William Peace Theatre to Stage Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT This Spring

By: Mar. 30, 2016
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William Peace Theatre concludes its 2015-16 season with the punk rock musical, AMERICAN IDIOT, April 21-24 at Kenan Auditorium on the William Peace University Campus in downtown Raleigh. This production marks the show's Raleigh premiere.

This show was written by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and Broadway director of Spring Awakening, Michael Mayer, with music by Green Day. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2010 as well as the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

AMERICAN IDIOT is the story of three disaffected young men living in the post-9/11 era. Johnny, Will, and Tunny are fed up with TV and their suburban lives and decide to hop a bus to the city. Before they can leave, Will discovers his girlfriend Heather is pregnant and he chooses to stay with her. Johnny and Tunny go to the city but Tunny, finding it hard to adjust, enlists in the Army. Subsequent frustration and loneliness makes Johnny turn to drugs and the company of a stranger he only knows as "Whatshername." Will also finds himself dealing with substance abuse as a way to cope with the responsibilities of becoming a father. Meanwhile, Tunny winds up in a hospital, injured and traumatized from combat in the Middle East. All three struggle with finding meaning in a meaningless world and search for hope amidst tragedy.

Director Amy White, Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre and Theatre, directs this production. She was last seen onstage regionally in Raleigh Little Theatre's production of Stick Fly. White has worked in professional theatre for over a decade, in New York off-Broadway and in touring productions. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in Dance from the State University of New York at Fredonia, along with a MFA in Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Matt Hodge, Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre and Theatre, is an award-winning composer and teacher who has worked with Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winners from around the Country. Hodge's work can be heard in international television shows, award-winning films, and new theatrical works professionally developed in NYC. He has clients in 26 countries spanning five continents, including Harvard University. He holds a a BA and a MAM from Campbellsville University, along with a MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

William Peace University's theatre department aims to develop confident, marketable, and self-assessing artists who upon graduation are prepared to go to graduate school or step directly into the professional arena of theatre.

Note: Contains adult language and themes, including drug use. Not recommended for young audiences.

IF YOU GO:

AMERICAN IDIOT

Location: Kenan Auditorium, Brown-McPherson Music Building, 15 E. Peace St., Raleigh

Dates: April 21 - 24, 2016

Time: April 21 - 23 at 7:30 P.M., April 23 - 24 at 2:00 P.M.

Tickets: $15 Adult, $10 Alumni/Faculty/Senior, $5 Student

Website: http://bit.ly/WPTAmId16tx

Facebook Event Page: http://bit.ly/WPTAmId16FB

 

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