Touring cast breathes real life into 'American Idiot'
Audiences heading in to see the national Broadway tour of Green Day's “American Idiot” at Chicago's Oriental Theatre might notice a lobby placard warning about the production's flashing lights, loud volume, course language, use of herbal tobacco and mature themes.
“We throw all that out there,” laughs Canadian actor Scott J. Campbell, making his national touring debut in “American Idiot” as the soldier Tunny. “Overall I think people know what they're getting into when they come and see the show.”
They do if they're familiar with Green Day's 2004 album “American Idiot,” which was created as a reaction to a post-9/11 America mired in war and runaway jingoism.
“American Idiot” later came into being as a Broadway rock opera about three suburban teens when Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (“Spring Awakening,” “Everyday Rapture”) fell under the album's spell and pushed to adapt it for the stage.
The show started in a wildly successful regional production at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California. “American Idiot” transferred to Broadway in 2010 where it won plenty of critical acclaim and a couple of Tony Awards for the flashy multimedia work of set designer Christine Jones and lighting designer Kevin Adams.
Yet “American Idiot” didn't entirely catch on with regular theater audiences. It ran for only one year on Broadway, though attendance did spike when rock stars like Melissa Etheridge and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong temporarily joined the cast.
According to Campbell, the North American tour of “American Idiot” has been rejiggered to make the show's storytelling about three disaffected suburban teenagers much more lucid than before.
“Part of me really feels that this album really speaks for our generation,” Campbell said, quickly adding, “You don't need to be of this generation to really get the message that it has.”
One of the potentially contentious aspects of the show is its depiction of the soldier Tunny, who is wounded overseas. Yet Campbell says he has received support and even a few tips on his characterization from wounded war veterans he's met at the stage door.
“Our show, while it may be a little anti-war and very opinionated on the subject, it's not anti-soldier,” Campbell said. “It's got a very supportive view of those who sacrifice and enter the service.”
When asked if the members of Green Day have seen the “American Idiot” tour, Campbell answered in the negative. Yet he says the entire cast has been warned that the band will probably drop in unexpectedly and unannounced sometime during the tour's run.
“I'm such a fan of Green Day and it's such an honor to get up onstage and do this every night and leave everything onstage,” Campbell said. “Billie Joe says all you can give is blood and sweat, and that's what we're doing.”
“Green Day's American Idiot”
<b>Location:</b> Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com
<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, Feb. 12; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday, Feb. 15; runs Feb. 7-19
<b>Tickets:</b> $27-$95