BWW Reviews: PPAC Stage Explodes with Green Day's Spectacular Rock Musical AMERICAN IDIOT

The show must go on, or so the saying says. This weekend, with a major blizzard plowing through New England, that didn't always hold true. Case in point, Providence Performing Arts Center, which had to cancel two Saturday performances of the touring production of Green Day's rock musical American Idiot. Fortunately, both of the Sunday performances went on as scheduled. Even luckier for area audiences, another show has been added for Monday evening, so there's one more opportunity to check out this stunning and intense production.

At first glance, the show seems to be similar to a number of other recent Broadway productions, , such as Rock of Ages, Movin' Out and Jersey Boys, which bring previously released music together into a piece of Musial theater. American Idiot, though, is actually a adaptation of a concept album which Green Day always hoped would become a movie or stage musical. The original album was greatly expanded on its way to becoming the Broadway musical, with characters and plotlines added for the stage.

Therein lies this musical's biggest weakness, in those added characters and plotlines. For the most part, they are all stereotypical stock characters and tired old plotlines. Take the three lead characters, three young men, for example. One runs off to the city, joins the military, is wounded but meets the love of his life. Another also goes to the city only to be caught up in a world of sex and drugs, which leads to him losing everything he has. The third stays at home where he is trapped in a suburban life that he hates, after his ex-girlfriend has their baby and leaves him. Been there and done that on all three counts.

At the same time, none of the characters ever become fully fleshed out people. Their true feelings and motivations don't get much, if any attention. Fortunately, the audience probably won't' even notice because they're too caught up in the sights and sounds of an epic rock musical.

Character and story aside, Green Day's music truly rocks from start to finish. Those who already loved the band and their songs will find everything they love and more. Anyone who's never heard of them will likely leave with a newfound respect and appreciation for the rockers. The best known songs, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Wake me Up When September Ends," for example, get their time on stage, as does every other song from the concept album and material from other Green Day sources. There's a little something for everyone, from rock ballad to intimate love song, and almost every one is a great piece of music.

They are also sung by an immensely talented, charismatic and high-energy cast of actors, every one of them a triple-threat. The three male leads, Alex Nee as Johnny, Casey O'Farrell as Will and Thomas Hettrick as Tunny, are extraordinary and more than hold their own in the vocal and acting departments. Among the female cast, Alyssa DiPalma is a standout as Whatsername. She's a talented actress who blows the door off the theater when she gets a chance to command the stage in the "Letterbomb" number.

The entire ensemble deserves credit as their energy and obvious talent make for an astounding combination of theater and rock and roll. Adding to the spectacle is Christine Jones' incredible set, dominated by video screens that are everywhere, surrounding the cast as if the televisions, and by proxy the media, might overwhelm and devour them at any moment.

Messages like that run throughout the show, which at its heart deals with how today's young adults live and survive in our post-9/11, media-driven culture and society. How young people who grow up in suburbia survive in a plugged-in, high-tech world. And how they break out of that, if they even can, and what happens to them when they do. This is that show for today's younger generation, the show that puts on stage all of their anger, anguish and angst. Hopefully, it also offers them a message of hope.

After bows, the cast broke out their guitars for a group singing of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." It's certain that audience members will have a great time at this show. But in the end, when all is said and done, isn't that really the hope and the goal. That when the curtain comes down for the final time, we can look back and know that we truly had the time of our life.

PPAC has announced the addition of a performance of American Idiot, on Monday, February 11th at 7:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online, by phone at (401) 421-2787 , or at the PPAC Box Office located at 220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence.

Note: American Idiot contains adult language, themes and situations, and may not be suitable for young children.

Photo Credit: The company of American Idiot. Photo by Litwin

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