American Idiot on Broadway

Last weekend (on October 30th to be exact) I went with a friend of mine to see American Idiot. It was a wonderful experience to say the least. In fact I have not been able to stop listening to my old Green Day albums since I saw the show.

To preface the rest of my post about the show I must explain what the original American Idiot album and Green Day in general means to me. I can't claim to be Green Day's biggest fan, my friend Mikey officially claimed that label at the tender age of 5. It is because of Mikey that I care so deeply for this album. For a shining moment in 2005 he and I were the best friends that you could possibly imagine, and of course American Idiot became and integral part of the soundtrack to our friendship. We were a couple of angry restless teenagers on a mission to show the world that we didn't have to play by the rules. We were fiery, rebellious and full of life.

The Broadway show was able to capture that feeling. It captured the energy, the frustration and the pain. It raised an incredible amount of nostalgia in me, although nothing Mikey and I lived through was ever quite as dark or dangerous as the subject matter of the stage show. The performances were very good, especially John Gallagher, Jr. and Tony Vincent. Most of all I liked the costumes, lighting and set design. The lighting design was amazing, using unique shapes and creatively using color in a way that captured the mood and tone of the music. The set design really made a statement. There were harsh metal structures towering over both actors and audience and screens everywhere in varying shapes, sizes, and time periods. The costumes were great because they enabled me to identify the various types of "Punks". The costume designer clearly did their research into the subculture and i found my self looking around at the cast and thinking I know exactly what the designer is trying to say with that piece. In addition Johnny's (the main character) costume evolved along with him and symbolized his emotional journey into adulthood.
I loved the show and it is a memory I will treasure right along with all of the memories I have of my crazy year with Mikey. So thank you to everyone who made this wonderful show come about, and to those of you who have not seen it, I highly recommend that you change that ASAP!