Michael Mayer, who won a Tony Award for directing Spring Awakening, wants to bring popular music – like Green Day – into the world of musical theater. He fell in love with American Idiot while driving back and forth to the set of a movie he was directing (Flicka.) With the album playing in his car, he started to imagine a rich community of characters that could live inside of the story that Billie Joe tells in the original album.
Since the album American Idiot is largely based on the early life of Billie Joe Armstrong, it presented challenges for Michael Mayer as he worked to adapt the story for the stage. Billie Joe said of the results – “It’s a trip to see your life interpreted on stage, but the stories and characters Michael invented remind me of my friends and remind me of myself.”
Steven Hoggett, an Olivier Award winner from England, has an inventive approach to choreography that is more modern dance than traditional Broadway. He draws on the actors actions to create movement that looks both incredibly natural as well as emotionally provocative.
Christine Jones won a Tony Award for her massive stunning set of American Idiot – 40 foot walls that create a flexible space for different scenes.
Tom Kitt – who won a Pulitzer Prize for writing the musical Next to Normal – had to take the Green Day sound that was written only for guitars and drums – and turn it into music for 8 musicians – including a strings section – and sung by up to 20 voices.
John Gallagher, Jr. is a Tony Award winning actor and now starring in Newsroom on HBO. He grew up in a musical family and remembers driving around in his family’s station wagon listening to American Idiot over and over again.
Rebecca Naomi Jones is one of the most versatile and talented young actresses on Broadway. She is particularly drawn to working on new musicals, like American Idiot or Passing Strange.
Tony Vincent went from American Idiot to a finalist in national sensation television show The Voice.
Mary Faber, a Broadway veteran, has starred in everything from ‘Avenue Q’ to ‘How to Succeed in Business’ with Daniel Radcliffe.
Stark came into the American Idiot company for Broadway and had a lot of catching up to do to keep up with the fast paced show and experienced cast. But he’s a theater and TV pro, and was was quickly one of the show’s stars.
Christina Sajous felt particularly close to her character – the Extraordinary Girl – who at one point becomes an army nurse in the Middle East. Christina knows about life in the military – when she was growing up, her mother, a military veteran, was shipped off to Iraq.
Michael Esper is one of New York’s most exciting young actors and has worked with some of the best writers and directors working today, including the celebrated playwright Tony Kuschner and director Ron Howard.
Broadway Idiot 