Green Day goes to Broadway

The musical American Idiot is set in a suburban wasteland in the recent past. It is post September 11 America. Johnny, Will and Tunny are friends who spend their lives in aimless existence, doing nothing, save for drinking beer together. That is until one day when Johnny and Tunny head for the big city to find work and finally be of use to the world while Will chooses to stay home and be a daddy to his and Heather’s baby. Johnny and Tunny are sickened by what they find outside suburbia but they forge on. It is not easy going. Johnny falls prey to drugs in the city, Tunny loses his leg in Iraq and Will ends up alone. All things get resolved for the good of everybody later in the play.

Now there is nothing really new about the plot. But what makes American Idiot exciting is that the story is told through the music of Green Day. I know rock is not new anymore to musical theater. There have been Tommy and Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease and Hair and others. As of this writing American Idiot is playing alongside other rock musicals like Million Dollar Quartet about the early days of rock and roll with the music of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and Rock Of Ages where they sing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. Then there is Spiderman, with the music of U2, which is set to open soon.

Rock music is now a staple in musicals but American Idiot is very special. Green Day music is punk rock and with its strong language is more hard-hitting than usual. Rent is a fairy tale compared to this one. Besides, who would have thought punk kids from California like Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool would also be cool guys on Broadway and with Tony awards nominations to boot? Among these was the nomination for Best Musical.

The thing I like best though is the thrill of finding out that the music of Green Day has easily adapted itself to the new medium. As the cliché goes, here are songs that will now stand the test of time. I still have to watch this show but the soundtrack album featuring the Broadway cast is already a testimony to the greatness of Green Day as musicians. Listening to the familiar melodies with new arrangements and the different singers is a moving experience. What incredible lyrics this guy Armstrong wrote. Wake Me Up When September Ends is so sad and extraordinarily beautiful. So is the new song When It’s Time which Green Day also performs at the end of the CD. I can already imagine how electrifying the show must be.

American Idiot, the musical has all of the songs from the original album plus some songs from the later 21st Century Breakdown, which I believe, is actually a punk opera by itself. The Broadway Cast recording includes: American Idiot, Jesus Of Suburbia, City Of The Damned, I Don’t Care, Dearly Beloved, Tales Of Another Broken Home, Holiday, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, Favorite Son, Are We The Waiting, St. Jimmy, Give Me Novacaine, Last Of The American Girls, She’s A Rebel, Last Night On Earth, Too Much Too Soon, Before The Lobotomy, Extraordinary Girl, When It’s Time, Know Your Enemy, 21 Guns, Letterbomb, Wake Me Up When September Ends, Homecoming, The Death Of St. Jimmy, East 12th St., Nobody Likes You, Rock And Roll Girlfriend, We’re Coming Home Again, Whatsername and the Green Day version of When It’s Time.

The book is by Billie Joe Armstrong and director Michael Mayer. Starring are John Gallagher Jr. as Johnny, Michael Esper as Will, and Stark Sands as Tunny, the three slacker friends. There are also Mary Paber as Heather, Rebecca Naomi Jones as Whatsername, Tony Vincent as St. Jimmy and Christina Sajous as the Extraordinary Girl.

Madz Goes Jesuit

This is interesting. The show is titled Madz Goes Jesuit featuring The Philippine Madrigal Singers with Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ and guests Noel Cabangon and Himig Heswita. This will be held at the Teatro Aguinaldo in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Aug. 18 and 19. Produced by Jesuit Communications as a fundraising concert to benefit Jesuit Seminaries, Madz Goes Jesuit is all about traditional and contemporary sacred music. In easy terms this is where we will hear the beautiful Filipino songs sang in Masses all over the country performed by the Madrigal Singers. This should be great as long as choirs and congregations do not get infected with inferiority complex and will not want to sing anymore after listening to the Madz versions.

For details, call 426-5971 local 112 and 113, 0920-9237653 or log on to www.jesscom.ph.