Green Day IN American Idiot

Have you heard the screaming yet?

Billy Joe Armstrong (lead singer of Green Day) will be playing St. Jimmy in American Idiot on Broadway this week ONLY! It's his first time performing on Broadway, but definitely not his first time singing these songs in front of a cheering crowd.

Do you think that's a good idea? Bad idea? Are you excited or appalled? Tell us in the comments!

American Idiot on PlogTV

American Idiot

By Nunny Reyes

American Idiot follows Johnny (John Gallagher, Jr. from Spring Awakening) and his friends, a group of young people trying to break free from the society they have grown to know and hate. These characters don’t want to slip between the cracks of our hypocritical society. The play highlights how easily someone can self-destruct when rules don’t apply anymore and freedom is taken in large doses. For example, Johnny meets a girl, Whatsername (Rebecca Naomi Jones from Passing Strange), and they choose drugs to enter an alternate world.

Those of us heading off to college or making a new life transition can easily relate to the difficulties Johnny and his friends face. We are afraid of looking back, but share the same passion to find an escape and discover something new about ourselves and the world. With music by Green Day, the cast fills the theater with unforgettable vocals. The elaborate set displays images, sounds and videos of events that have made a significant impact on our lives.

In theater, we expect to be challenged. American Idiot goes beyond that and truly depicts what life is like for teenagers in our time. With each passing song, the musical became more realistic and more truthful.

Read Nunny's Interview with John and Rebecca here

Read more about American Idiot here

TICKETS: $27 lottery rush • St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th St.

American Idiot Dramaturgy

By Christa Tandana

Green Day is back onstage…on Broadway? Yes, my friends, it’s true! The hit song “American Idiot” is also now the name of the newest rock musical to hit Broadway!

Packed with angst and set to a punk rock soundtrack, American Idiot is certainly not your average trip to the theatre. The story is a coming-of-age story about American youth in suburbia who are trying to find meaning in a post 9/11 world.

Director Michael Mayer came up with the idea for this show by listening to Green Day's Grammy Award winning album. He then collaborated with Billy Joel Armstrong from the band to write the book for the show.

Michael Mayer won a Tony Award for Best Director of Spring Awakening. John Gallagher Jr., who played Melchior in Spring Awakening, is now starring in American Idiot as Johnny. Rebecca Naomi Jones, who was in the rock musical Passing Strange, is now playing Whatsername – (Note: I didn’t make a mistake, that’s the character’s actual name.) These are just a few names of the best and talented in theatre today – and they all collaborated on one show!

It's a Small World

If you're a young and talented Broadway star, that is.

Ever wonder what happens to your favorite performer when he or she leaves a show? For some, they don't go very far.

Take a look at the new Broadway musical American Idiot. John Gallagher Jr., who played the unhappy Moritz in Spring Awakening, is currently starring as another angsty teenager. His love interest in the show is performed by Rebecca Naomi Jones, who you may have seen in Passing Strange.

Remember Sonny from In the Heights, played by Robin de Jesus (he also appeared in the musical theatre movie Camp)? You can catch him in the new Broadway production of La Cage Aux Folles.

Karen Olivio, who played Karen in In the Heights, has been appearing for over a year as Anita in West Side Story.

And we can't ignore the slighly larger move of the two ill-fated lovers from Spring Awakening, Wendla and Melchior, played by Lea Michelle and Jonathan Groff. Chances are you've seen them on the silver screen as they sing and dance their way through prime time on the new hit TV show Glee...coincidentally (or not), their characters are dealing with some of the same issues as their Spring Awakening characters did onstage.

Is it hard to see an actor perform a different role than what you are used to? Tell us in the comments!