Review: AMERICAN IDIOT Opens at the Black Box

I saw an AMERICAN IDIOT in Kansas City, and I LIKED it. Produced by Padgett Productions, AMERICAN IDIOT explodes onto the stage at The Black Box in Kansas City, Missouri. With only a short run of four days, it begins to give hope to the theater-starved residents that maybe live theater is beginning to return to the metro area. The invigorating and at times moving punk rock musical opened on August 19 and runs through August 22.

Nick Padgett, Producing Artistic Director of Padgett Productions, produced, directed, and provided musical staging for the show that is based on the punk rock band Green Day's 2004 concept album of the same name. Intended to be performed in the courtyard outside The Black Box, the production on Friday night had to be hastily shifted to an indoor production due to the predicted forecast of severe storms in the area later that night. Padgett Productions did a masterful job of changing the venue at the last moment.

AMERICAN IDIOT is the story of Johnny, Will, and Tunny growing up in suburbia. Their frustration with the state of the union is exemplified as they explode into the opening number, "American Idiot". Johnny soon purchases tickets for the three to go to the big city and leave their City of the Damned. Before leaving Will is told by his girlfriend Heather that she is pregnant and in the song "Tales of Another Broken Home" tells them he can't go with them. Once in the city Tunny joins the army and is deployed to a war zone, while Will begins to show less interest in Heather, and Johnny becomes involved with a girl, Whatsername, and manifests St. Jimmy as a way to explain his drug addition.

Jordan Lankhorst gives a knock-out performance as Johnny, blasting the audience with a marvelous voice while tugging at their heartstrings with his facial expressions and body language. Benjamin Hart is superb as St. Jimmy, as is Scotty Sharp as Will, and Timothy Houston as Tunny. Kristen Altoro plays Whatsername, Tessa Hake as Extraordinary Girl, Mia Valentine as Heather. Featured in multiple roles are Chelsea Anglemyer, Dennis Crowl, Brooke Ariel Calderone, Lacy Goetting, Nicole Hall, Logan Mathes, Christoph Nevins, and T. J. Warren. Though several of the cast members played musical instruments the band consisted of Apafia Jurkiewicz-Miles, Tim Braselton, Christina Jennings Dyer, Benjamin Hart, Mark Johnson, and Nick Panda. Hart and Jurkiewicz-Miles shared duties as Musical Directors.

AMERICAN IDIOT was such a spectacular production that I am hopeful Padgett Productions will bring it back to Kansas City in years to come. Padgett Productions adheres to the mandate of the Kansas City local government with regards to the current Covid 19 pandemic.

Photos by Jessica Kent-Deterding courtesy of Padgett Productions

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