AMERICAN IDIOT Moves To Broadway; Opens at St. James Theatre April 20, 2010 — Page 4

I think a lot of the people who think American Idiot won't succeed on Broadway are the same ones who are scratching their heads over the closings of Ragtime and Finian's Rainbow. The fact is, as much as I loved Finian's and Ragtime, the form of these shows is very old-fashioned, and for that reason makes them a hard sell to most of the tourists who want to see a show while they're in New York. American Idiot, which I haven't seen, at least SEEMS like something new and vibrant.

The people who grew up during the golden age of the show-tune have, for the most part, passed away. The people who are now in their 50s grew up loving the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. And the music of Green Day is very similar to those groups. I read with interest that the number 2 selling group of this last decade was...The Beatles! (Eminem was #1)

This doesn't mean American Idiot will be a hit, but it certainly gives it a better chance than most, despite it not having a great book, which frankly won't matter much to the people who want to see this show (I'm a big Rent fan, and I STILL don't know what's going on in it half the time.)

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On the question of whether 21st Century Breakdown is some kind of sequel to American Idiot, I would say no. Yes there are similar themes in the albums about religious hypocrisy and life during the Bush administration but it is a whole new story with different characters. It's also different from each other because American Idiot was produced by Rob Cavallo who's done all of Green Day's major studio albums up until 21st Century Breakdown which was produced by Butch Vig, drummer of the band Garbage. 21st Century Breakdown is just a follow-up to American Idiot, both of which are concept albums. The similarities end there.

leefowler, I think you're right.

Not entirely, for otherwise SOUTH PACIFIC wouldn't bee big, fat hit up at Lincoln Center, but you're right that its a sound that appeals to a newer, wider demographic.

And the score is the best thing about the show. Hopefully, Mayer has worked on (read: actually created) the book...

"21st Century Breakdown is just a follow-up to American Idiot, both of which are concept albums. The similarities end there."

If that were true one would not expect 21st Century songs to be in the American Idiot stage show.

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Please learn how to properly quote someone else's post. Either with ASCII symbols or simple HTML. It's hard to tell where theirs starts and yours begins, and you just look nuts.

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"If that were true one would not expect 21st Century songs to be in the American Idiot stage show."

I haven't seen the show so the fact there was 4-5 songs incorporated from 21st Century Breakdown does interest me if only to see how it all fits in the plot.

Another chance for me to see Tony Vincent live is always good news!!! I have been excited about this since Tony announced it a liitle while back!!!
I personally don't even like Green Day much at all..but I support my favorites actors in whatever I possibly can. So I seriously don't care if its a great story or even great music..I know what ever they give Tony V. to sing he is going to sing it amazingly well, and for the amount of time that he will be on that stage I will be happy as a freaking clam!!! LOL
I thought that his last show WWRY was really good, I may be in the minority on that one but I really wish that came to Broadway instead!!

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Updated On: 1/9/10 at 02:22 AM

You all really seem to underestimate the drawing power of several factors.

1. Green Day: Green Day is HUGE. They fill up stadiums worldwide. "American Idiot" itself went six times platinum. That means it sold 5 MILLION COPIES.

2. The cast: American Idiot screams "FANGIRL SHOW". Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, you can't deny that it will draw the "Spring Awakening" demographic. That's not to say that fangirls can keep a show afloat, but they can't hurt - look at Next to Normal, still chugging along.

3. The subject matter: Just like Hair draws boomers looking to relive their glory days, American Idiot will draw Generation Y, because this is finally a show FOR US. It speaks to the sense of complacency and boredom that comes with any teenager, as well as those of us who grew up in front of screen after screen, watching as towers fell, as celebrities were made and destroyed one by one, as a nation felt the need to have their own viewpoints heard.

I will compare American Idiot to Hair again and again. The main criticsm I've heard so far is that it has a thin plot, or thin characters, or that the book is sparse. Well, yeah, all of those are true. But come on now. Many of you who bash this show have been fawning over Hair for months. Hair has less of a plot and less character development than American Idiot by FAR. At least stuff "happens" in American Idiot, and the songs drive the story to some degree. What frustrates me about Hair is that it so often feels meandering and directionless, with characters saddled with only one dimension, and mostly forced to speak lines of awful dialogue and participate in unintelligible plotlines just to get to the next time they can sing another song and molest audience members. Anyone who bashes American Idiot while sucking at Hair's teat needs to rethink why they really hate the show. American Idiot has a concrete plot. It may not be elaborate, but at least it's better than Hair's semblance of a storyline.

Oh, and MusicSnob/JazzSquare/TooDarnHot/The Charleston or whatever you're calling yourself now? It's kind of idiotic to criticize the book of a rock opera because a ROCK OPERA HAS NO BOOK. It's completely sung through, with an occasional short monologue by John Gallagher Jr. Saying that this show needs serious work on its book is like saying that "Avatar" sucked ass because it had no musical numbers.

I think American Idiot is a novel, inventive show with a spectacular score that speaks to a generation that has still been neglected by the American theatre. Criticize it if you want, but don't criticize it for not having something that BY DEFINITION it should not have, and don't criticize it for the same reasons you worship Hair.

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