The cast of American Idiot at the Keegan Theatre. Photo: Cameron Whitman Photography
Welcome to a new kind of tension: Keegan Theatre’s production of American Idiot has the right sense of youthful urgency and earnestness that befits the Green Day rock opera.
As far as jukebox musicals go, American Idiot is one of the stronger ones out there: the album had the theatricality of a rock opera before it was ever set to the stage, and the book doesn’t try to stretch the songs into too concrete of a plot. It’s more of an impressionistic look at early 2000’s political anger (Keegan’s production presents a period piece from not-so-long ago rather than trying to tie into any more recent election-era themes of angst).
In summary: three friends take separate paths: two head to the city where Johnny (Harrison Smith) loses himself in drugs and romance, and Tunny (Hasani Allen), inspired by the September 11 attacks, enlists in the army. Will (Josh Sticklin) stays at home when it’s revealed his girlfriend is pregnant. The show watches each of them struggle with their choice (in this production, anyway, Will’s inertia-driven situation plays out the least sympathetically).
Matthew Keenan’s abstract abandoned-building set (its broken windows often splashed with 2000-era media symbols) properly captures the show’s tone. A young, diverse cast energetically brings to life the unarticulated anguish the teens are experiencing: smart, loose choreography drives this home in numbers like the defiant “Holiday.” The Keegan production, though, suffers from problems with vocal balance, with female ensemble players in particular being drowned out by an enthusiastic orchestra. Meanwhile, the play itself is saddled with an anemic ending that peters out after the lovely “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
Star turns in “American Idiot” include Smith’s vibrant, almost comically punk Johnny. He’s a transfixing presence on stage, and Christian Montgomery’s demonic St. Jimmy, representative of drug addiction, never quite feels a match to him. His muse, Whatshername (the evocative, powerful Eben K. Logan), however, more than holds her own alongside him. Allen’s Tunny is a more subtle, pitiable presence: his plight is initially agonizing to watch unfold, but he emerges the strongest of any of them.
Though the show’s vitality is clearly visible in upbeat numbers like “American Idiot” and “Jesus of Suburbia,” it’s those songs of quiet desperation that stay with the audience: the plaintive “Give Me Novocaine,” the haunting “Before The Lobotomy,” and most of all the wrenching “21 Guns.” Just try to witness that gorgeous, desolate anthem and not get chills.
American Idiot runs through April 16* at Keegan Theatre. Tickets ($45-$55) are available online.
Updated to reflect recent extension
