ALONG COMES MARY

Since 1994, punk rockers Green Day have had many triumphs, ups & downs with their music career. With their debut album in 1990, they were just a group of rebels from Berkeley, California, & by the release of 1995’s Insomniac & their 1997 4th album, Nimrod, they had become rock royalty solidifying their place with the incredibly popular hit, Good Riddance (Time of your life). When 2000 rolled around & they returned with Warning, music times had changed. Gone were the grunge days & in was the ruling of boy bands & bubble gum pop. Green Day definitely seemed to be on the back burner.

Yet, in 2004, they decided to venture forth with American Idiot; a proper rock opera filled with boulevards of broken dreams & attempting to survive in a post-9-11 world with political quips left & right. The album was a smash, & Green Day was back on top. The next step? A Broadway musical, of course.

In American Idiot, three lifelong friends are forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia in American Idiot, the smash Broadway hit based on the multi-platinum, GRAMMY Award-winning album. Now director Marco Gomez, musical director Chris Raymond and choreographer Angela Todaro, the team behind recent critically acclaimed productions of Young Frankenstein and Jesus Christ Superstar, bring this explosive, iconic story to the DOMA stage beginning June 5 at the MET Theatre.

Tony Award-nominated for best musical and a Grammy Award winner for best musical show album, AmericanIdiot features the music of Green Day with lyrics by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and a book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer. Songs include chart toppers “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the blockbuster title track, “American Idiot.”

DOMA has created a reputation for bringing large-scale musicals to the small intimate stage at Hollywood’s MET Theatre. With American Idiot, DOMA continues that tradition, offering up a 25-member ensemble and live band.

“Our production will be a unique, concert-style experience, with a raised set, projections, lasers, choreography to the max, a terrific cast made up of DOMA veterans and a band that will totally rock,” says Gomez.

Jess Ford (title role in DOMA’s The Who’s Tommy) stars as Johnny, with Chris Kerrigan (Avenue Q, title role inJekyll & Hyde, The Who’s Tommy) as Tunny; Wesley Moran (Jesus Christ Superstar, Young Frankenstein) as Will; Andrew Diego (Jesus Christ Superstar, Dorian’s Descent) as St. Jimmy; Jackee Bianchi (Jesus Christ Superstar) as Heather; Renee Cohen (Jesus Christ Superstar) as Whatsername; and Cassandra Nuss (Jekyll & Hyde, Dorian’s Descent) as Extraordinary Girl. The ensemble, most of them also DOMA regulars, includesAlex Allen, Sandra Diana Cantu, Tony Cellucci, Kevin Corsini, EverJohn Feliciano, Blair Grotbeck, Lillian Mansala, Angeline Mirenda, Johnny Ortiz, Nohely Quiroz, Michael Restaino,Brittany Rodin, Dekontee Tucrkile, Lauren Tyni, Ty West and Anthony D. Willis.

The DOMA design team brings back set designer John Iacovelli, lighting and projection designer Jean-Yves Tessier, sound designerJulie Ferrin, costume designer Michael Mullen, makeup designer Jessica Kuhns and props designer Hallie Baran. The production manager/assistant director is Gabrieal Griego, the stage manager is Lauren Forst, and Marco Gomez and Dolf Ramos produce. This production is sponsored in part by AOLifestyle.com.

With “American Idiot,” Green Day vocalist/guitarist Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool created one of the best-selling albums of all time. The musical version made its world premiere at Berkeley Rep in 2009, where its record-breaking run brought in the biggest advance sale in the theater’s history; the first extension was announced before it had even played its first performance. The show burst onto Broadway in 2010, rocking the St. James Theatre for more than a year. In The New York Times, Charles Isherwood wrote “Rage and love, those consuming emotions felt with a particularly acute pang in youth, all but burn up the stage… thrillingly raucous and gorgeously wrought.”

Green Day’s American Idiot runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. from June 5 through July 12. Tickets range from $30–$34.99; seniors and students with ID pay only $20. The MET Theatre is located at 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Los Angeles CA 90029. For reservations, call (323) 802-4990 or go to www.domatheatre.com.
(Content Warning: American Idiot contains adult content and strong language. For mature audiences.)

(*Disclosure: I will be covering this event. All opinions are my own.)