The Bay Area’s own rock opera has returned to its roots for a grand welcoming. Born of Green Day’s 2004 Grammy-winning prize for Best Rock Album, American Idiot premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theater in 2009, after lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong collaborated on the book with Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer. They added a few songs from other Green Day albums, a few lines of dialogue, and were off and running. Since then, American Idiot has travelled to Broadway, the smoky basements of British pubs, and currently is back in the Bay Area where it’s playing to sold out crowds—this time at City Lights Theater Company in San Jose. The production, directed by Jeffrey Bracco, was originally scheduled to close Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016, but has been extended for five more performances.
American Idiot tells the story of three young men who struggle to find themselves in the suburbs during the darkness the brand new millennium, each turning in a different direction. Under the musical direction of Samuel Cisneros, all the leads—particularly the trio of friends at the heart of the story, Johnny (Joey Pisacane), Tunny (Andrew Erwin), and Will (Tarif Pappu)—roll out superb vocal performances. The entire cast bring Green Day’s familiar songs to life in a way that’s familiar, while still adding something fresh. In particular, “21 Guns” and “St. Jimmy” contain superb solos and powerful moments by the company.
Together, scenic designer and production manager, Ron Gasparinetti, and lighting and projections designer, Nick Kumamoto, worked numerous functioning television screens into the set to create a sense of the time period. In other scenes, faded backdrops project to effectively create mood or demonstrate place or time period without distraction.
The minimalist, multi-level set accommodates this 21 person cast on City Lights’ relatively small stage. The actors make good use of the rolling set pieces, which help provide for seamless transitions and some of the production’s more inventive choreography. Onstage, the set incorporates a guitar, bass, and keyboard player, while another guitar and drums are hidden from view. Johnny and Will also play their own guitars during the show, adding another layer of intimacy to this 100-person venue where neither the music, the images, nor the characters ever want to let you go.
Don’t miss the last days of this performance. Aug. 24-27 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. Contact (408) 295-4200 or cltc.org for ticket information. City Lights Theater Company is located at 529 S. Second St, in San Jose’s SoFA arts district.
