Photo: WENN.com
At first, a musical based from Green Day's American Idiot album sounds a bit weird, to be honest. It's not exactly Mamma Mia!, is it? The band themselves, however, refer to it as a 'rock opera' which makes it a little easier to understand, and lead to associations with The Who's Tommy rather than ABBA's greatest hits.
The notion of disaffected youth, oversaturated by the media, is one in full swing right from the moment the curtain goes up. The stageset is brilliant; the entire back wall is covered in monitors - with one even in an abandoned shopping trolley - all flicking from one show to another. There's barely a moment to take it in before the cast launch into 'American Idiot' with all the grit and anger of the original.
The story is relatively simple. Jonny - the Jesus of Surburbia - and his friends Will and Tunny decide to leave their boring hometown and head to the city. Only before they make it, Will's girlfriend Heather tells him that she's pregnant, and Will ends up resentfully staying with her. Once in the city, Tunny is apathetic towards everything - until he sees an advert for the army, which he joins. Jonny, on the other hand, discovers a self destructive aspect of his personality (St Jimmy) and turns to drugs - and new girlfriend, Whatsername. Spoiler: no one's lives really turn out okay.
While the idea of three childhood friends growing up and taking different paths is a compelling one, it's never fully realised. Will's descent into alcoholicism isn't really explained, as the story chooses to focus mainly on Jonny, the central protragonist - and the highlight of Tunny's story is a weird fever dream about his nurse at the start of Act Two, which sees the two flying around the stage on wires while dueting on 'Extraordinary Girl'. Needless to say, the song doesn't really work in that context.
...Ah yes, the songs. As an avid fan of American Idiot, it was slightly odd hearing them without Billie Joe Armstrong's trademark vocals. (As an aside, the people near us complained that they couldn't always make out the words - weird, because it was easier to understand them during the musical than it is on record.) The cast tried hard to find the right combination of angry punk vocals and actually singing properly; it made for a disorientating experience at times but not necessarily a bad one.
A lot of the songs were given different spins for the musical, which was something that was needed, and gave them a successful new context and purpose. 'Give Me Novacaine' was a particular standout, changing into an emotional plea for a numb state from poor injured soldier Tunny. Another highlight was Alyssa DiPalma, who manages to turn 'Letterbomb' into a blistering angry female anthem. Alex Nee kept Jonny from being annoying and instead made him a sympathetic character, and Trent Saunders brought a level of charisma to St Jimmy that was sorely needed.
American Idiot definitely offers an enjoyable, high-octane experience different to all the other musicals out there - and the entire cast's rendition of 'Good Riddance' at the very end is impossible for anyone to dislike. The time of your life? Maybe not, but for a few hours it could definitely feel like it.
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