UM To Present Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT

The University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance will present the award-winning rock musical "American Idiot" to audiences in April.

Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, April 18-21 and April 25-28. Performances also will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22, and Sunday, April 29. All performances will be held in the Montana Theatre in UM's Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center.

Inspired by the 2004 Green Day album, the play will be directed and choreographed by UM theatre Assistant Professor Pamyla Stiehl, with local musician Josh Farmer serving as music director.

General admission tickets cost $20, while senior and student tickets cost $16. Admission for children 12 and under is $10. Tickets are available by calling the UMArts Box Office at 406-243-4581 between noon and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, or online at http://www.umt.edu/theatredance.

Pop-punk masters Green Day burst onto the theatrical stage early this decade with an adaptation of their seminal Grammy award-winning album of the same name. The rock opera's action centers on three restless and disaffected young men who rebel - sometimes with disastrous consequences - against stifling suburban life.

Politically charged and full of the emotions of young adulthood, The New York Times said the play was "thrillingly raucous and gorgeously wrought."

"I am thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to bring such a unique musical to life on the UM stage, given my love of Green Day and appreciation of musical theater's edgier side," Stiehl said. "Collaborating with Josh Farmer has been an absolute joy, as has working with a wonderfully talented student cast. Every performer is 100 percent committed to Green Day's sound and content, performing it with truth, guts and an impressive amount of stamina."

UM student and MFA acting candidate Danielle Sather, who will play the role of St. Jimmy as a portion of her final creative project, said, "'American Idiot' presents stories embodying common struggles that contemporary, American youth face - struggles recycled through generations."

For more information, call Stiehl at 303-709-8720 or email her at pamyla.stiehl@umontana.edu. A complete schedule of UM School of Theatre & Dance productions for the academic year is available at http://bit.ly/2GbxAgm.

Audience discretion is advised. "American Idiot" contains adult themes and language, atmospheric effects, gunshots, rock-concert-level volume and strobe lights.