American Idiot on Broadway - Click on Image to Stream Album for the Week!

It’s been awhile since I last posted, but I’ve been a bit busy. After attending Green Day’s three shows in California (Irvine, Chula Vista and San Francisco) from August 31-September 5, I spent ten more glorious days in the Bay Area and was… how shall we say… a practicing Lushotologist. I was not necessarily drinking… but I was absorbing all good things that life (or vacation) in the East Bay has to offer. It was magnificent!

I returned to New York City this past Monday and immediately went to work… and to see American Idiot on Broadway and attend “American Idiot University.” This week the show is hosting a series of talkbacks moderated by lead theater critic of Time Out New York, David Cote, for Broadway Week. Billie Joe Armstrong and AI director Michael Mayer are being joined by various cast members (Tuesday night was Theo Stockman, Declan Bennant and Cristina Sajous; Wednesday night was John Gallagher, Jr., Michael Esper and Gerard Canonico), along with set designer Christine Jones, lighting designer Kevin Adams, arranger Tom Kitt, costume designer, Andrea Lauer, music director Carmel Dean, video and production designer, Darrel Maloney, and associate choreographer, Lorrin Lataro.

David Cote was the perfect moderator for the two talkbacks I’ve seen so far (I sneaked into the Tuesday talkback (ssshhh) while friends invited me to attend the show tonight and tomorrow) and led a lively discussion among Billie Joe, Michael Mayer, the creative team and the cast regarding the album, its translation to the stage and the creative impetus of the show. (Full disclosure: I’ve known David since the 1990s and he’s one of the few critics whose opinions I actually trust; we discussed the show earlier this week.) After tomorrow’s talkback — which consisted of about 20 minutes of discussion with the creative team and cast members and 15 minutes of questions from the audience — I hope to post more about the actual discussion itself, but as you know, I’m a bit behind reporting on the California shows as it is, so don’t hold your breath.

There will be three more opportunities to attend American Idiot University: Thursday, September 16th @ 8pm; Friday, September 17th @ 8pm and Sunday, September 19th @ 3pm. Students can buy tickets for $27 depending on availability, but anyone can attend the talkback afterward. I… uh… don’t necessarily recommend sneaking in for the talkbalk like some jerks that I know… me.

As a special bonus for Broadway Week, you can stream for free the entirety of the American Idiot cast album. Click on the cast album cover or here to do so while you can!

Here are a few tiny blurry shots that I took tonight with my iPhone; click on the tiny image to view larger, but still blurry, images.

Coming up this Sunday, the president of the Jujamcyn Theaters including the St. James Theater, Jordan Roth, will be leading talks with Billie Joe and Michael Mayer at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. (For more information on the event, click here.) Audience questions can be submitted to Roth via Twitter at http://twitter.com/jordan_roth.

I’ll be there on Sunday… with an actual ticket. See you there!