about the fact that we’re both from Oklahoma for a bit. Then Ben came over to give Ollie a hug and soon we all made our way in our own directions.

As Kat and I walked out the door, I had a moment of nostalgia for the experiences I had in that theater during the run of American Idiot. I saw the first two preview performances with my son and his girlfriend (who flew down from Montana), Mikey (who flew in from Vancouver), and Justin (who, I think, lives at the Berkeley Rep LOL). Tre sat behind us for the first performance, where we saw all the band members, and that night is when I met Ben – one of the sweetest people anyone could ever hope to meet. My pride for our boys of Green Day was boundless after the first preview and only increased by the final performance. I met so many wonderful people and saw some of my favorite Green Day fans that I normally only get to interact with online. Then I got to see three of the final four performances, including the absolute last show, and share in the joy and strong emotions being felt by everyone. Even just seeing this show without all the other occurrences would have been one of my great life experiences. With the wonderful memories I have and the knowledge that the show will move to New York, it was odd to feel anything but happiness. However, the combination of the show and everything else that made it so special for me, made it hard to walk out that door.

I made it, though, and Kat and I proceeded to get thoroughly sloshed and tell each other all (well most) of our secrets … but that’s another story.

A quick P.S. … Icing on the cake? Finding out the next day that Billie Joe would produce a new 21 Guns single with the cast of this musical.

[HoneyDo666]

Thanks so much J'net! Great recap, very vivid!

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

Great recap J'net, thanks!

Thanks for sharing! And thanks to Tanya for telling me to check this thread!

You can find all the uploaded videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/americanidiotg...u/3/qxERff4ZwxQ

Oooh thanks so much for that! I think that's the closest I'll get to seeing the musical so I'm gonna take my time to watch it.

[Katarina.]

You can find all the uploaded videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/americanidiotg...u/3/qxERff4ZwxQ

This made my day, thank you so much for posting that link!

I wish I could see the musical myself, but I can't. Finally I can watch vids of it, so I can at least see how it was like

Oh, and awesome recap, J'net!

[Supermodel*Robot]

J'net, you are the luckiest person alive. How did you manage to keep your cool around so many fabulous people!?

[Princess Consuela]

I wouldn't be able to focus on the performance if Billie and Adie were sitting right in front of me

Great recap, J'net! I was looking forward to it

[Abbey.]

I don't have a facebook account so I cannot read nor view the pics. :down:

thank you for posting it in this thread...i am the only other person in the universe to not have facebook either so i couldnt see it. lovely lovely read...it was like you took me along and i got to sit right with you...it obviously took you some time to write it up so thank you!!!

[J'net]

J'net, you are the luckiest person alive. How did you manage to keep your cool around so many fabulous people!?

Well, I've kind of started to feel like they're just part of my family, so they don't seem like anyone I should be awed by. I was excited to see them - just as I'd be excited if my son came home from Montana for a visit right about now .

Edit: And thanks everyone for the positive feedback!

[MassHysteria]

Well, I've kind of started to feel like they're just part of my family, so they don't seem like anyone I should be awed by. I was excited to see them - just as I'd be excited if my son came home from Montana for a visit right about now .

Edit: And thanks everyone for the positive feedback!

I know what you mean, the meeting them is less of a awing experience, more of running into an aquaintance. I would say I feel the cast would be more like family in the way you describe

[Mari91]

Thanks for sharing! And thanks to Tanya for telling me to check this thread!

You can find all the uploaded videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/americanidiotg...u/3/qxERff4ZwxQ

thanks for this nicole!

[justcause]

Wonderful recap, J'net.

[J'net]

Wonderful recap, J'net.

Thanks, Angeline .

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

Okay, this is gonna sound really desperate, but did anyone save the videos of the musical that were on youtube? They're removed, but I haven't had the time to watch them yet and I'm absolutely dying to see it D: (haha, my eyes are actually getting watery now. pathetic)

Please? Thanks.

I've already messaged (on Youtube) the person who had them on their profile but from experience I know people often don't reply to these kinds of messages...

[E!!i]

Okay, this is gonna sound really desperate, but did anyone save the videos of the musical that were on youtube? They're removed, but I haven't had the time to watch them yet and I'm absolutely dying to see it D: (haha, my eyes are actually getting watery now. pathetic)

Please? Thanks.

I've already messaged (on Youtube) the person who had them on their profile but from experience I know people often don't reply to these kinds of messages...

I haven't seen them too.