GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT Opens at The Roxy Today

Roxy Regional Theater, in a multimedia partnership with CDE Lightband, will combine the music from a multi-platinum album turned into one of the most notable Broadway musicals of recent vintage, brought to life via the creativity of artists from Austin Peay State University and a dozen high-energy performers from around the USA for an eagerly anticipated production of Green Day's American Idiot, opening April 29 in Clarksville.

Boldly taking the American musical where it has never gone before, Green Day's American Idiot comes to the Roxy stage as a high-energy rock opera of youthful disillusionment - and audiences are urged to brace themselves for impact.

Struggling to find meaning in a post-9/11 world, the show's three protagonists - Johnny (Joseph Spinelli), Tunny (Charles Robinson) and Will (Ryan Alvarado) - flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life. Their paths quickly diverge when Tunny enters the armed forces, Will is called back home to attend familial responsibilities, and Johnny's attention becomes divided by a seductive love interest and a hazardous new friendship.

Based on Green Day's Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album, American Idiot was written by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer, with music by Green Day and lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong.

Tom Thayer helms the Roxy Regional Theatre's production as director and he brings back Philadelphia choreographer Jenn Rose, who added her fresh and innovative work to last year's production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins. American Idiot will boast an impressive multimedia installation by CDE Lightband, with the set designed and executed by students from the Department of Art + Design at Austin Peay State University, led by professor Scott Raymond.

Green Day's American Idiot also features Ryan Bowie as St. Jimmy, Alyssa V. Gomez as Whatsername, Allison Kelly as Heather, and Sarita Nash as Extraordinary Girl, along with Patrick Beasley, Michael C. Brown, Allison Ferebee, Leigh Martha Klinger, Emily Rourke and Chris Shore.

A live band - led by Thayer on keyboard, Jarrod Jackson on guitar, John Waddle on bass, and Thad Wallus on drums - will perform the hits "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "21 Guns," "Holiday" and other songs from Green Day's album American Idiot.

Inspired by several musicals and the work of The Who, American rock band Green Day released American Idiot, their seventh studio album, in 2004. A concept album and "punk rock opera" following the story of Jesus of Suburbia, an adolescent anti-hero divided between "rage and love," American Idiot expresses the disillusionment and dissent experienced by a generation which came of age during various turmoil including the Iraq War. The album charted number one in 19 countries, sold 15 million copies worldwide, generated five platinum singles, and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2005.

Green Day's American Idiot runs April 29 through May 14, playing Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. There is no performance on Wednesday, May 4.

Friday, April 29, is the theatre's traditional pay-what-you-can preview. All tickets not pre-sold at the regular ticket price will go on sale at 7:30 p.m. that evening for a $5 minimum donation. Due to strong language and adult content, this production is recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at www.roxyregionaltheatre.org, by phone at (931) 645-7699, or at the theatre during regular box office hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to curtain).

Active duty military, APSU students and CitySaver coupon holders can receive two tickets for the price of one to Wednesday and Thursday performances.

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