BWW Blog: Briana Cuoco of L.A.'s AMERICAN IDIOT - Forget Me Nots and Second Thoughts

By: Apr. 22, 2015
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Forget Me Nots and Second Thoughts

Hey Idiots!! So, I have to start off with this past weekend... in short, it was BADASS. In the middle of our rehearsal schedule our entire cast (including our director and one of our producers!) got to do an "American Idiot" night at the Viper Room and we rocked it, if I do say so myself! We did songs from the show, as well as our own covers and originals. The place was packed and the energy was palpable with every one singing out some great songs from Green Day. We definitely made fans that will be coming to see the show when we open. Yay! It was also so cool to see every one of these amazing cast members go on stage, do their thing and kill it. Did I mention it happened to be the same day that Green Day was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? F**king perfect.

Green Rooming
I obviously had to take the right-before-the-curtain-opens pic.

Last Thursday night after having a rehearsal focusing on all of Will and Heather's moments in the show, I got to thinking and it inspired me to write. They say art imitates life but I've also found the opposite to be true. I feel like the right projects with the right stories have come to me at the exact right time I needed them. It's incredible when you're gifted a character, or song, or a single moment that speaks the words you wish you could have said or were never given the chance to, screams the way you wish you could have, or cries with no apologies or embarrassment. It's therapy without the threat of being in the middle of a room with your broken heart on your sleeve.

Heather is as poignant as ever for my life right now. When I was younger I naively believed if two people truly loved each other, you just somehow make it work and you live happily ever after. As an adult, we all know that's far from the truth. Some (if not most) are passing through to teach you what you need, who you are as a partner, who you want to be and who you want to be with in your future. Since many themes in AI are surrounding addiction - have you ever had the kind of love where you were literally addicted to each other? When it's good - its magic; no one on earth could keep you apart, you were each other's drug of choice and no other high could come close. But when it was bad, it felt like you couldn't catch your breath and no matter how hard you tried or gave or offered, it wasn't enough to fix the problem? When you're in the thick of it, all your logic and reason is telling you these high-highs and low-lows will never be sustainable and that whatever your partner is going through, nothing will change until they want it to (and same goes for you). What is it about those relationships that make them so appealing? I can only speak for myself, but I think it's the idea of being the "savior"... don't forget what I said about loving lost boys. As soon as Heather feels Will retreat from her and his life, she tries whole-heartedly to do whatever she can to help him. All the ups and downs, fights and makeups - it's exhausting and absolutely life giving all at once. But you live and learn, right? RIGHT? That's the only addiction I've ever had in my life... the withdrawals sucked but I'm sober (for) now.

RAGE AND (completely non-addictive & healthy) LOVE.

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