Review: Circle Players' AMERICAN IDIOT Rocks Nashvile

Thursday night, Circle Players opened the regional premier of GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT at Tennessee State University Performing Arts Center. Directed by Bradley Moore, AMERICAN IDIOT brings "sex drugs and rock n' roll" to the stage. While it may seem a little cliché to say that, it really is the truth, and a very basic summary of the show itself.

On a more in depth look, AMERICAN IDIOT is about a generation of youth disenchanted with the world around them, angry about things they don't understand, and scrambling to find their place in the world. A post- 9/11 look at America, AMERICAN IDIOT has more rage and love than most theatrical audiences are probably used to seeing.

Centering mostly around three main characters, Johnny, Will and Tunny, AMERICAN IDIOT follows their paths as they leave Jingletown and find their own place in the world. Through a series of choices made, Will ends up staying in Jingletown while his friends leave. Tunny finds himself enlisted in the military, and Johnny finds himself floundering with a drug addiction.

Most of the story is told through lyrics and choreography. There is very little spoken word in this show. In a way, it is slightly like a rock opera, filled with angst and anger. There are some amazingly beautiful musical arrangements of songs in AMERICAN IDIOT, including Last Night on Earth, Whatsername, and Before the Lobotomy, all arranged by Tom Kitt. There is some amazing chances to tell the stories of the main characters as well as the ensemble members in show through the choreography. Shauna Smartt Hopkins does a good job of this, especially in numbers like Jesus of Suburbia, and the opening number, American Idiot.

Set design by Jacob Street reflects the tumultuous times of the era, including the late 90s/early 2000s panache of street graffiti. Lighting by Richard K. Davis showed the darkness of the time and spirit of the angst filled youth, while also showing the flashes of bright color that I feel really shares the need for our generation, and youth in general, to stand out and be noticed.

There was even some wirework in the show! The original production of AMERICAN IDIOT involved some highly flying wirework in Extraordinary Girl. Throughout the first and second national tours the wirework continued, but by the third national tour the production teams had done away with the wirework as it was too logistically difficult. Going into Circle Players' production of AMERICAN IDIOT, I had no thought that wire work would have even been a possibility. Not only was it possible, they did it. While it wasn't as much as the original productions, it was there and it was amazing. In the original production there were hours upon hours of training that went into learning to do the aerial acrobatics involved in the number. After speaking with director Bradley Moore, I found out that the actors involved in Circle Players' production had much less training, and yet still pulled it off.

Standout performances included Julia Nettles, who played Whatsername (yes, that is the character's name). Nettles was vocally strong and well suited to the role, and gave the character such a strong and powerful place in the show. Possibly one of my favorite performances of the show, Tyler Osborne's St. Jimmy was dark and funny all at the same time. He threw in comedy when there could have been very little comedy to be had.

My heart is like a bomb. Seeing AMERICAN IDIOT on stage in Nashville is a pretty amazing feat. This is the kind of show that brings in audiences that love Green Day, it brings in audiences that love musical theatre, and it brings in audiences that lived their youth in the early 2000s. This production is certainly not one to be missed in the short time it plays in Nashville. The show runs at Tennessee State University Performing Arts Center through August 30th. Thursday, August 27th is a pay-what-you-can night at the door and there are two shows on Saturday, August 29th. You can purchase tickets by visiting the Circle Players' website. Don't let this show close without taking the chance to see this production.

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