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Tarif Pappu, Joey Pisacane and Andrew Erwin play three friends stuck in suburbia. All photos of City Lights’ production of Green Day’s American Idiot are by Susan Mah Photography.

A companion guide to Green Day’s American Idiot with music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong and book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer. July 14-Aug. 21, 2016. Johnny (Joey Pisacane, center) feels drawn to the sensuous city girl Whatsername (Danielle Mendoza), but his dangerous alter ego St. Jimmy (Sean Okuniewicz) is determined to get in the way.

Synopsis

This Tony Award-winning rock extravaganza tells the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their unbridled dreams and the safety of suburbia, on a quest for true meaning in a post-9/11 world. Based on Green Day’s Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum album, and featuring Boulevard of Broken Dreams, 21 Guns, Wake Me Up When September Ends and the blockbuster title track, Green Day’s American Idiot boldly takes the American musical and City Lights where they’re never gone before.

Characters Along with a powerhouse ensemble, this cast of 21 includes these featured characters:

Johnny (Joey Pisacane): Also known as the Jesus of Suburbia (you’ll get it when you see the show), Johnny is one of three friends in suburbia trying to figure life out. His quest leads him to the city

Tunny (Andrew Erwin): Another of the three friends. His quest takes him on quite a different path: the Middle East.

Will (Tarif Pappu): Will stays put in suburbia. It isn’t what he wants, but he has a compelling reason for doing so.

St. Jimmy (Sean Okuniewicz): Is he real? Maybe. Is he a city badass? Absolutely. He’s also Johnny’s alter ego.

Whatsername (Danielle Mendoza): This girl in the city catches Johnny’s eye and becomes a powerful force in his life.

Heather (Melissa Baxter): Will's girlfriend in suburbia, she goes on a life-changing journey of her own.

Extraordinary Girl (Taylor Sanders): A girl in the Middle East who meets Tunny under painful circumstances. About Green Day

Three-chord punk, youthful rebellion, high energy and surprisingly catchy songs. You could use any of these phrases when writing about the Bay Area band Green Day. Also, staying power. Green Day may have reigned over the mid-‘90s punk- revival scene, but the story didn’t stop there. That’s why City Lights audiences are seeing that rare beast: a punk-rock modern political opera. Not just any band can fuel that fire.

The band was born in the ‘80s when childhood pals Billie Joe Armstrong, a guitarist and singer; and bass player Mike Dirnt teamed up at the age of 14. The original name: Sweet Children. This moniker would later win a spot on Rolling Stone’s “25 Worst Original Names of Famous Bands.” As the magazine wrote: “They even got signed to Lookout! Records under that name, but they switched it to Green Day soon afterwards to avoid confusion with fellow California rock outfit Sweet Baby. … They took their new name from one of their early songs, which refers to a day when not much is done outside of smoking marijuana.”

The newly christened band grew in cult appeal, and the big splash came with the 1994 album Dookie, which featured Longview, Basket Case and When I Come Around. Dookie sold more than 10 million copies in the U.S. and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance. According to an MTV bio of the band, Green Day’s success “opened the doors for a flood of American neo-punk, punk metal, and third-wave ska revivalists. More than a decade later, as many of their former contemporaries settled Billie Joe Armstrong in 1994. into retirement, Green Day remained at the forefront of popular music.”

Though Green Day hit a lull in the late ‘90s, the band was back in force with 2004’s multi-platinum album American Idiot and 2009’s follow-up 21st Century Breakdown. Later releases would include the album trio ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!

In 2009, the band’s music made it to the theater when Berkeley Repertory Theatre premiered the rock opera Green Day’s American Idiot. It all grew out of an offhand comment by Michael Mayer, the original director of the musical Spring Awakening on Broadway. He told Variety in 2006: “It shocks me that there isn’t a stage version of American Idiot yet. It’s an opera. It’s ready to go.” Many agreed, and the enterprise was off and running, with a book by Mayer and Armstrong, lyrics by Armstrong, and music by Green Day. Mayer also directed Berkeley Rep’s production.

As in traditional opera, Mayer let the music tell most of the story, adding only a handful of dialogue. For his part, Armstrong has been thrilled with the staging and structure of the stage musical. St. Jimmy (Sean Okuniewicz) in rehearsal at City Lights. Photo by Christine Herrera. “When I originally wrote the record, it was more about different symbolisms; it was not really a linear story. It was just what these people represent,” Armstrong told the Los Angeles Times. “Now there’s definitely a struggle between the characters. There’s moments where I thought he made the songs better. He interpreted it in a way where he turned it into a story.” THE SET AND THE SCREENS

Four wheelchairs. Fourteen monitors. Two thousand feet of video cable. And a seriously sweeping set. Not only is Green Day’s American Idiot a huge undertaking for the cast and crew, it’s also been quite a project for scenic designer Ron Gasparinetti and lighting & projections designer Nick Kumamoto.

“It’s the most expansive set that I’ve ever put on this stage. It goes from one edge of the stage to the other … all 57 feet and 3 inches across,” Ron said. “One of the first things that Jeff (director Jeff Bracco) said to me was, ‘I want it big and I want it tall.’” Jeff got his wish. The gun-metal-gray design feels enormous and urban, fitting for a gritty tale that takes several of its characters to the mean streets of the city. The size means that actors can make entrances from unusual places, like coming out of the prop loft. The large cast also, as Ron puts it, “crawls all over a lot of rolling scenic pieces like the bus and the stair unit.”

The set’s walls are dotted with 14 monitors, with dynamic video appearing all over the monitors and walls themselves. Some videos are clips of news and pop culture from the show’s era; others are more abstract and atmospheric. Sourcing and editing the videos was a major project for Nick; some days he would work on it for six to eight hours. He had to make sure that every clip was from between 2003 and 2006, and that all represented the period well. Since Nick is only 23, this time period was definitely formative for him. “What are all these big events that I look back on?” he mused. Hurricane Katrina, and the wars, and Colin Powell holding a model vial of anthrax at the U.N., for starters. “For people who are living it and who are my age, this show is about the things that formed the way that we see the world.”

While videos that make a more literal editorial statement, like news clips, tend to appear on the monitors, Nick has been more free-flowing with the images being projected onto the set walls. One of the pieces of video he spent the most time on—six to seven hours—is seen during the song Are We the Waiting. It combines images that look like swirling clouds with individual beams of light and mirror-like repetitions.

Regardless of how elaborate the projections and lighting become, Nick is careful to emphasize that they are “design,” not “art,” in that they never lose sight of their central function: to support the storytelling on stage. Fancy effects should never pull focus from the plot, but contribute to it. And they are a central part of the storytelling that elevates American Idiot from a collection of songs to a work of theater.

“Rock concerts are great, but we come to the theater to feel that connection with other people, and you need that story to get you there,” Nick said.

The scenic design is also an integral part of the storytelling and feel of the show. Overall, Ron said, he wanted the set to look “a little bit dangerous” because of the edgy journeys that the characters embark on. “Rebelling against everything that they’ve been taught, and the way you’re supposed to act, is a dangerous thing to do,” he said.

Speaking of living dangerously… The show calls for four wheelchairs, which are not the easiest props to find in bulk. One day Ron spotted a perfect one in a thrift store, but the staff were overworked and he had to wait a long time to pay for it. Finally, knowing that people were waiting for him back at the theater, he had no choice but to take the chair and leave.

He did go back to pay for it, of course, but the whole thing still makes a great story. “I stole a wheelchair from a thrift store that serves homeless children,” he said, laughing heartily. “I’ve sunk to a new moral low.”

Sean Okuniewicz as the wild-eyed St. Jimmy in our production. Panoramic views of the American Idiot set being built: on June 24, July 5 and July 12. ABOUT OUR MUSICIANS

We’re proud to have a wealth of musical talent on our stage this summer. The American Idiot cast all sings, of course, but several also play guitar in the show. We also have a live band featuring musical director Samuel Cisneros on keyboard, Nick Aganad on drums, Gabriel Perez on bass, and Ralph Zazula and Nick Schott on guitar.

Two of our cast members also periodically grace our stage in a purely musical capacity. Tarif Pappu, who plays Will; and Joey Pisacane (Johnny) have also sold out the house in our Lights & Music Concert Series. They’re friends and acoustic songwriters who enjoy playing his together, and we’re always happy to have them.

Besides enjoying their performances in American Idiot, be sure to catch their next Lights & Music Concert Series, which is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m. We recommend buying tickets in advance, at cltc.org/tickets.

Tarif Pappu and Joey Pisacane. Photo by Marissa McPeak.

Jeffrey Bracco in The Language Archive. Photo by Mike Ko. ABOUT OUR DIRECTOR

Jeffrey Bracco has starred on City Lights’ stage and directed productions many times. Most recently, he directed M. Butterfly and Monty Python’s SPAMALOT, and appeared in Art and The Language Archive. He also recently played Dr. Astrov in Uncle Vanya with Pear Theatre.

Jeffrey is also a playwright and educator with a professional theater career of more than 20 years in the U.S. and France. He has written several produced plays, including ShakesPod, POEPourri and Twainheart. And City Lights patrons might have seen a little 2014 play called Truce: A Christmas Wish from the Great War, which he co-authored with Kit Wilder. City Lights Theater Company presents Green Day’s American Idiot from July 14-Aug. 21, 2016. Shows are Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. (no show July 17). Also: three 8 p.m. Wednesdays, on Aug. 3, 10 and 17. The theater is at 529 S. Second St., San Jose. Details: cltc.org, 408-295-4200.

Green Day's American Idiot Music by Green Day; lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong; book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer

Director: Jeffrey Bracco Music Director: Samuel Cisneros Choreographer: Christine Herrera Scenic Design/Production Manager/Technical Director: Ron Gasparinetti Lighting and Projections Design: Nick Kumamoto Sound Design: George Psarras Properties Designer: Miranda Whipple Stage Manager: Joseph Hidde Assistant Director: Camille Hayes Assistant Stage Manager: Brittany Pisoni Production Dramaturg: Kirsten Brondial Run Crew: William Gunn, Francis Maurer Follow Spot Operators: Belinda Hirsch, Arthur Peterson Sound Board Operator: Bryce Webster Featuring: Melissa Baxter, Caitlin Burns, Juan Castro, William Corkery, Andrew Erwin, Paul Estioko, Katie Fauria, Nina Feliciano, Lauren Garcia, Lee Harrold, Sharon Lita, Danielle Mendoza, Gavin Mueller, Amanda Nguyen, Sean Okuniewicz, Gabriel Olagov, Tarif Pappu, Joey Pisacane, Jeremy Ryan, Taylor Sanders and Kaitlin Zablotsky.

AMERICAN IDIOT

Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019

Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684

Highlights is researched and written by City Lights dramaturg Rebecca Wallace. Read past issues at cltc.org/highlights.