BWW Reviews: AMERICAN IDIOT - A Sad, Pathetic View of a New Generation

BWW Review: "AMERICAN IDIOT" - a SAD, PATHETIC, VIEW of a NEW GENERATION

Book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer
Music by Green Day Lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong
Orchestration and arrangements by Tom Kitt
Directed by Michael Mayer
Choreographed by Steven Hoggett
May 17, 2013 at 8:00P.M.

The national tour of "AMERICAN IDIOT", is the current offering in Tampa Bay's, Straz Center, Broadway Series, playing through May 19, 2013.

The entire cast and musicians are multi-talented and the production values are innovative. On opening night, when the curtain went up, the cast was welcomed by screams, howls, and cheering, by a throng of teenagers seated in the rear section of the theatre. Audience reaction during the show however, was moderate at best.

"AMERICAN IDIOT" opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in 2010, winning two Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design for a Musical.

"AMERICAN IDIOT", is more like a concert, or perhaps a Pop-Punk-Rock-Opera. The idea of this production being billed as a Broadway Musical is, well...shall I say, a very gray area. There is barely a storyline or dialogue for that matter. Oh yes, there is a great deal of profanity in the sparse dialogue, along with explicit sexual gestures. There are a few lines here and there, between Green Day's songs. With all due respect, taking credit for writing "the book" is a stretch.

The main focus is on three, lifelong, very angry, male, teenagers; in search of the meaning of "their horrible life". They leave home to find "their way out" and then return home. These "kids" are angry at the world.

"AMERICAN IDIOT" is a sad, pathetic, view of a new generation. There are no warm, fuzzy moments, in this 90 minute, graphic explosion.

When viewing the opening production number, I honestly thought that we were seeing teenagers, that were locked up in an insane asylum. THAT is what the choreography depicted to me. The choreography is plentiful in this production, albeit...convulsive. I am still unsure of what it was "suppose to be", since the lyrics were inaudible in all of the group numbers, (and in some of the solo singing, as well). I did catch myself mesmerized at times, focused and concentrating as hard as I could, to understand the lyrics.

There is a great deal of very dramatic, angry flailing, head banging and bobbing, pelvic thrusting, crotch grabbing, acrobatics, and tribal looking movements. I am unsure of the genre of this choreography, but for certain, it is not, your typical, musical theatre fare.

I have never taken LSD, but the majority of this production is what I would imagine a "bad, hallucinogenic LSD trip" would be like. Memorable, yes. A positive experience, no.

Kudos to director, Michael Mayer, who staged the challenging production well, using all of the levels of the set inventively. He created good stage pictures, that helped to enhance the weak book.

The lighting design by Kevin Adams, used moving projections to great effect. His cityscape was exceptional.

The set design by Christine Jones consisted of a steel constructed, platform, stairwell, scaffold-like, unit set, filled with a backdrop of about three dozen television monitors. (it would have helped to understand the lyrics, had they been programmed on the monitors, since a libretto was not provided).

There were set pieces consisting of a futon, couches, shopping cart, hospital bed, chains suspended from the fly loft, and more, that were wheeled on and off the stage. There were aerial wires for a "flying" segment that were visibly noticeable. (I am still not quite certain what that scene was about.)

If you like loud music, blinding, pulsating lights, angry, hard core, profane language, middle finger gestures, drug abuse, drug-related suicide, crotch grabbing, unwanted teenage pregnancy, realistically portrayed sex scenes, and antiestablishment overtones, "AMERICAN IDIOT" will give you all of these and more, surrounded by Green Day's music including, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "21 Guns," and "Wake Me Up when September Ends".

The cast received a standing ovation, (which seems to be a common occurrence these days, and has nothing to do with the overall quality or enjoyment of a production). I stood also, but for personal reasons only, as I looked for the nearest exit. But, the cast started singing; each one playing a guitar and the audience sat down again. Then there was another bow and we were all up on our feet for a second time.

This production obviously does not appeal to me. If this is the beginning of a new era, of what is to become of the American Broadway Musical, then I am out of what has been a very successful career in show business.

Please remember, that this is ONLY my opinion. I am one person, out of thousands that have enjoyed this show.

There is without doubt, an appreciative audience for "AMERICAN IDIOT", as it ran for over a year on Broadway.

Go see it. Decide for yourself.

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission

Recommended for mature audiences (and those that are not easily offended by explicit adult content and strong language).

"AMERICAN IDIOT" will play Carol Morsani Hall, May 17th-19th, 2013

at at the Straz Center, 1010 North W.C. MacInnes Place • Tampa, Florida 33602

Tickets: starting at $44.50 and may be purchased by calling 813.229.STAR (7827) or 800.955.1045 outside Tampa Bay, or in person at the Straz Center Ticket Office or online.

www.strazcenter.org

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