The Green Day album American Idiot was one of the most influential rock albums that affected our lives in ways too numerous to count. Considering the album structure, it also wasn’t a surprise that it easily converted into a musical that has been a riveting Tony and GRAMMY award-winning success since 2009.

Now, thanks to a wildly imaginative collaboration between Deaf West Theatre and Center Theatre Group and with a fantastic CTG directorial debut from Snehal Desai, the musical smashes it way back to Los Angeles with a truly resounding mark that will bring out your inner rock kid and stay with you long after the show has ended.

American Idiot, Green Day’s Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum album released in 2004, follows the exhilarating journey of a new generation of young Americans as they struggle to find meaning in a post 9/11 world. The subsequent Broadway musical featured the iconic album hits “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday,” and the blockbuster title track, “American Idiot” from Green Day’s critically acclaimed 7th studio album. The show includes every song from the renowned record plus several songs from Green Day’s 2009 album, “21st Century Breakdown,” and a previously unreleased love song entitled, “When It’s Time.”

With a deaf and hearing company of 20, there is an enormous amount of talent both on-stage and behind the scenes to pull this off so on a technical level, this musical is an incredible endeavor that I must credit everyone involved here. The cast includes Steven-Adam Agdeppa, Will Branner, Jerusha Cavazos, Lark Detweiler, Daniel Durant, Kaia T. Fitzgerald, Brady Fritz, Landen Gonzales, Otis Jones IV, Milo Manheim, Josué Martinez, Giovanni Maucere, James Olivas, Patrick Ortiz, Mason Alexander Park, Monika Peña, Mars Storm Rucker, Mia Sempertegui, Angel Theory and Ali Fumiko Whitney. Each and every one of these actors brought so much love and passion to their role, with a specific shoutout to Monika Peña, Mars Storm Rucker, and Jerusha Cavazos whose vocal cords almost brought the house down. These three were so awesome that I would argue these three women should have played the main three male leads. I’ll get into that more later.

The set is by Takeshi Kata, costumes by Lena Sands, lighting by Karyn Lawrence, sound by Cricket S. Myers, projections by David Murakami, Wig, Hair, and Make-up Design by Shelia Dorn, music is supervised and conducted by David O, music arrangements and orchestrations by Tom Kitt; casting by Beth Lipari, CSA, and the Production Stage Manager is David S. Franklin. With the direction under CTG Artistic Director Snehal Desai, the whole thing culminated in a direct shot to the heart with pure rock adrenaline. It is an experience that you cannot miss for the music and the technical prowess alone.

As for the story itself? As this is my first time ever watching this musical, my honest impression is that folks are really here for the music because the story is so paper-thin that it is almost non-existent. Events and characters are whisked away from plot point A to B to C to serve the Green Day album. That being said, the music is so good and the extraordinary actors and the backstage band give the lyrics justice, many of its words still having a startling effect right now as the question of U.S. imperialism and propaganda is at the forefront of the world’s mind (especially the Global South) with the current events we are faced with. They however shied away big time from which U.S. administration was bombing folks overseas at this current time as it was not Donald Trump (as displayed in the visuals) but rather Joe Biden.

Speaking of the band, a huge shoutout to David O (Conductor/Keyboard/Accordion), Justin Smith (Guitar 1), Ben Covello (Guitar 2/Associate Conductor), Carlos Rivera (Bass), Alex Bailey (Drums), Nicole Garcia (Violin), Nikki Shorts (Viola), Michelle Rearick (Cello), and Robert Payne (Contractor) for delivering some truly kickass tunes and deserve equal credit with the cast.

My other issue with the story is that it’s rather dude heavy with the main emphasis on the three male friends Johnny, Tunny, and Will while the women characters mostly serve as supporting/embittered partners (the only ones that are really highlighted are Heather, Whatshername, and Extraordinary Girl). As fantastic as the men performers are, the women were absolute knockouts. So much so, I would argue THEY should have played the main characters because Mars Storm Rucker, Monika Peña, and Jerusha Cavazos in particular were just stunners in the acting and vocal department. The male vocal department of Milo Manheim, James Olivas, and Tyler Hardwick were no slouches though and all contributed magnificently to this production (but the women were better).

Because this production utilizes a combo of deaf and hearing actors, several of the roles had literal shadows in the form of voices with Johnny, Will, Tunny, and Extraordinary Girl. This was a very bold experiment that was more or less successful, with the biggest downside being that the hearing actors are playing catch up to what their main deaf actor counterparts are doing and thus resulting in many of the lines coming off delayed or rushed. This is however a technical issue that can be smoothed out as my review only applies to the opening night and the show still has a month of performances till November 16th. Technical issue aside, to be able to incorporate incredible deaf actors like Daniel Durant, Otis Jones IV, Kaia T. Fitzgerald, and Landen Gonzales into a production like this is a vision that can be solely credited to the teamwork of Snehal Desai and Deaf West Theatre Artistic Director DJ Kurs. This is the not first collaboration between the two theatre companies and I eagerly look forward to many more in the years to come.

This is a resounding re-opener for the Mark Taper Forum, a fantastic CTG directing debut for Snehal Desai, and a big, promising start for the new season of Center Theatre Group’s One CTG. Go for the music, the sheer fun, but also take in the words and how they have much lasting impact today as it did when the album first came out in 2004.

Venue: Mark Taper Forum, 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012
Dates: Wednesday, October 2 to Saturday, November 16, 2024
Tickets: Prices — begin at $35

Schedule:
Tuesday through Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m

Website — CenterTheatreGroup.org
Phone — Audience Services at (213) 628-2772
In person — Center Theatre Group Box Office (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The
Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012
Groups —CenterTheatreGroup.org/Tickets/Groups-and-Corporate-Offers
Access — Center Theatre Group offers a number of services to accommodate
persons requiring mobility, vision, and hearing access.
For more information, please visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Access.