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Permalink Reply by Donnie Worldwide on June 22, 2010 at 7:31pm

On The Fence

I really wanted to like this. Seriously, when we got to TKTS and it was on the list, I actually felt the excitement well up in me. American Idiot was one of those albums I played end-to-end on a regular basis; and it stands to reason a rock opera would translate well to the Broadway stage. As we settled into our seats I couldn't even concentrate on the playbill...

The curtain goes up as you hear "A FOX news breaking story: North Korea has just detonated a nuclear weapon" which caused me to reach for the blackberry instinctively, but then I realized it was part of a cacophony of news bites and images as the curtain raised. Again, a moment that made me think "this is awesome" and raised the stakes again.

What followed was, well, not the worst musical I've ever seen. But it was not the walk-off home run I'd hoped for. The music was good (loud by B'way standards), the actors were great, but it was just a little off. I know part of the problem is when you've listened to the album incessantly as I did during my long runs in Moscow, you write your own book in your head.

Another problem is the set itself. It's just so busy, as to be distracting. I know, I know, it's symbolic of the short attention span theater provided by modern life, but it was overkill. In fact, the best parts of the play are those that are minimalist; a focused spotlight on the singer with darkened environs made moments believeable and touching; the floodlit electric moments just seemed too "musical." When I was young and knew everything, I used to quip "the best way to ruin a story is to add '-The Musical;' it almost makes me think I might have been right. In fact, I think it would have been better being performed more operatically, with the house band (who nailed it) playing while the cast did only the songs from the album on a dark stage. Take the glitz away, and the raw story was excellently told.

Don't get me wrong, American Idiot is worth seeing. It's just not one of the greats as I'd hoped it would be.

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