AMERICAN IDIOT Explodes Beyond Traditional Theater at ArtsWest Tonight

Equal parts house party, opera, rock concert, and theater, ArtsWest's immersive, environmental staging of Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT explodes beyond the traditional theater space as a group of lost young Americans at the crossroads of their lives take over an entire building and use it to tell their story.

ArtsWest's production gives the audience two distinct ways to engage with the story: the observational and immersive experiences. The observational experience is what theatre-goers know as "traditional theatre." You choose your own seat, sit back, and let AMERICAN IDIOT come to you -- all around you. The immersive experience is unlike any other production of AMERICAN IDIOT and unlike any other performance at ArtsWest. Audience members are on their feet, guided through multiple spaces in the building, up stairs, on platforms, and into the worlds of main characters Tunny, Will, and Johnny.

"Unconventional theatre is not a gimmick, but rather a refreshing and vital way to reintroduce today's theatre audience to a completely unprecedented experience, something that live theatre does better than so many other art forms," says Director Eric Ankrim. "AMERICAN IDIOT already set out to push boundaries in its original format. The music, the volume, the content -- it all challenged us to identify what we believe, and why we believe it. This piece of art set out to be a rebellion and a revolution of sorts, and we are embracing the rebel inside of our artistic selves in our outside the box and ambitious production."

The two-time Tony Award-winning hit musical Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT brings the band's Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album to life in this electric-rock opera of youthful disillusion through the stories of Johnny, Tunny, and Will, who flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life. But their paths are quickly estranged as their attentions become divided - by familial obligations, seductive love interests, the armed forces, and the struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world none of them could have imagined.

Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT plays tonight, September 10, through October 11, 2015 at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery (4711 California Ave SW, Seattle WA 98116). Tickets (ranging from $19 - $39.50) are on sale now and may be purchased online at www.artswest.org or by phone at 206.938.0339, or at the box office Thursday - Saturday 1:30 - 7:30 p.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m. - 3p.m.

About ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery ArtsWest is a vibrant center for both performing and visual arts located in the West Seattle Junction. This 149-seat theatre provides a unique setting for audiences and artists as stories of human emotion unfold in an intimate space. Winner of the American Theatre Wing's 2012 National Theatre Company Award, ArtsWest has produced such diverse work as Hair, Little Women, and last fall's critically acclaimed production of The Mountaintop. ArtsWest, through its mission of producing fiercely compelling work that improves the imagination and promotes cultural vibrancy, is committed to delivering work that opens minds and instills the need to do that which is most human - to discuss and share. www.artswest.org.

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