Today in 2010: American Idiot, the Broadway musical based on the 2004 Green Day rock album of the same name, officially opened at the St. James Theatre April 20, 2010, following previews that began March 24.
The musical arrived on Broadway following a world-premiere engagement at Berkeley Repertory Theatre's Roda Theatre.
The 90-minute show, about three suburban pals who take divergent
paths in post-9/11 America, was a collaboration between Green Day (comprising vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tr茅 Cool) and Tony-winning director Michael Mayer.
The book was penned by Green Day frontman and Joe Armstrong and Mayer with music by Green
Day and lyrics by Armstrong. The rock musical draws on all the songs from the recording, material
that did not make the album, and a handful of numbers from Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown.
The musical follows Johnny (the role originated by Spring Awakening Tony winner John Gallagher, Jr.), a young man who journeys from the suburbs in search of something more, all in the post-9/11 age of media saturation, fear, and cynicism. His two pals, Will (originated by Michael Esper) and Tunny (originated by Stark Sands), take their own paths. Johnny is also known as Jesus of Suburbia, a name familiar to fans of the 2004 Grammy Award-winning album, a punk rock hit that has sold over 23 million copies. (Gallagher, Jr. and Sands were both back on Broadway earlier this season in the musical Swept Away, also directed by Mayer and also based on an album, this time by the Avett Brothers.)
The original principal cast of American Idiot also included Rebecca Naomi Jones as Whatshername, Christina Sajous as The Extraordinary Girl, Mary Faber as Heather, and Tony Vincent as St. Jimmy, with Declan Bennett, Andrew Call, Gerard Canonico, Miguel Cervantes, Joshua Henry, Van Hughes, Brian Charles Johnson, Joshua Kobak, Lorin Latarro, Omar Lopez-Cepero, Leslie McDonel, Chase Peacock, Theo Stockman, Ben Thompson, Alysha Umphress, Aspen Vincent, and Libby Winters.
The creative team also included orchestrator and musical arranger Tom Kitt, musical director Carmel Dean, choreographer Steven Hoggett, scenic designer Christine Jones, costume designer Andrea Lauer, lighting designer Kevin Adams, sound designer Brian Ronan, video and projection designer Darrel Maloney, hair designer Brandon Dailey, wig designer Leah Loukas, and makeup designer Amy Jean Wright.
In his New York Times review, Charles Isherwood wrote, "[American Idiot is] a pulsating portrait of wasted youth that invokes all the standard genre conventions 鈥攂ring on the sex, drugs and rock 鈥檔鈥� roll, please! 鈥攐nly to transcend them through the power of its music and the artistry of its execution 鈥t captures with a piercing intensity that moment in life when everything seems possible, and nothing seems worth doing, or maybe it鈥檚 the other way around."
The musical was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical and won Tonys for Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Jones) and Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Adams). The show also won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, plus a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award.
Green Day frontman Armstrong played several engagements as St. Jimmy, a figure who shows up whenever Johnny is under the influence of drugs. Armstrong notably played the final three weeks of the show's run. Melissa Etheridge also played a stint in that role, marking her Broadway debut.
Following 26 previews and 422 regular performances, the musical ended its run April 24, 2011. Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman were the lead producers.
Learn what other theatre milestones happened on April 20 by visiting the 半岛体育 Vault.
Look back at the Broadway run of American Idiot in the gallery below.
