Greenday’s 2004 faux-concept album “American Idiot” will be adapted for the stage by Director Michael Mayer and run at Berkeley, California’s Berkeley Repertory Theater from September 4-October 11. Though the news itself is cringe worthy kudos to the band for transitioning from raucous mudslinging live performances to Broadway in just a few years.
A Press release explains: American Idiot follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration – an exhilarating journey borne along by Green Day’s electrifying songs. As Time described the album, “You will hear a story about Jesus of Suburbia, his dangerous friend St. Jimmy, and a heroic girl called Whatsername, who are struggling to express their individuality in a mass-media culture.” This high-octane show will blend an onstage band and an ensemble of 19 young performers with what Newsweek calls “a soundtrack for anyone disillusioned by millennial America.” Yet, Time concludes, “For an album that bemoans the state of the union, it is irresistibly buoyant.”
Only an American idiot would ever consider this a good idea.
