Green Day is pretty much a household name in the current day, the band have been going since the 1980's, when Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt got together to form a band when they were young boys. In the developing years, band members came onto and off the scene until we reach Green Day today: Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool.

In 2009, Billie teamed up with award-winning director, Micheal Mayer to create the stage production, American Idiot. Opening on Broadway, the production carries you through an extension on Green Day's album, American Idiot. The musical follows the life of three young men, Jonny, Will and Tunny.

(left to right) Will (Samual Pope), Jonny (Tom Milner) and Tunny (Joshua Dowen) getting ready to leave Jingletown. Photo Credits: Mark Dawson

The show opened with continuous news reels of terrorist disasters followed by an energetic performance of hit single, American Idiot.

Jonny (Tom Milner: Waterloo Road, Holby City), Tunny (Joshua Dowen: Footloose UK Tour, All or Nothing UK Tour) and Will (Samual Pope: All or Nothing-The Mod Musical) all set off to escape Jingletown, where they felt held back. A typical youthful perceptive on life, they get as far as the bus stop before Will has to return home to Heather (Siobhan O'Driscoll) who has discovered that she is pregnant.

The set allowed the audience to see all three men as they venture on their journey. Packed with creativity, the costumes were adventurous and effective, especially through particular songs like Extraordinary Girl and Boulevard of Broken Dreams. One particular feature that stood out to me was that the band, who backed the songs that the cast were performing, had a space on the main stage and could be seen by the audience. They were regularly included in the performance, especially before the song My Heart Is Like A Bomb.

Whatsername (Sam Lavery) performing Letterbomb. Photo Credits: Mark Dawson

Throughout both Acts, we saw all three men split off and go their separate ways, experiencing disability, love, heartbreak and drug abuse. I have to praise Tom, Josh and Sam for their exceptional performance because they were brilliant. I couldn't fault them, they bought energy and passion into every moment of the show.

Sam Lavery (X Factor 2016) played Whatsername, a love interest to Jonny. From the moment Sam appeared on stage as Whatsername she captured the audience and played a convincing girl who is a hard one to crack but when you dig deeper has a softer side. She gave a great performance.

St Jimmy (Luke Friend) and Jonny (Tom Milner). Photo Credits: Mark Dawson.

Luke Friend (X Factor 2013) played St Jimmy, the man who persuaded Jonny into the drug scene. I was routing for both of these performers during their days on the X Factor and I'm glad that they were in this musical because they really did it justice. Luke brought energy and chaos to the show, bouncing and jumping around. He got Jonny into drugs, has a bit of a fling with Whatsername and gets a bit roughed up but I don't think I could tell you anyone better to have played St Jimmy. An outstanding performance from Luke.

One of the underrated people who performed was Siobhan O'Driscoll who played Heather, Will's girlfriend who was pregnant. She has such a strong voice and her acting was great. She was always there giving an exceptional performance even when no one was looking.

Photo Credits: Mark Dawson

Within the performance were plenty of laughs and tears shed from the audience. The cast even got a standing ovation which they looked ecstatic about - they really deserved it. If you're going to go and see one show this year, make it this one.

A final big shout out to all of the other actors and actresses involved in this performance, along with the production crew (directors, backstage personnel, etc) for making this such a great experience.

You can find a full list of tour dates here.

Until next time...










I was gifted tickets to American Idiot 2019 by Selladoor, this is an advertisement.


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