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Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT Article

ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: American Idiot (Victoria Theatre Association) – Ode to Billie Joe

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Alyssa DiPalma (Whatsername) and Alex Nee (Johnny) in AMERICAN IDIOT

Alyssa DiPalma (Whatsername) and Alex Nee (Johnny) in AMERICAN IDIOT

Much has been said about Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s shocking meltdown at the I Heart Radio Musical Festival last fall in addition to his rehab stint for alcoholism and addiction, but his raw musical genius is of utmost importance in this context. After all, Green Day’s bold, provocative “American Idiot,” a 2010 Tony Award nominee for Best Musical expertly derived from the band’s profound 2004 Grammy-winning album of the same name, has arrived at the Victoria Theatre with astounding electricity rivaling the Broadway production.

Helmed and co-adapted by Michael Mayer – who astonishingly did not receive a Tony nomination for his brilliant stagecraft fluidly accented by Steven Hoggett’s vigorous choreography – “American Idiot” is a non-stop, 90-minute kick in the gut depicting post-911 America, particularly the George W. Bush administration, as a well of political lies within a sea of media overkill, an image superbly presented as the curtain slowly rises on an eye-catching multitude of television sets before the pulsating title number fittingly sets the rock concert tone of the evening. Armstrong’s terrifically blunt and poignant songs, co-written with band mates Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool and including tunes from the band’s 2009 Grammy-winning “21st Century Breakdown,” exhilarates and educates with overwhelming energy and attitude as “the land of make believe who don’t believe in me” takes its toll on the youth of Jingletown U.S.A., particularly three close-knit friends longing for purpose despite deep disillusionment stirring within their suburban hell consumed by “signs leading to nowhere.” The angst-filled, in-your-face numbers, presented with impeccably smooth transitions, are distinctively Green Day, especially lively anthems such as “Holiday” and “Know Your Enemy,” but certain passages delightfully recall Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” (“I Don’t Care”), Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” (“Before the Lobotomy”) and the Beatles (“Last Night on Earth”).

Alex Nee, charming, funny and touching, excellently leads the uniformly outstanding cast as Johnny (a.k.a. Jesus of Suburbia), the product of a broken home scarred by the memories of a parent who constantly killed his self-worth. Nee typifies the desperation of a suffocated suburban kid hoping for something better on the outside. The endearing Thomas Hettrick is a fine Tunny, who joins Johnny on a spirited adventure only to become fixated on a handsome celebrity figure (“Favorite Son”) that encourages him to join the military with heartbreaking results. Casey O’Farrell wonderfully completes the trio as the homebound Will, who suffers “Too Much Too Soon” with his pregnant girlfriend Heather (the humorous Kennedy Caughell).

Elsewhere, Trent Saunders thrills as the scarily intense St. Jimmy, Johnny’s drug dealer. Alyssa DiPalma properly supplies sass and tenderness as Whastername, Johnny’s love interest. As the Extraordinary Girl, the lovely Jenna Rubaii joins Hettrick for a beautifully exquisite aerial ballet during the evocative “Extraordinary Girl.” Jared Young, Carson Higgins, Aurie Ceylon, and Daniel C. Jackson are very effective in featured roles.

Unfortunately, the only drawback to this splendid showcase, which includes Christine Jones’ Tony-winning set design and Kevin Adams’ Tony-winning lighting design, is the Victoria itself. The show, specifically its towering sound equipment, is simply too large for the stage, leaving poor sightlines for practically anyone sitting in the right orchestra.

Nonetheless, like “Hair,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The Who’s Tommy,” Green Day’s “American Idiot” firmly stands as another mesmerizing, thought-provoking testament to the powerful influence of rock music in the musical theater universe.

Green Day’s “American Idiot,” presented in 90 minutes without intermission, continues Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m. at the Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton. Tickets are $46-$67. Call Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or visit www.ticketcenterstage.com. Patrons are advised the show is recommended for ages 17 and up and includes strong language and adult themes.

Here is an audience reaction, courtesy of Victoria Theatre Association

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Green Day’s American Idiot comes to Dayton + TICKET CONTEST

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Alex Nee (Johnny) and company in AMERICAN IDIOT

Alex Nee (Johnny) and company in AMERICAN IDIOT

The Victoria Theatre Association continues to expand its boundaries in bringing the best of Broadway to Dayton, and will provide a musical theatre experience of a different kind with Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot, playing at the Victoria Theatre March 12 – 14.

A story very much of this era, American Idiot is the tale of three young men who’ve been friends all their lives. The story finds them on the brink of adulthood, and soon they’ll have to decide whether they’ll strike out into the world to follow their hearts or take an easier path and remain in the comfort of the suburbs. The cynicism, ennui, black humor, and paranoia of youth in post-9/11 America is front and center in this Tony- and Grammy-winning show.

The musical is based on punk band Green Day’s multi-platinum 2004 album by the same name. Director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) approached the band with the idea of translating it to the stage, and in April 2010, it opened on Broadway with music by Green Day, lyrics by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, and a book by Armstrong and Mayer. The production ran for one year, with 421 performances logged by the final curtain.

Ensemble cast member Dustin Harris Smith said, “Someone who doesn’t know Green Day will still have a good experience with this show. Right from the start, it’s an explosion, and as long as you — or your parents — don’t mind the F word, then it’s perfectly accessible. It’s definitely not for everybody, but we see people of all ages in the audience and they really enjoy it. The other day, we had a seven-year-old girl in the front row, and we were very happy to have her. As long as the parents are there to accept it, we’ll be happy to yell at your child. Or,” he added, “your grandmother!”

The New York-based actor also occasionally takes on the role of Tunny, one of the lead trio who joins the military and goes off to war. Musical theatre has already taken him abroad as Bobby in an Edinburgh production of Urinetown, and he performed in The Who’s Tommy and other shows during his educaton at NYU and was paid a visit by a casting director while he was still in school. Several callbacks later, he was cast, and workshops of the touring version began in May 2012 as Smith prepared to graduate.

Alyssa DiPalma (Whatsername) and Alex Nee (Johnny) in AMERICAN IDIOT

Alyssa DiPalma (Whatsername) and Alex Nee (Johnny) in AMERICAN IDIOT

“I call myself The Thrasher,” Smith said, “because I do a lot of the high-octane support in the show. I’m in almost every number backing the three leads and thrashing around. I give all my energy for every performance, which is weird on two-show days, when I have to give 200% of myself. We call them ‘two dow shays,’ because at the end of the day, you’re so exhausted nothing works right or makes sense anymore. When we leave the theater around 11 p.m., most people are going out partying. My party is with my pillow!”

“We just finished our 117th performance,” he said by phone from Hartford, Connecticut. “There’s a lot of belting and screaming, and we do it healthily and have to take care of our voices, but every now and then someone has to take a performance off just based on the wear and tear of the show. There are a few people in the company who have never called out, and,” he added with a laugh, “there is something very wrong with them, and they are freaks.”

When not involved with theatre, Smith has a very unique pursuit as a passionate board game enthusiast with a dream of owning his own game company.

“I’ve produced five or six board games that I’m trying to get play-tested to maybe start a company,” he said. “It’s a small passion I don’t usually tell people about, but it’s very fun for me. Board games are a great way to be face to face with people you know, or don’t know, and get to know how they think.

As his own personal favorite game, Smith is particularly fond of the classic Stratego.

“I’m a big strategy guy,” said Smith, “and if I can get in the head of the person I’m playing, it’s a small victory. The deception and randomness is something I love, that anyone can lay their pieces down in any order, and it becomes kind of a logical guessing game, like chess.”

Smith’s tour with American Idiot will take him all over the United States before wrapping in September after lengthy stints in Tokyo and Seoul.

“We’ve had our share of season ticket holders,” he said, “who are just there to experience something they’ve never experienced, and boy, this is it. The show is filled with spectacle, and there’s a bit of acrobatics… It’s almost like reliving the ’70s era of rock concerts, in a way, but it’s also a very moving piece. I’ve gotten to watch it twice myself, and I laughed and cried both times.”

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CONTEST CLOSED

Congratulations to our ticket winner: Mikee Huber