Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," continues its 25th anniversary season of adult, alternative musical theatre, with the first local production of the searing rock fable AMERICAN IDIOT, running now through March 26, 2016, at the company's new home, the Marcelle Theater, the new blackbox theatre space in Grand Center, St. Louis' arts district. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

This powerful, high-octane, rock fable is based on the powerhouse original album by Green Day, a scorching attack on what they saw as the hypocrisy and moral evils of the Bush Administration after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the increasingly submissive nature of the American public.

The show's score includes every song from Green Day's American Idiot, as well as several songs from their follow-up release, 21st Century Breakdown, with music by Green Day, lyrics by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, a book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer, and musical arrangements and orchestrations by Broadway composer Tom Kitt ( High Fidelity, Next to Normal, If/Then).

Lost and disconnected in a post-9/11 America, three friends, Johnny, Tunny, and Will, struggle to find meaning in their lives. The three twenty-somethings flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life, but their paths quickly diverge as Tunny enters the armed forces, Will is called back home to attend to a pregnant girlfriend, and Johnny descends into an urban underworld, following a seductive love interest and a deadly new best friend. As each of the three men learns to navigate his "alienation," we see in them America's struggle to find a new path in this new millennium, after a long period of darkness.

The cast of New Line's AMERICAN IDIOT includes Evan Fornachon (Johnny), Brendan Ochs (Will), Frederick Rice (Tunny), Chris Kernan (St. Jimmy), Sarah Porter (Whatsername), Larissa White (Heather), Sicily Mathenia (Extraordinary Girl), Kevin Corpuz, Cameisha Cotton, Clayton Humburg, Jeremy Hyatt, Omega Jones, Sean Michael, Tanya Sapp, Ariel Saul, and Gabe Taylor. The show is directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy, with scenic design by Rob Lippert, costume design by Sarah Porter, sound design by Benjamin Rosemann, and lighting design by Kenneth Zinkl.

AMERICAN IDIOT runs March 3-26, 2016, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, at 8:00 p.m., at the new Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive (63103), just three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students/seniors on Fridays and Saturdays; and only $20 for adults and $15 for students/seniors on Thursdays. For other information, visit New Line Theatre's full-service website at www.newlinetheatre.com. Note: American Idiot contains adult language and content.

Photo Credit: Jill Ritter Lindberg

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