AMERICAN IDIOT
American Idiot is a sung-through stage adaptation of punk rock band Green Day’s rock opera, American Idiot. After a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009, the show moved to the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Previews began on March 24, 2010, and the play officially opened on April 20, 2010. The show closed on April 24, 2011 after 422 performances. While Green Day did not appear in the production, vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong performed the role of “St. Jimmy” occasionally throughout the run. (More from Wikipedia)
The only record on YouTube by the Breakaways is “Walking out on Love”; this song was often performed in the Nerves’ live shows but had never been recorded by them. You can hear the song at www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9sYvy4G3NA . Green Day performed “Walking out on Love” as their last encore following the final performance of their musical American Idiot on Broadway; that version is also available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAgKwA7-GLI&feature=related .
(April 2012)
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But nothing prepared me for Green Day’s rock opera to become a hit Broadway show called American Idiot; the musical ran for a full year beginning in April 2010 and since then has had regular performances worldwide. The musical American Idiot featured all of the songs from the original American Idiot album, plus several from their second rock opera, 21st Century Breakdown (2009) and one previously unreleased song, “When it’s Time”. Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the book for the musical with director Michael Mayer; while Green Day never performed during the show, Armstrong occasionally played the role of “St. Jimmy” during the Broadway run.
Needless to say, the 2010 Tony Awards were fantastic, with Green Day’s live performance of “American Idiot” pulling no punches. American Idiot was nominated for Best Musical and won two Tonys that night for Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Lighting Design of a Musical. The cast album, American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording “debuted at #43 on the Billboard 200, becoming one of the highest-charting musical soundtracks” (according to Wikipedia).
(June 2017)
