Theater Review: Green Day's American Idiot at Broadway Method Academy

Fairfield - Broadway Method Academy (BMA) is presenting “Green Day’s American Idiot” this weekend only. There is still time to join the teen performances for this rockin' good musical.
This is the music of the rock band Green Day, with lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong. The book for the musical was written by Armstrong and Michael Mayer.

Audra Bryant was the director and choreographer for these talented students and the challenging show was produced by Broadway Method Academy’s Connor Deane and Natalie Biebel. Matt Moisey was in charge of music direction. Assistant choreographer was Autymn Brown and assistant director was Nathan Ayotte, who stepped up to cover the role of Favorite Son and made it his own.

Some of the casting was gender neutral and it worked well. The choreography for “Holiday” was memorable and I loved that every member of the cast was given a solo in the final number “Good Riddance.”

The leading role of Johnny is played very convincingly by Jared Shuford. Meaghan Cassidy plays Tunny, Johnny’s friend who joins the military and falls in love with his nurse. Tunny's rehab nurse is called The Extraordinary Girl and is played by Aerin O’Brien.

Another of Johnny’s friends is Will, who stays at home in an alcohol and drug-infused depression, after his girlfriend Heather (played by Morgan Lindell) reveals that she is pregnant with his child. Will is played well by Kendall Caron-Quinn.

Annika Jonker plays the character of St. Jimmy, who starts out as an adventurous drug dealer who is eventually revealed to be a drug-addled manifestation of Johnny's. Jonker has the talent needed to play this strong role.

The character of Whatshername is a young woman who accompanies Johnny on his journey, but she eventually realizes that their relationship is destructive and leaves him. Viviana Ham Breeden sings and dances very well in this role.

The tight ensemble that sings and dances marvelously include Audrey Booth, Kari Ergmann, Annika Jonker, Grace Kennedy, Chloe Leferman, Paulina Montes Munoz, Blake Raho, Nick Ryan and Trevor Wilkes.

Ryan M. Howell designed the simple set of scaffolding and two rolling staircases that are moved around frequently as needed, as are the few pieces of furniture. There was a difficult prop issue when the large television fell off its dolly, but the cast members managed to avoid it for the rest of the performance.

Costumes by Dustin Cross were grungy and easy to move in, with my favorite probably the long black coat and laced-up pants on St. Jimmy.

The lighting by Everett Rende was magnificent throughout the show, making the look of the scenes all the more effective.

Sound by Liz Weber worked well throughout, so that the vocals of the performers could be heard above the loud rock music, performed by five musicians. The singers blend well for some stunning harmonies. What a treat it is to hear Green Day classics like “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” performed so well.

The audience at the matinee that I attended was filled with teens that are in the cast of “Footloose” at Center Stage that came out to support their friends.

The high-energy show runs 90 minutes without an intermission.

Remaining performances are Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets at: broadwaymethodacademy.org

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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