AMERICAN IDIOT is not a jukebox musical! — Page 2

I don't really follow Green Day at all, but even I remember the album being called a rock opera when it came out, and hearing talk about it being inspired by The Who and other conceptual work.

Look, it's obviously a jukebox musical. It's just that some ahole jammed $10 worth of quarters in the jukebox and kept selecting freaking Green Day songs.

I might punch someone if they did this in a bar.

It doesn't really matter what it is, kids, except a (partial) flop. Some people liked it, some didn't, and it lost money. That's all that really counts.

I thought it was a loud, boring mess about banal nihilism and humorless self-importance, but it's OK if you like that sort of thing.

Well, I was kidding about punching someone. Wouldn't do that over them being an ass on the jukebox.

And I read your blog . . . all I can say is that you didn't really make any sort of case at all. Just because you like the music doesn't mean its not a jukebox musical. Especially since pretty much all the songs were playing in, you know . . . jukeboxes for years before anyone wrote a book. Concept album, fine. Rock Opera? False. As you say, it'snot a matter of opinion, it's a fact. It's a jukebox musical.

I just don't understand what so wrong with that? Doesn't make the show any better or worse. If you love Green Day, you'll love AI.

well, i want the relevant terminology standardized !!!

how do you we begin the standardization process ?!

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A jukebox musical is a musical with pre made songs correct ? Well they were also out of an album it is a jukebox musical. With a loose story attached. The really great thing is that it has a an excellent set and lighting which both won tonys. Jukebox does not mean bad I think Jersey Boys one of the best musicals ever written is an example of this.

I agree that it is NOT a jukebox musical.

It was constituted as a narrative, and all those days I jogged around listening to the original album, I always saw a show in my mind long before they pulled it together and made it a stage show.

I define jukebox musical as a bunch of unrelated songs from disparate sources that are shoe-horned into a narrative for which they were not written.

Forgive the personal reference, but I'll use, as an example, both of our musicals, The Last Session and The Big Voice: God or Merman? Both were written score-first around a theme/narrative I had in my mind. Jim Brochu then took the songs and created a book around the songs, and nobody ever questioned whether these works were musicals.

The fact is that musicals can be written in a variety of ways. In this case, American Idiot's songs cohere to one another. They were always a part of a larger vision, even if Green Day didn't have that book "written" when they wrote and recorded the songs.

Calling this a jukebox musical is a back-handed slap intended to denigrate the piece itself. Rock of Ages is a juke box musical. American Idiot was always a part of a singular vision.

Living in the Bonus Round

Updated On: 4/8/11 at 08:21 AM

American Idiot's score was intentionally written around a single coherent theme and intended to function as a larger overall statement. The musical adheres to this vision and serves the material as it was originally intended.

This is not the case with Jersey Boys.

That's really interesting to read that JCS was never supposed to be staged. I guess that's why the show isn't very good but the music is awesome.

I tried fighting this 'American Idiot is not a jukebox musical!'-battle for a while when it was approaching it's opening dating on Broadway last year and it IS a fine line. Kyle4, you need to take your finger off the caplocks and go find something better to do than going on a tirade about something that will never determined.

Everyone here knows that Billie Joe has the JCS logo tattooed on the inside of one of his arms, right? He didn't know what it was from, he just liked the picture. I think that's kinda cool.

Oh well, have fun duking this out, guys!