DETROIT ARTS LIVE AND WORTH WATCHING: Green Day’s American Idiot
Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ is power punk with soul at the Detroit Opera House
By Vivian DeGain
Power punk? Muscle dancing? Fantastic celebration of life with pounding performances and beautiful ballads? Yes.
“Green Day’s American Idiot,” nominated in 2010 for the Tony Award Best Musical and winner of the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, is live in Detroit and features the music of Green Day, and the lyrics of lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong.
Written by Armstrong and Michael Mayer and directed by Meyer, who won the Tony Award for “Spring Awakening,” “American Idiot” creates a power punk-rock opera on the stage of the Detroit Opera House.
Starring Van Hughes as Armstrong and cast of 20 gorgeous singers and dancers who share a radiant energy pulsing with the controlled punk rhythm, the musical includes over 20 Green Day songs like, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the title “American Idiot” from Green Day’s 2004 Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum album.
DOH offers a day-of-performance student rush tickets for a limited number of orchestra pit seats. Each day, 2 hours prior to show time at the Detroit Opera House box office, bring a valid student ID to purchase the reduced $25 price – cash only. This offer is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person.
“American Idiot” was nominated for three Tony Awards.
It is described as a story of three boyhood friends searching for meaning in a post 9-11 world. The title alludes to the story of anyone who would leave suburban security and seek identity, fame or creative fortune in urban grit or the sands of Afghanistan. Places that are dangerous and real.
The three friends split into individual broken paths. One is blocked by pregnancy, one by drugs, and one by inertia then a call to military service. Their stories are loosely woven into broadcast images while Green Day’s music delivers all that we expect and many things we don’t expect – like an occasional female voice.
In one extraordinary scene, a shadowy woman’s figure descends from the sky in a haze of muted color and strobe lights. At first she appears an angel wrapped in a grey gown, but then as the image becomes clearer, she is covered in a blue burka from head to foot.
Through the magic of aerial flying, she arrives in a hospital ward where four GIs struggle to survive, then rise from their own dreams to sing a very powerful ballad.
The “American Idiot” creative team includes choreography by Olivier Award-winner Steven Hoggett (“Black Watch”); music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Kitt (“Next to Normal”). The Tony Award-winning scenic design by Christine Jones and the Tony Award-winning lighting design by Kevin Adams is featured in the touring company.
Tom Hulce, award-winning actor and producer who once lived in Plymouth, Michigan, said in the previews of the show, “Since its inception, audiences have been surprised by the emotional journey the show takes them on, told almost exclusively through Green Day’s songs, including many they are already familiar with and love.”
This is a powerful rocking show. “American Idiot” is adored by Green Day fans, hailed as genius by the national critics, and is already legend in theater history.
Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ runs until Sunday at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway in Detroit. Performances at 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 7:30 Sunday; and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets $25-$75 at the Fisher Theatre box office, the Detroit Opera House box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 1-800-982-2787 and at www.ticketmaster.com. Information, www.BroadwayInDetroit.com.
