AMERICAN IDIOT opens Sept 2009

Green Day won two Grammys for its multi-platinum American Idiot, which sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Now the band plans to bring that explosive album to the stage with Michael Mayer, Tony Award-winning director of Spring Awakening. American Idiot follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration—an exhilarating journey borne along by Green Day’s electrifying songs. This high-octane show includes every song from the album, as well as several new songs from Green Day’s upcoming release, 21st Century Breakdown. With an onstage band and 19 young performers, American Idiot debuts at Berkeley Rep, the theatre that launched Passing Strange.

Please note: This is not a Green Day concert—this is the stage version of American Idiot developed by Green Day and Michael Mayer. Although the band will not appear on stage, the show will definitely rock.
the players

Green Day—vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool—were loud, snotty, scrappy kids from working-class backgrounds who came of age in the underground punk scene in Berkeley. American Idiot debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and raised the bar for modern rock ‘n’ roll. Visit the band’s website.

Michael Mayer earned the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Spring Awakening. He has directed 11 shows on Broadway, three on London’s West End, two films and many other projects. In 2004, The New Yorker proclaimed him “a great director.”
green day says…

“We are really excited to be working with Michael Mayer on this project. We’d been thinking of bringing American Idiot to the stage, but knew we needed to find the right partners. After meeting with Michael to discuss the possibility, he invited us to see Spring Awakening. We were so impressed with that production, as well as his vision for American Idiot, that we knew we’d found the perfect collaborator. Plus, doing it in our hometown at Berkeley Rep was an obvious bonus. They’re an amazing theatre group, very adventurous, and their willingness to take chances is in keeping with the spirit of the album. The end result will be terrific, and we’re really proud.”—Billie Joe Armstrong, frontman for Green Day
the buzz

“A masterpiece…A significant part of American Idiot’s charm is that for an album that bemoans the state of the union, it is irresistibly buoyant. Listen closely, and you will hear a story about Jesus of Suburbia, his dangerous friend St. Jimmy and a heroic girl called Whatsername, who are struggling to express their individuality in a mass-media culture. Listen less closely, and you will still nod your head a lot and remember most of the melodies, which veer from surf rock to Motown to Broadway to thrash, usually within the same mad dash of a song.”—Time

“The ambitious American Idiot joins an elite list of albums, such as The Who’s Tommy, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, that successfully weave a narrative through music.”—Amp

“It is a fearless and politically astute rock album, a richly melodic song suite that gives voice to the disenfranchised suburban underclass of Americans.”—Rolling Stone

“What most fans—Democrats, Republicans, and anarchists alike—seem to be connecting with is the irresistible passion, intensity, and hookiness of the music…And Idiot’s brash sound has done more than just connect with the public. It’s also struck a decisive blow for rock music—make that loud, butt-kickin’ rock music, the kind that shakes your nerves and rattles your brain.”—Entertainment Weekly
more from the artists

“When I first heard American Idiot I was struck by its innate theatricality. Here was a new musical drama begging to be staged. Who would have thought that one of the most brutally honest, eloquent, passionate, funny and poetic theatrical responses to the post 9-11 world would be a Green Day record? The connection I felt to American Idiot surprised me. I knew and liked Green Day, but had no clue that I would ever feel so inside their songs. This work of passion and vision and fierce intelligence seemed to me like the heartbeat of a generation of Americans who were fed up. I hear in these amazing songs the articulation of their frustration, anger, longing for a better world—a journey from apathy to action. Collaborating with Billie Joe and the band is a mind-blowing thrill, and I can’t wait to begin production at Berkeley Rep, the perfect home for making a new kind of musical event.”—Michael Mayer, Tony Award-winning director

“Green Day is a band that we’ve long admired here in Berkeley and championed as one of our own. American Idiot is an iconic album, and having the opportunity to bring it to the stage is a bit of a dream come true. To preserve the original intention of the album while creating a stage-worthy experience is a challenge that we relish, and bringing a director with the skill and experience of Michael Mayer into our theatre makes it that much sweeter.”—Artistic Director Tony Taccone

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