If you’re in the mood for a punk rock opera, William Peace Theatre’s production of American Idiot might be just what you need. With music by the band Green Day, lyrics by Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong, and book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer, the show premiered in 2009 at Berkeley Rep and opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway in 2010.
Raleigh, NC director and choreographer Amy White has assembled an energetic cast; and musical director Matt Hodge, with himself on keyboards, supplies an eight-member band.
The story centers on three disaffected suburban youths — Johnny, Tunny, and Will. Determined not to become “American idiots,” they decide that they have to break out of what they feel is an oppressively humdrum existence. The plan is to flee to the freedom, excitement, and opportunity of the big city.