'IDIOT' Scribes Green Day Nab 3 MTV Video Award Noms

Green Day, whose muti-platinum album AMERICAN IDIOT will premiere in a new stage adaptation  September 4th at Berkeley Rep, have been honored with three 2009 MTV Video Music Award nominations. The Bay Area-based rock band's video for "21 Guns" - from their current gold album 21st Century Breakdown - has been nominated in the "Best Rock Video," "Best Cinematography," and "Best Direction" categories. Green Day are scheduled to perform at the awards ceremony, which takes place at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, September 13th.

The video for "21 Guns" was helmed by noted director Marc Webb, who has lensed clips for such artists as My Chemical Romance, Weezer, and All-American Rejects, and recently made his feature film directorial debut with the indie hit (500) Days of Summer.

Green Day, which is singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool, add these three latest nominations to their previous tally of 25 VMA nominations, including nods for 1994's "Longview," 1995's "Basketcase," and 1998's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," which took home the award for "Best Alternative Video." In 2005, Green Day swept the VMA awards ceremony, taking home six statues for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and one for "American Idiot," which won the "Viewer's Choice" award.

"We are so excited to be nominated this year for ‘21 Guns,'" says Billie Joe Armstrong. "Even though we have eight VMA awards on our mantle, there's always room for more. This video we did with Marc Webb is really special. We're really proud of it."

"21 Guns" is the second single from the band's eighth studio album 21st Century Breakdown, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, as well as on the Rock, Active Rock, and Alternative charts. 21st Century Breakdown, which Rolling Stone has called "a rock opera in which the rock always comes first," also topped the charts in 24 countries including the UK, Canada, and Japan.

Green Day are out on the road for a North American tour throughout the summer. Please visit www.greenday.com for more information.

Due to the demand for seats, Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced August 5th that it will put tickets for Green Day's American Idiot on sale earlier than previously announced. Tickets to the world premiere of this eagerly anticipated show become available to the general public this Friday, August 7 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time - only at berkeleyrep.org.

American Idiot will run from September 4 through October 11, opening Berkeley Rep's 2009/10 season in the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre. Tickets start at only $32 - half that for anyone under 30 years of age.

Green Day won two Grammys - Best Rock Album and Record of the Year - for its multi-platinum American Idiot, which sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Now the band brings that explosive album to the stage with the director of Spring Awakening, which nabbed eight Tony Awards in 2007. American Idiot follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration - an exhilarating journey borne along by Green Day's electrifying songs. This high-octane show includes every song from the album, as well as several new songs from 21st Century Breakdown. With an onstage band and 19 young performers, American Idiot receives its world premiere at Berkeley Rep, the Tony-winning playhouse that launched last year's provocative rock musical Passing Strange.

The show features the music of Green Day vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool - along with Armstrong's lyrics. It is being staged by Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer, who collaborated with Armstrong on the story. Berkeley Rep presents American Idiot in association with Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman, the lead producers of Spring Awakening.

The production features choreography by Olivier Award-winner Steven Hoggett with Tony-winning composer Tom Kitt providing orchestrations, arrangements, and musical supervision. The design team includes Tony-nominee Christine Jones (sets), two-time Tony-winner Kevin Adams (lights), Baryshnikov fellow Andrea Lauer (costumes), and Obie Award-winner Brian Ronan (sound), as well as video designer Darrel Maloney. The music director is Carmel Dean and the associate choreographer is Lorin Latarro.

Tony-winning actor John Gallagher, Jr. plays Johnny, leading an ensemble of 19 young performers that also includes Matt Caplan as Tunny, Michael Esper as Will, and Tony Vincent as St. Jimmy with Mary Faber as Heather, Rebecca Naomi Jones as Whatsername, and Christina Sajous as the Extraordinary Girl.

American Idiot is supported by several contributors to Berkeley Rep's Annual Fund. Bill Falik and Diana Cohen, John and Helen Meyer, Sally Smith and Don Burns, the Strauch Kulhanjian Family, and Felicia Woytak and Steve Rasmussen serve as executive producers. The lead sponsor is Levi's®. The show is also sponsored by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation.

Phone and in-person sales begin Sunday, August 16 at noon. For more information on American Idiot and other shows at Berkeley Rep, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix - or just click berkeleyrep.org.