Green Day’s American Idiot
Reviewed by Dana Martin
Chance Theater
Through August 14
RECOMMENDED
This is calling out to Idiot America: Chance Theater would like to offer a healthy, full-throated Fuck You to the American Establishment with their latest production, Green Day’s American Idiot (music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong, book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer) — an angsty pop-punk-protest rock opera about a generation of scapegoats who’ve been collectively traumatized, unfairly blamed for society’s shortcomings, and burdened with a dismal future. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The story begins with emotionally charged footage of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers, followed by footage of the War in Iraq led by then President George W. Bush. What follows is 90 minutes of thrashing anger and collective, youthful rage that feels not only justified but necessary. Plot points are broad and the storyline is scant on character development, since the show serves mostly as a vehicle to support the album and its ire-filled message.
The narrative follows three friends as they plot their escape from suffocating suburbia. Johnny (Jared Machado) is an aspiring songwriter with big city dreams but instead finds a drug addiction which takes on a literal life of its own. St. Jimmy (Dagmar Marshall-Michelson), his supplier, pulls Johnny into the depths of an ugly drug craving and away from his young love, Whatshername (Erika Mireya Cruz). Tunny (Eric Dobson) answers the call of duty by joining the army just in time for the war in Iraq, only to return home traumatized and disabled. Will (Christopher Diem) reluctantly remains in suburbia with his pregnant girlfriend Heather (Angie Chavez) as his resentment for domesticity and adulthood grows to a fever pitch.
Director James Michael McHale directs a powerhouse production, channeling rage into ironically refined art. Bradley Allen Lock’s costumes nail the essence of early aughts, and his designs are youthful grunge-chic. Miguel Cardenas’s choreography is character driven, exciting and dynamic; everyone looks punk AF. Nick Santiago’s projection design is a visual playground and a work of art in its own right. Andrea Heilman’s concertesque lighting packs a punch, while Kristin Campbell’s set is versatile and imaginative.
Music director Gabrielle Maldonado finds the gravitas of rageful punk protest through vocal specificity and successfully wields the musical’s crucial drive of tempo. The band (Jorge Zuniga, Jimmy Beall, Curtis Humphrey and Ryan Navales, respectively) deserves much credit for the evening’s excitement. Sound designer Hunter Moody creates a full aural experience, although the mix of the band and the vocals is the one and only major drawback of this production. At times, the vocals are barely audible over the band at top volume and they often vocally strain to be heard.
Raucous defiance emanates from the performers and their energy is infectious. Each takes their participation personally, and every performance is fully committed and wholehearted. Jared Machado’s Johnny anchors the evening as the story’s reluctant, hopeless hero. He is excellent. Erika Mireya Cruz’ portrayal of Whatshername, Johnny’s would-be lover, is equal parts grit and softness. Dagmar Marshall-Michelson’s St. Jimmy is delightfully dangerous, though her soulful vocals are frustratingly overpowered by the music. Eric Dobson provides solid support as Tunny, as does Christopher Diem’s downcast Will. Sophia Barajas is a standout, proving that there are no small parts.
Green Day’s album American Idiot sold over 12 million copies and won a Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2004. The band granted exclusive rights to Michael Mayer (the Tony award-winning director of Spring Awakening), who then co-wrote the book around the album. Green Day’s American Idiot debuted on Broadway in April of 2010. The enduring power of the album’s message continues to serve as a rallying cry for disregarded, underrepresented and weirdly vilified youth.
Prospects of a peaceful and prosperous future are grim for American youth. Furious protest from suburban wastoids in the face of disappearing fundamental rights, climate change inaction, racism, constant threat of war, inflation, a conservative stranglehold on our nation, and lies on top of lies makes this a foregone conclusion. Today’s youth is the least represented, least respected — yet they will inherit the stupidity, greed and hatred of their predecessors. Of course they’re angry. And it’s the same sad story every generation, poorly re-packaged. Green Day’s American Idiot exemplifies the evils of media oversaturation and creates a strange marriage of hopeless American anti-heroes and feckless powers-that-be in a Battle Royale over who’s the biggest idiot of them all.
Chance Theater, 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim; Thurs., 7:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m.; through Aug. 14t. ChanceTheater.com or (888) 455- 4212. Running time: 95 minutes with no intermission.
