#1
Posted: 9/22/09 at 9:55pm
Warning: This is long and there are probably spoilers.
So, I saw American Idiot twice in the last five days. I thought it was awesome; absolutely awesome. I love Green Day and I love theatre ? putting them together was a dream-come-true for me. I?ve seen a lot of the cast in other things (I?ll put those in parentheses). The first show (the 17th) was full cast, the second (matinee of the 20th) had one understudy, Omar Lopez-Cepero for one of the ensemble members (he was great, and absolutely adorable). Here are my thoughts:
Well, everyone has been asking me since I saw it, ?is there really a story??? and having only listened to the CD, sung all by Billie Joe (save for Tre?s one brief song), it?s extremely hard to tell there is a story. I remember trying to write the book to American Idiot and I couldn?t decipher characters at all, aside from a main character and St. Jimmy. Seeing it onstage though, with different characters singing parts of the songs, gave the show an incredible life and a definite plot. I was also incredibly excited because I?ve seen many of the cast in multiple other roles. The little bits of dialogue they added in helped immensely too. Anyways.
The set: It?s incredible, and it?s huge. Not terribly complicated, but it?s awe-inspiring because it?s so high (I also have to think the musicians hazard pay is awesome because of how high up some of them sit ? I wouldn?t doubt that they?re harnessed in up there). It?s an extremely minimal, but 100% effective.
Choreography: I felt the choreography in ?City of the Damned? (during the ?Hey!? parts) was extremely cheesy. In fact, the first time, I thought a lot of the choreography was really repetitive and kind of cheesy. The second time though, I appreciated some of it. I really took a liking to the choreography in ?I Don?t Care.? (the hand-on-the-shoulder-slap thing.) And yes, a lot of the choreography was extremely similar to that of Spring Awakening (?Boulevard of Broken Dreams,? ?Before the Lobotomy,? all of the hand gestures are unmistakably reminiscent of Spring Awakening), but it was all appropriate. I usually hate the use of projections in theatre, but I loved the moving back drop of the city in ?Boulevard of Broken Dreams,? it added another level of emotional depth. The choreography for ?Before the Lobotomy II? was reminiscent of Julie Taymors? in ?Across the Universe? in ?I Want You?? Anyone else?
Some Comments on the Songs: I loved the staging and basically everything about ?Holiday,? a long time favorite song of my on the album. I especially love what Theo Stockman did with the ?Zeig Heil? part. I loved when they brought down the part of the set that John Gallgher was standing on (the first time I had no idea how they did it), and when they used it as a bus.
Another favorite number was ?St. Jimmy,? like I said before, and it?s also another favorite song of mine. It was energetic, mind-blowing, and loud ? everything that I?d imagined. Tony Vincent is just unbelievable. This is just the best I?ve ever seen him. I love his duet with Rebecca Naomi Jones, ?Last Night on Earth.? I also love that he sang ?Know Your Enemy.? He really wailed the high note in the middle of the song. If you hate vibrato, I can see how you can hate his voice, but come on, it?s so pretty.
?Letterbomb?: I love that the girls sang this! Rebecca Naomi-Jones nailed it and they turned it into a kick-ass girl power song (kind of). (Choreography is a bit cheesy though.)
?Extraordinary Girl?: Such an awesome concept and staging ? very mysterious and interesting, though Caplan looks kind of asinine in a harness. Christina Sajous does a beautiful rendition of the song.
?Wake Me Up When September Ends?: It was really beautiful, lots of beautiful harmonies, and it was really [again] emotionally gripping. The paper falling at the end, I didn?t think signified 9/11 so much as it did the vast majority of the population getting back to a daily grind of ?pushing paper? daily.
Directional comment: Michael Mayer did the same thing at the end of Spring Awakening: the second the last song, he made feel like it would be the last song (Come on, was "Purple Summer" really necessary?). And honestly, ?Homecoming? does feel like it should be the end so I was afraid of how he would work these last two songs so that they wouldn?t feel disjointed (like in Spring Awakening). Fortunately, he somehow made it work much better here.
?Homecoming?: I loved Vincent?s voice in this, again, of course, but just like on the CD, it brought the whole show together. I also love Stockman?s voice in ?East 12th Street.?
?Whatshername? just gave me chills. That?s it. It was beautiful. It was a beautifully choreographer reminder of everything we?d seen through-out the show with amazing harmonies and beautiful emotional reflection from John Gallagher Jr.
Orchestrations & Arrangements: Hat tip to Mr. Kitt for once again orchestrating beautiful music. I?ve always been a big fan of harmonies, and he just took what was on the CD and made it even better (I?ll have them all in my head for quite some time). He added some really great parts to end some of the songs so there?s a big button ? it was awesome. At the post-show Q&A, one audience member asked what they think when they hear Green Day on the radio and Gerard Canonico responded, ?I think, hey, we sing that! And then I also think, That?s not how it goes!? I?m probably going to think the ?that?s not how it goes!? thought for a while.
The Cast: The cast is all-around fantastic. John Gallagher Jr. can sing, but it?s his brilliant acting ability that makes him such an amazing performer and part of this cast
Other cast members who pull of rock edginess while still sounding beautifully theatre-esque: Tony Vincent, Brian Charles Johnson, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Andrew Call, Theo Stockman, Alysha Umpress, and Michael Esper (Jesus, what a beautiful vibrato he has even while singing rock!).
The rest of the leads and ensemble were all equally as amazing, but I had to make those few special mentions.
The only cast member that I had issues with is an actor I usually have issues with, Matt Caplan. His voice was the best in ?Before the Lobotomy? but I generally think his voice is extremely whiny. I always want to like him, but I never do. Apparently Ben Thompson, I believe, played his role in the workshop that was done in the winter, and dear god, I wish he would play it again.
Anyways, enough negativity. I loved it and I hope it transfer to Broadway - though I don't know how much of an audience it would find - there are only SO many Green Day fans that have the means to get to New York.
So, I saw American Idiot twice in the last five days. I thought it was awesome; absolutely awesome. I love Green Day and I love theatre ? putting them together was a dream-come-true for me. I?ve seen a lot of the cast in other things (I?ll put those in parentheses). The first show (the 17th) was full cast, the second (matinee of the 20th) had one understudy, Omar Lopez-Cepero for one of the ensemble members (he was great, and absolutely adorable). Here are my thoughts:
Well, everyone has been asking me since I saw it, ?is there really a story??? and having only listened to the CD, sung all by Billie Joe (save for Tre?s one brief song), it?s extremely hard to tell there is a story. I remember trying to write the book to American Idiot and I couldn?t decipher characters at all, aside from a main character and St. Jimmy. Seeing it onstage though, with different characters singing parts of the songs, gave the show an incredible life and a definite plot. I was also incredibly excited because I?ve seen many of the cast in multiple other roles. The little bits of dialogue they added in helped immensely too. Anyways.
The set: It?s incredible, and it?s huge. Not terribly complicated, but it?s awe-inspiring because it?s so high (I also have to think the musicians hazard pay is awesome because of how high up some of them sit ? I wouldn?t doubt that they?re harnessed in up there). It?s an extremely minimal, but 100% effective.
Choreography: I felt the choreography in ?City of the Damned? (during the ?Hey!? parts) was extremely cheesy. In fact, the first time, I thought a lot of the choreography was really repetitive and kind of cheesy. The second time though, I appreciated some of it. I really took a liking to the choreography in ?I Don?t Care.? (the hand-on-the-shoulder-slap thing.) And yes, a lot of the choreography was extremely similar to that of Spring Awakening (?Boulevard of Broken Dreams,? ?Before the Lobotomy,? all of the hand gestures are unmistakably reminiscent of Spring Awakening), but it was all appropriate. I usually hate the use of projections in theatre, but I loved the moving back drop of the city in ?Boulevard of Broken Dreams,? it added another level of emotional depth. The choreography for ?Before the Lobotomy II? was reminiscent of Julie Taymors? in ?Across the Universe? in ?I Want You?? Anyone else?
Some Comments on the Songs: I loved the staging and basically everything about ?Holiday,? a long time favorite song of my on the album. I especially love what Theo Stockman did with the ?Zeig Heil? part. I loved when they brought down the part of the set that John Gallgher was standing on (the first time I had no idea how they did it), and when they used it as a bus.
Another favorite number was ?St. Jimmy,? like I said before, and it?s also another favorite song of mine. It was energetic, mind-blowing, and loud ? everything that I?d imagined. Tony Vincent is just unbelievable. This is just the best I?ve ever seen him. I love his duet with Rebecca Naomi Jones, ?Last Night on Earth.? I also love that he sang ?Know Your Enemy.? He really wailed the high note in the middle of the song. If you hate vibrato, I can see how you can hate his voice, but come on, it?s so pretty.
?Letterbomb?: I love that the girls sang this! Rebecca Naomi-Jones nailed it and they turned it into a kick-ass girl power song (kind of). (Choreography is a bit cheesy though.)
?Extraordinary Girl?: Such an awesome concept and staging ? very mysterious and interesting, though Caplan looks kind of asinine in a harness. Christina Sajous does a beautiful rendition of the song.
?Wake Me Up When September Ends?: It was really beautiful, lots of beautiful harmonies, and it was really [again] emotionally gripping. The paper falling at the end, I didn?t think signified 9/11 so much as it did the vast majority of the population getting back to a daily grind of ?pushing paper? daily.
Directional comment: Michael Mayer did the same thing at the end of Spring Awakening: the second the last song, he made feel like it would be the last song (Come on, was "Purple Summer" really necessary?). And honestly, ?Homecoming? does feel like it should be the end so I was afraid of how he would work these last two songs so that they wouldn?t feel disjointed (like in Spring Awakening). Fortunately, he somehow made it work much better here.
?Homecoming?: I loved Vincent?s voice in this, again, of course, but just like on the CD, it brought the whole show together. I also love Stockman?s voice in ?East 12th Street.?
?Whatshername? just gave me chills. That?s it. It was beautiful. It was a beautifully choreographer reminder of everything we?d seen through-out the show with amazing harmonies and beautiful emotional reflection from John Gallagher Jr.
Orchestrations & Arrangements: Hat tip to Mr. Kitt for once again orchestrating beautiful music. I?ve always been a big fan of harmonies, and he just took what was on the CD and made it even better (I?ll have them all in my head for quite some time). He added some really great parts to end some of the songs so there?s a big button ? it was awesome. At the post-show Q&A, one audience member asked what they think when they hear Green Day on the radio and Gerard Canonico responded, ?I think, hey, we sing that! And then I also think, That?s not how it goes!? I?m probably going to think the ?that?s not how it goes!? thought for a while.
The Cast: The cast is all-around fantastic. John Gallagher Jr. can sing, but it?s his brilliant acting ability that makes him such an amazing performer and part of this cast
Other cast members who pull of rock edginess while still sounding beautifully theatre-esque: Tony Vincent, Brian Charles Johnson, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Andrew Call, Theo Stockman, Alysha Umpress, and Michael Esper (Jesus, what a beautiful vibrato he has even while singing rock!).
The rest of the leads and ensemble were all equally as amazing, but I had to make those few special mentions.
The only cast member that I had issues with is an actor I usually have issues with, Matt Caplan. His voice was the best in ?Before the Lobotomy? but I generally think his voice is extremely whiny. I always want to like him, but I never do. Apparently Ben Thompson, I believe, played his role in the workshop that was done in the winter, and dear god, I wish he would play it again.
Anyways, enough negativity. I loved it and I hope it transfer to Broadway - though I don't know how much of an audience it would find - there are only SO many Green Day fans that have the means to get to New York.
Updated On: 9/22/09 at 09:55 PM
