"American Idiot" Musical Tour

[plaid ducky]

Here's the tour cast Twitter accounts:

Jake Epstein (Will): http://twitter.com/Jake_Epstein

Scott J. Campbell (Tunny): http://twitter.com/ScottJCampbell7

Leslie McDonel (Heather): http://twitter.com/lesliemcdonel

Gabrielle McClinton (Whatsername): http://twitter.com/gabbymcclinton

Nicci Claspell (Extraordinary Girl): http://twitter.com/nclaspell

Talia Aaron: http://twitter.com/andtaliacantoo

Krystina Alabado: http://twitter.com/KrystinaAlabado

Gabriel Antonacci: http://twitter.com/GabrielNacci

Larkin Bogan: http://twitter.com/LBogster

Matt DeAngelis: http://twitter.com/mattdeangelis22

Dan Gleason: http://twitter.com/dangleason22

Kelvin Moon Loh: http://twitter.com/KelvinMoonLoh

Jillian Mueller: http://twitter.com/JilliMueller

Vincent Oddo: http://twitter.com/VinceOddo

Kaitlyn Terrill has one but it's protected so I'm not listing it. If she makes it public, I'll add her to the list.

Here are the blogs:

Nicci Claspell (Extraordinary Girl): http://theycallmenicci.blogspot.com/

Krystina Alabado: http://krystinaalabado.blogspot.com/

Kelvin Moon Loh: http://asianamericanidiot.blogspot.com/

[xnighttimesky]

Hello everyone!

As you are all aware, American Idiot is doing their tour, and their first stop is Toronto! When the show was on Broadway, I drove from here to NYC just to watch a performance. Needless to is, it was fantastic! Well worth the 10+ hour car ride.

Anyway, when I heard that they were coming to my home city, I felt this great desire to be apart of it, in anyway possible. I was hoping to get a volunteer position with the theatre or production company. Does anyone know how I can get involved? Has anyone been apart of a theatre production before?

For all the Canadian/Ontario/Toronto fans, they are going to be at the Toronto Centre For The Performing Arts from Dec 28 - Jan 15. Has anyone worked there before/knows someone I can contact to land a volunteer position? I'm willing to work in anyway, except cleaning toilets. ;D If I work for the theatre, I'm willing to start right away and to continue to volunteer after AI has left town.

I'm a first year university student, majoring in New Media and minoring in Studio. Not only will this be a great experience for me, but I'll also be a helping hand to the band I adore. <3 I already have a cover letter written up and got my resume critiqued, I just need to give it to someone that will hire me.

So please, any advice at all will be a huge help. (:

[pasalaska]

I'm going to merge this with the musical tour thread in Green Day Chat, mainly because I think the people that could potentially answer your question would be in there.

I'd assume the best way to go about it is to contact the theatre.

[GDLoT]

CAN ANYONE READ WHAT THE WHATSERNAME BOOTS(the pink ones)_ say?

I think "Take Everything" on the left boot? idk about the boot on the right.

[plaid ducky]

Jarran Muse has been added to the official website as Ensemble/Favorite Son.

http://americanidiotthemusical.com/team.php

[pasalaska]

Jarran Muse has been added to the official website as Ensemble/Favorite Son.

http://americanidiot...al.com/team.php

Ah. Buff black guy, that's a surprise casting

That's exciting though, that looks more or less complete now!

[jetsrule128]

Kelvin's blog day 2

DAY 2: On A Clear Day... (you can see your cellulite melt)

Steven Hoggett is no joke. More sprinting.....and then chest and arms. I am reduced to a bowl of jello. I guess it's only up from here and I'm enjoying the physical challenge that AI is providing. Really exciting news is that the choreo we improvised yesterday will most likely be incorporated as our choreo for (I believe?) "She's a Rebel". I knew already, but it is reconfirmed, that this show will be completely artistically fulfilling to be a part of.

Not a whole lot more to report except that we were generously invited by our producers to see On A Clear Day on the Broadway starring Harry Connick Jr. It's a really beautiful production with a stellar new book with dynamic honest performances. There is a new gender/sexuality story created for this revival and I think exploration of this altered incarnation will provide a more provocative and poignant dialogue amongst contemporary audiences. The classics songs and their new orchestrations are amazing and the highlight for me!....still a music nerd.

A lot of the cast members went and it felt like it was one of the first "family outtings". Michael stopped up to the mezzanine to say "hi" during intermission and someone commented how surreal it was to be talking to the director of this major new Broadway musical while rehearsing another of his pieces. Surreal it is!

Tomorrow we're staging the top of the show through "American Idiot". Crazy right? We're moving fast, because, well.... these people are amazeballs. Yup, I said it. Amazeballs.

PS. Not expecting to blog everyday but it's what you do when you are a soft insomniac.

[Tripe]

Hello everyone!

As you are all aware, American Idiot is doing their tour, and their first stop is Toronto! When the show was on Broadway, I drove from here to NYC just to watch a performance. Needless to is, it was fantastic! Well worth the 10+ hour car ride.

Anyway, when I heard that they were coming to my home city, I felt this great desire to be apart of it, in anyway possible. I was hoping to get a volunteer position with the theatre or production company. Does anyone know how I can get involved? Has anyone been apart of a theatre production before?

For all the Canadian/Ontario/Toronto fans, they are going to be at the Toronto Centre For The Performing Arts from Dec 28 - Jan 15. Has anyone worked there before/knows someone I can contact to land a volunteer position? I'm willing to work in anyway, except cleaning toilets. ;D If I work for the theatre, I'm willing to start right away and to continue to volunteer after AI has left town.

I'm a first year university student, majoring in New Media and minoring in Studio. Not only will this be a great experience for me, but I'll also be a helping hand to the band I adore. <3 I already have a cover letter written up and got my resume critiqued, I just need to give it to someone that will hire me.

So please, any advice at all will be a huge help. (:

Good luck! I know there are volunteer opportunities with my local theaters for things like ushering, etc. I would think there would be a program like that at the Toronto Centre for sure.

Thanks for all the blog postings! I didn't think I would follow things too much with the touring cast, but I am finding it interesting. I like them posted here, I'm too lazy to click on links and I don't follow all those people on twitter.

[xnighttimesky]

Good luck! I know there are volunteer opportunities with my local theaters for things like ushering, etc. I would think there would be a program like that at the Toronto Centre for sure.

Thank you! I called the theatre yesterday but they just told me to email my resume.. I feel like they are just going to ignore me that way though lol. I'm going to call again tomorrow and attempt to actually speak to the one that hires. (:

[Mary711]

Nicci Claspell mentioned an unpromised and unannounced comment about Billie Joe performing with the cast. "...Billie Joe Armstrong wasn't able to be there but Michael Mayer, our director, said he sends his love and is very exciting. He'll meet up with us at some point. Maybe even perform with us? I'm not making any promises, and nothing's been announced but..... I'm just sayin."

http://theycallmenicci.blogspot.com/

That's an interesting comment. Gives us hope that there still is a chance that Billie joins them at some point.

[jetsrule128]

new blog from Nicci

Say, Hey!

Yesterday the AI productions company graciously offered everyone in the cast two free tickets to see a preview of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. Yup, the one I auditioned for this summer. We had some time to kill before show time so a few of us got some food and a couple drinks. Aside from flying week and lunch time, this was the first "bonding" time we had. I am so pleased with our cast, everyone is so cool and nice and friggin talented.

The show was really lovely. I took my sister's (nee) roommate Brianna and I couldn't have asked for a better date. It was cool for me to see what direction they chose for the role of Melinda. The actress, Jessie Mueller, had an amazing 1940's quality to her voice. It's nice when you can know you did your very best bet they were just looking for something different, something very specific. The whole show was very enjoyable and I loved how they played with the story line to make one of the main characters, Davey, a gay man instead of a woman (the character's name was originally Daisy).

I decided to take it upon myself to try and find a quicker way home. It was unsuccessful. I got off the express train at my stop and decided to hop on the local train to go up one more stop so instead of walking six streets and and avenue, I'd only have to walk two streets and an avenue. As soon as I got onto the sidewalk I knew I was wrong. Turns out there's a pig park between that stop and my destination, and I wasn't about to walk through a park by myself at 11:30 pm in Harlem. And by the way, it was raining. I first had to walk a ways to get my bearings - a couple streets and a couple avenues - and what would have normally taken less than ten minutes (and about five minutes on the route in my mind) took over 25 minutes. But I made it home alive and learned my lesson: trust the people that live here, they know better. Or just study those subway maps.

The real physical work started yesterday. For our warm up we did some obstacle sprints and a lot of arm work. That's not something I'm accustomed to working out. I'll do some tricep dips once in a while or a push up here and there, but nothing like this. Steven said he'd rather us do one push up with perfect form than ten that were shit, so with some of the harder positions I only got to five or six. I plan on eventually becoming strong enough to do it all but... one step at a time.

Today we did more sprinting and some cardio stuff, a lot of stretching, and then worked on glutes. It was difficult but I definitely felt the good kind of burn. This show is going to whip us all into shape in no time. And if the warm ups weren't convincing me, the dancing we did today would have. We started to put our "8 counts" together for what I believe will be the choreography for She's A Rebel. What's tricky is that all of us are doing the same thing only about half of the time. The other half of the time we're doing the same thing as maybe 3 other groups are different things. And on top of this, our little similar groups are going to be all intermingled on stage so it's not like you can look to anyone else to figure out where you are.

So that part was tricky because of the brains part. After that the boys were taken to the music room to work on some boy song while the girls started to learn out part for the opening. A lot of it was similar to what we did at the audition, but there were a few more things added to it and it was about twice as long. This is where it became tricky because of the endurance part. If you haven't seen the show, the girls start off by running onto stage, stopping abruptly, running more, nearly falling, running more, smashing imaginary televisions, running more, and doing it all over again just on the opposite side of the stage. I'd say once we probably ran it twelve times or more. On our last go I was almost afraid that my legs would give out. Luckily, they didn't.

Instead of taking a water break, we went straight on to learning the Letterbomb choreo. That one combines brains and stamina. It's a lot of sharp shoulder movements and jerking out bodies around. I'm kind of glad I have a lower vocal part on this and some of the other songs because it takes a lot of breath support to be belting these things out, and I'm going to need all the breath I can get! Needless to say I was all kindsa' rosy by the time our lunch hour came around.

Our afternoons have been dedicated to music. We plan to have covered all of the music by the end of Friday and do a full sing-through of the show on Saturday. It's really incredible, the music. I've heard the recordings and seen the performances, but when you can hear how everything breaks down with harmonies and dynamics and why we're singing what we're singing, it's really spectacular. Especially with such spectacular voices. You know you're working with professionals when during ensemble parts of songs there isn't one person that stands out (unless of course they have a solo over us), all the voices blend together perfectly. All of you musical theater people know that there's always those one or two people in music rehearsals that like to sing a bit louder or hold a note longer than everyone else. It's such an amazing thing when everyone can trust the music and the direction and know that it will sound beautiful as a whole when we're all doing what we're supposed to be doing. Ahhh. Heavenly sounds.

Tonight after a nice chat with the bf I took a long hot bath to soothe these aching muscles, and I plan on sleeping in to my heart's content tomorrow. Although, knowing there's going to be turkey and all the trimmings, the excitement may just kick my body clock into gear. Have a great holiday everyone!

If you like my blogs about the AI behind the scenes stuff, check out Krystina's and Kelvin's blogs. And I have a facebook fan page. Shameless self promotion. Ok maybe there's a little shame.

Also, if anyone has suggestions of places to eat or things to do... or places to eat.... let me know! I don't have that much time off but when I do I'd like to experience as much of the city (and the food here) as possible

[jetsrule128]

new blog from Kelvin

Friday, November 25, 2011

Day 4: Thanks, Idiot!

After only three days of rehearsing, we had our first day off to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends. I had high hopes of going to parade this year, but instead, I rested my sore body and ate mashed potatoes for breakfast! Then a little Turkey Time with the Loh's, Fung's and Cheng's (Yup, Chinese Thanksgiving) of Greater New York.

"I Don't Feel Any Shame, I Won't Apologize"

Today, I felt like a million bucks, which leads me to be sincerely nervous about next week when we don't have a mid-week recoup day. This show is not for the feint of heart! It was a Lorin and Johanna day and they kicked our asses royally. Looking around- everyone is loving the abuse! :-)

Ou! We added our guitarist and drummer to rehearsal. Our opening number is STAGED! What?! It sounds flippin' amazing to have these guys here and I'm looking forward to sharing the stage with these awesome musicians.

And now what you all must be dying to know- What am I THANKFUL for w/ American Idiot?

-Gaby's Brittany Spears Impression

-Ability to cancel my gym membership

-Jarran's Pecan Pie that he "made"

-My body not crumbling beneath me

-Tom Kitt. Period. End of Story.

[jetsrule128]

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Day 5: Morning Routine (and musings...)

I am not one for routines. I hate them. But this show has forced me into one and perhaps I'll enjoy being a morning person...... NOT!

But here it is nonetheless what my new Idiot Morning feels like:

-8am Alarm. I swear at my Iphone

-8:09 snooze re-alarm. I crack open my eyes still swearing.

-8:18 I finally turn off the alarm. I stare at my Iphone and check my email. All spam between last night and now.

-8:30 I stare at the ceiling and assess what part of my body hurts. Answer? All of it.

-8:35 I steal cup of my roommate's coffee, water it down so I can drink it faster.

-8:40 I shower. I stare at the tile and grout.

-8:50 I blowdry my hair til it stands straight up/get dressed in the dark.

All the while, listening to the AI album trying to sing the harmonies and not the melody like I have for years!!!

But the point of this blog was not to vent about mornings but my thoughts on why, I now know, the show meant so much to me when I first saw it. In working with Steven and Lorin, I realized that the show becomes highly personal in it's development of movement.

For the fans of the Broadway version, be prepared- a lot of the choreo will be different. It's not for economy sake but because each move has a story, a story that has been created by this new tour cast as an ensemble. As an actor, this is an amazing gift. (<a href="http://theycallmenicci.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Nicci's blog has the girls story down, so perhaps I'll report for the boys) While the girls were doing a little Letterbomb, the boys went to learn Boulevard.

I remember this number in particular. It's the first time the world of American Idiot slows down, a new city that is infinite. In the choreo, each hand movement was crafted by us as ndividuals to represent a moment of loneliness. Let me tell you- It goes there. The movement never becomes mundane when it's attached to some very real roots.

Just a morning musing. So my morning routines continues:

-9:00am: I slam down a cup of orange juice and a multi-vitamin

-9:05am: I leave my apartment, elated because it's to go to work!

Have a great day, peeps!

[Karen.]

Loving the blogs - and having them all posted here means I keep up with them!

"Rally up the daemons of your soul"!

[jetsrule128]

new blog from Kelvin

WEEK ONE: The Morning After (I Blame Matt D.)

"Work Hard! Play Harder!!!".....only cause you know you have the day off tomorrow....

Honestly, I have no idea if my body feels this way because of the Jesus of Suburbia choreography, which is for realz dope, or the copious amounts of hurricanes, margaritas, extra shots, and sugar free redbulls I consumed. Definitely not from the water I did NOT drink last night.

If anything, Blockheads remains true in my memory bank. You should be renamed, Block-Off-Tomorrow-Cause-All-You'll-Feel-Is-Your-Head..... damn cheap tequila margaritas, I can't resist you. Especially since it was abnormally warm in NYC and allowed the cast to have a post-week cocktail or six.

The rest of the evening I blame on Matt D. aka "Cruise Director", aka "Trouble"....coming to a city near you....

I cannot believe we sang through the show yesterday.

Alas, WEEK ONE! You are done! I am done, and all I want is take out.

***UPDATE*** How could I forget! So Day 1, we got a message from Billie via Michael....pretty awesome. Yesterday we got an email from Billie telling us that (I'm going to paraphrase here) "[we're] going to be a smash. Not like a smash "hit". But like smash the heads of the audience." Cause the show rocks. How awesome is that?

He may have also mentioned that he may be seeing us sooner than not. Okay, I don't believe in Santa Claus- So, all I want for Christmas is Billie Joe in my stocking. Do I have to be on the naughty or nice list for that?***

***Oh, and I did order that take out.... ;-) ***

[pasalaska]

That last part is just teasing... boo Billie booooooooo

[mallorymaloney]

All these blogs are quite brilliant! ♥

[plaid ducky]

Out of curiosity, when sharing a blog post, can you put it under a spoiler tag? They get a bit long and it takes over the page sometimes, especially when more & more blog posts will come in.

It's...

blah blah [/ spoiler]

Minus the space between / and spoiler.

Thanks!

[greendaytodeathandback]

Any word on whether or not they are coming to Europe yet??

[pasalaska]

Any word on whether or not they are coming to Europe yet??

Apart from the initial announcement of a global tour (they also mentioned Australia) nothing. I guess once the N America tour is over...

[desertrose]

Listen to JACK this week for your shot at tickets to Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ musical coming to the Orpheum Theatre this February, plus you can qualify to “Funjet Out of Winter!”.

104.1 Jack FM Minneapolis, MN

http://1041jackfm.ra.../#ixzz1f2ytT9I1

[Sweet Armataged Chump]

Listen to JACK this week for your shot at tickets to Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ musical coming to the Orpheum Theatre this February, plus you can qualify to “Funjet Out of Winter!”.

104.1 Jack FM Minneapolis, MN

http://1041jackfm.ra.../#ixzz1f2ytT9I1

Probably have to be 18. I live outside of Minneapolis. I should of keep listening to BOBD on JACK a few minutes ago.

[jetsrule128]

new blog from kelvin

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Day 7: Sometimes You Just Feel Broken

I don't know if it is show & it's content or if it is the show & my inner self. Life imitating art imitating life- I have to be honest, I have no idea what that means....

Let me preface by saying that rehearsals are going great. Lorin Latarro is kicking our asses. She is the keeper of movement in this show and her guidance is simply incredible. Where would we be without her? I already love this show, therefore my old habits of worrying relentlessly has already led me to thinking about this show ending in July and I am preemptively devastated.

So... Today: I am physically and emotionally exhausted. There are bruises on my shins, my knees, my forearms, my stomach, my elbows..... but none of them hurt. I look at them with pride. A symbol of giving it my all.... and that's when the one real bruise pounds with a world full of hurt- My Bruised Ego. I have this nagging inner voice, this bully, that speaks louder than every voice in the room:

It says, "You're not fit for this", "You aren't learning this fast enough", "How did you get this job?", "Fatass", "You're the one person making this look like shit", "You're playing minor league ball with the big boys", "You're not dancing as hard as everyone else".... essentially.... "Your best simply isn't good enough".

And it hurts. The beating I give myself hurts like a motherfucker.

I bring this up not to begin my cyber wallowing for you avid readers (of whom, I thank for taking interest). I bring this up because right as I'm about LOSE IT and drown my emotions into a cookies and cream milkshake and a side of kush- I remember that I am here. This life I have now- I made it. And it's what I got. And that is enough.

I remember writing this in a journal right before my final callback for this show. If I remember that and continue to work as hard I can, well, it'll come in my time. It doesn't hurt the fact that I get to work with the most incredible supportive cast mates, one could ever ask for. Their talents are only matched by their passion for their craft and this piece- you can see it plastered on their beautiful faces.

Lesson for me-

Not everyday can be amazing. Sometimes you just feel broken. But keep on running. Keep on fighting. And tell that bully in your head to "shut the fuck up".

[Bastard of 1967]

Wow....so many new Idiots but I'm getting the same kind of vibe about how they're gelling together as I did with TOBC! Way cool that the principals (Mayer, Hoggett, Kitt, and of course BJA) are still as involved with the touring version of the show as they were with the show when it was in Berkeley and then on Broadway....and getting very excited to see it when it hits Dallas!

[KilljoyFromDetroit]

My local radio station is starting to give out tickets for the Detroit show!!!! That means its finally coming up