I finally got around to seeing American Idiot. First impressions - slick, stylish and loud. It still baffles me that Michael Mayer wasn’t nominated for best direction. The show is visually gorgeous and his staging is inventive and kinetic. But with all that cool movement and rock concert lighting, I still lost interest in the story about 15 minutes into the 90 minute one-act. I found myself analyzing the staging and choreography rather than becoming emotionally invested in any of the characters. It’s not that there wasn’t a clear plot, it’s just that the stories presented weren’t explored (expanded?) beyond the typical representations of post Gen X slackers. Twenty minutes in I was wondering what the point of it all was. Why didn’t these characters just go and get jobs and stop whining? Yes, the main character does get a job toward the end of the show. But, surprise, it’s as a stereotypical soul-less corporate pencil pusher. Like, there are no other interesting, cool jobs in the whole entire world. Hello, how about culinary school? Fashion? Web media? Tug boat captain? I mean, if you have to go trite and true, at least make it interesting. You’ll get no gripes about the physical production from me. The ensemble cast looks like their having a f*cking great time. The staging is super tight and the cast is invested in the material like it’s Hamlet. The singing is miles above what we used to get in those early Rent years, when all the casting directors wanted “authentic” voices that couldn’t make it through an eight show week. But the great performances and dazzling physical production failed to move me. In the end, it still felt like a big ole music video translated to the stage.
Here’s a thought, maybe someone should encourage Green Day to compose a new show specifically for the stage rather than trying to force their catalogue into a narrative.
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