Review: AMERICAN IDIOT at Wilbury Theatre Group

Wilbury Theatre Group concludes its season with a powerful, spirited, heart-stopping production of “American Idiot,” a musical based on rock band Green Day’s concept album of the same name.

Green Day released ‘American Idiot’ in 2004 and it went on the sell more than 15 million copies. The Tony-winning stage adaptation, with music and lyrics by band leader Billy Joe Armstrong, premiered on Broadway in 2010 and was nominated for Best Musical. In the spirit of other rock musicals like ‘Rent’ and ‘The Who’s Tommy,’ the plot of “American Idiot” is secondary to the soundtrack, where each song is rife with emotion, imagery, and introspection.

The ensemble of eleven actors and five musicians are gathered on a spartan-like, multi-tiered stage cluttered with random furniture pieces. One wall is decorated as an artificial tree crafted from wiring, plastic leaves and garland lights, and a collage of discarded brand-name package wrappers are neatly arranged on the opposite side. An Orwellian video screen hovers above, sharing news clips and artwork with pointed statements and warnings. Scott Osborne’s scintillating set design drips with poetic angst, uncertainty, and aimlessness.

In the story from the book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer, Johnny (Michael Eckenreiter), Tunny (Alexander Boyle), and Will (Henry Stanton) are three young men unsatisfied with their suburban surroundings who decide to skip town in pursuit of their dreams. Will learns his girlfriend, Heather (Annabelle Iredale), is pregnant and stays behind, Tunny ends up joining the army, and Johnny, the show’s narrator, meets a girl, Whatsername (Jenna Benzinger), and develops a heroin habit soon thereafter.

The series of occasional highs and expected lows are handily and hauntingly conveyed with songs from the original album and the band’s follow-up ‘21st Century Breakdown,’ including familiar hits like “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” The lyrics from these production numbers serve as the written dialogue, and the ensemble extraordinarily delivers each and every syllable with passion and profundity, courtesy of Josh Short’s sharp, expert direction and Ali Kenner Brodsky’s alluringly uninhibited choreography.

The talent on display among the entire ensemble is immeasurable, and each of the leads proves they are up to task. Stanton’s expression alone evokes irrevocable anguish, Boyle masterfully transforms from playful misfit to hardened hero, and Eckenreiter carries the weight of the world—and the show— on his shoulders with unapologetic anxiety under the guise of fierce determination. As Whatsername, Benzinger gives a shamelessly bold, towering performance (literally and figuratively), Iredale’s angelic voice beautifully demonstrates Heather’s pained disposition, and Paige O’Connor’s chilling portrayal of Johnny’s alter ego, St. Jimmy, is equally amusing and revolting.

Armstrong wrote “American Idiot” for the post-9/11 generation, but the sentiment of lost opportunity and conservative zeitgeist is still eerily relevant two decades later. Wilbury Theatre Group’s outstanding production is a 90-minute rollercoaster ride of captivating music, compelling performances, and a telling reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

“American Idiot” runs through June 22nd at Wilbury Theatre Group, 475 Valley Street in Providence. For tickets and information, call 401-400-7100 or visit https://thewilburygroup.org/

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