Today, as Green Day's American Idiot takes Broadway by storm, the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced a rare opportunity for fans to bid on exclusive items from the show's world-premiere run in California. Four collectors' items - including a guitar autographed by Green Day and the show's original cast - will be available for 10 days on eBay beginning Wednesday, April 14. All proceeds from the auction benefit Berkeley Rep, a nonprofit theatre company dedicated to developing exhilarating new plays like American Idiot, Girlfriend, and Passing Strange.
The auction - which can be accessed at
www.berkeleyrep.org/IdiotAuction - begins at 7:00 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, April 14 and concludes at 7:00 PM Pacific Time on Saturday, April 24. Berkeley Rep is a certified nonprofit on MissionFish, which means that through eBay's Giving Works program it will receive 100 percent of the auction's proceeds.
The auction includes the following hot items:
A brand new Epiphone LP Jr guitar autographed by all three members of
Green Day and the original cast of American Idiot as they recorded a new version of "21 Guns" at the band's Jingletown Studios in November 2009
A framed 20" x 30" photo of the original rendering for the show's four-story set - with its sky-high walls, rolling stairs, punk posters, television monitors, and dangling car - created by Scenic Designer Christine Jones, who earned a Tony Award nomination for her work on Spring Awakening
A mixed-media collage of fabric swatches, photos, and sketches created by Costume Designer Andrea Lauer as she invented the outrageous outfit - including striped armband and pink combat boots - worn by Obie Award-winning actress
Rebecca Naomi Jones, who portrays Whatsername (the collage is signed by Ms. Lauer and framed alongside a photo of Ms. Jones from the Berkeley run taken by renowned theatre photographer Kevin Berne)
A similar collage by Ms. Lauer that features photos, drawings, and images of Whatsername alongside other characters from the show portrayed by
Tony Vincent (St. Jimmy),
Joshua Henry (The Favorite Son), and
Libby Winters (ensemble)
The Broadway engagement of American Idiot, produced by
Tom Hulce and
Ira Pittelman in association with Berkeley Rep, began previews on March 24 and officially opens on April 20. The show tells the exhilarating tale of a new generation of young Americans as they search for meaning in a post-9/11 world, borne along by
Green Day's electrifying score. With a cast of 19 led by Tony Award-winner
John Gallagher, Jr., this high-octane musical follows the journey of three lifelong friends as one takes off for a life in the city, one leaves home to fight for his country, and one stays behind, frozen in the safety of suburbia.
American Idiot made its world premiere in Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre in September 2009. Its record-breaking run brought in the biggest advance sale in the Theatre's 42-year history, the biggest day at the box office, 18 of the top 20 days ever, and due to ticket demand had to announce its first extension before it played its first performance. Now it's taking up residence at the S
T. James Theatre in Manhattan, which is located at 246 West 44th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue.
Green Day - vocalist/guitarist
Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist
Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool - won two Grammy Awards for the groundbreaking rock opera American Idiot, which went on to become one of the best selling albums of all time. Now the band joins with one of theatre's most acclaimed creative teams - Tony Award-winning director of Spring Awakening
Michael Mayer, two-time Tony Award-winning composer and orchestrator
Tom Kitt, and Olivier Award-winning choreographer
Steven Hoggett - to bring this explosive, iconic story to the stage.
The Broadway cast includes
Michael Esper as Will,
Stark Sands as Tunny, and
Tony Vincent as St. Jimmy with
Mary Faber as Heather,
Rebecca Naomi Jones as Whatsername, and
Christina Sajous as the Extraordinary Girl. The show features scenic design by Tony-nominee
Christine Jones, costume design by Baryshnikov fellow Andrea Lauer, lighting design by two-time Tony-winner
Kevin Adams, sound design by Obie Award-winner
Brian Ronan, as well as video design by
Darrel Maloney. For more information on American Idiot, visit AmericanIdiotOnBroadway.com.
In the last five years, five shows have moved from Berkeley Rep to Broadway:
Sarah Jones' Bridge & Tunnel (2006), Stew's Passing Strange (2008),
Carrie Fisher's
Wishful Drinking (2009),
Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) (2009), and now American Idiot (2010). In fact, the Theatre has helped send 13 shows to New York in the last 13 years. This list of hits also includes
Danny Hoch's Taking Over (2008), Ruhl's Eurydice (2007),
Tony Kushner and
Maurice Sendak's Brundibar (2006),
Naomi Iizuka's 36 Views (2002),
Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses (2001), Hoch's Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop (1998), Anne Galjour's Alligator Tales (1997), and
Philip Kan Gotanda's Ballad of Yachiyo (1997).
See tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep. The 2009/10 Season continues with even more daring new shows: the world premiere of Girlfriend from
Todd Almond and Matthew Sweet and the world premiere of In the Wake from
Lisa Kron and
Leigh Silverman. Subscriptions are also on sale for the upcoming season, which features new work from Lemony Snicket,
Rita Moreno,
Mike Daisey,
Rinne Groff,
Sarah Ruhl, and other prominent artists. For details, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-tix - or simply click
berkeleyrep.org.
ABOUT BERKELEY REP
Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to a national leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core values of imagination and excellence, as well as its educated and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. The Theatre welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators. With two stages, a school, and a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Berkeley Rep is proud to premiere exhilarating new plays. In the last five years alone, the company has helped send five shows to Broadway: American Idiot, Bridge & Tunnel, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange, and
Wishful Drinking. Come see tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep.
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