BWW TV: AMERICAN IDIOT's Live Soundcheck for Fans!

[Rob]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 3:20pm

Click Here to Read BWW TV: AMERICAN IDIOT's Live Soundcheck for Fans!

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 3:42pm

Awesome.

[rorygilmo52]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 4:20pm

This. Is. Incredible.

[Billy the Kid]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 4:38pm

this is greatttttttttttttttttttttttt.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 4:45pm

I can't imagine the toll all that headbanging takes on your brain 8 times a week.

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 4:54pm

whoa.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 5:07pm

Cannot. Wait. To. See. This!!!!!!!

[steven22]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 5:25pm

So excited for this. Just ordered tickets for it!!

[alightinthedark23]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 5:36pm

This looks so cool. I am even more excited to see it than I was.

Updated On: 3/23/10 at 05:36 PM

[emg_sound]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 5:42pm

Having seen this at the Berkeley Rep, this reminds me of how powerful the very first moments of this show were. Unfortunately, for me, the rest of the show never got past the initial jolt of the top of show, and frankly, I feel that the choreography felt rather one-note after this initial barrage.

That being said, I do like that they changed the scenic construct slightly, and not having the show starting with the three male leads watching TV's downstage (facing towards the audience), it gives it a more anonymous feel, which is what the show needs at the beginning.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 6:25pm

I'm with emg_sound, having also seen the show at Berkeley Rep.

It's an effective opener -- which is what makes this such a terrific teaser -- but it's just not sustained throughout the piece. The high energy singing continues relentlessly, the use of video and lighting is first-rate and the music, if you're a Green Day fan (as I am), is fantastic as expected.

That said, the choreography, such as it is, does get quite old quite fast. And perhaps even more to the point, it's an incredibly alienating piece -- almost Brechtian in that respect. Perhaps the very thing -- the angst, the anger, the frustration -- that makes it so appealing to those aged 15-30 is what made it ultimately an unsatisfying show for me in California. Quite simply, I just didn't care about anyone on the stage. Even in "Spring Awakening", whose score I liked far less then AI, I felt somewhat vested emotionally in the story and seeing it through to some sort of resolution, even if tragic. It's what kept me "in" the show even as I wasn't enjoying it all that much.

Conversely, AI felt like a bunch of pissed-off kids yelling at me for a couple of hours. They scream and complain and rebel but they don't ever make me, as an audience member, feel their pain, empathize, or want to join their cause. It felt like mountains and mountains of sound and fury signifying nothinh and after about 30 minutes, I just wanted to tell them to "stop whining!". Perhaps I am showing my age. Clearly this show does speak to a different type of person and/or a younger demographic. I'll probably still see the show in its NY incarnation to see what's changed, but honestly, I'd rather just pop in the CD and crank the surround sound in my living room.

[Dantes]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 6:27pm

I was going to say i thought some of it ahd changed, some of the choreography is differenta s well as whos singing what at the start.

I actually thought the visuals and music in the show got better as it went on

[Billy the Kid]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 6:46pm

TONY for best musical. This show is going to be great!!!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 7:07pm

I am cautiously optimitic about AI. I'm dying to see it, yet afraid that I will feel incredibly old watching and be thinking: WTF.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 7:19pm

This is easily the show I've been most looking forward to since first hearing about it-- and I can not wait to see it , however, I am afraid that I will be disappointed. I'm still optimistic, yet trying to lower my own standards a bit.

That being said, the opening looks beyond fantastic. I've watched it 3 times already and I'm looking forward to purchasing the recording.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 7:47pm

I'm definitely in the target audience for American Idiot...the album came out when I first started high school and I've loved it since then. I'm super excited for this, and if nothing else, the arrangements for the music that I've heard thus far sound really good.

[lull89]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 7:47pm

That was interesting, I suppose. It's amazing how it almost seems like a parody of itself what with all the headbanging and random anger. From what I see there, it's failing to be anything more than a cliched picture of youth angst.

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 10:37pm

I bought my ticket yesterday. Looking forward to it.

[Dantes]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 10:40pm

lull89 trust me its not

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/23/10 at 10:44pm

Is there a release date for the cast album yet?

[massofmen]

Posted: 3/24/10 at 9:23am

wow...kids screaming about something and they look really self-important. It's like hair but worse.