American Idiot (musical)

American Idiot
The Musical
Music	Green Day
Lyrics	Billie Joe Armstrong
Book	Billie Joe Armstrong Michael Mayer
Basis	2004 concept album American Idiot by Green Day
Productions	2009 Berkeley 2010 Broadway 2011 First National Tour 2012 UK and Ireland Tour
Awards	Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album

American Idiot is a one-act, through-sung stage musical, an adaptation of punk rock band Green Day's rock opera, American Idiot. After a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009, the show moved to the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Previews began on March 24, 2010 and the play officially opened on April 20, 2010. The show closed on April 24, 2011 after 422 performances. While Green Day did not appear in the production, vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong performed the role of "St. Jimmy" occasionally throughout the run.

The story, expanded from that of the concept album, centers on three disaffected young men, Johnny, Will, and Tunny. Johnny and Tunny flee a stifling suburban lifestyle and parental restrictions, while Will stays home to work out his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend. The former pair look for meaning in life and try out the freedom and excitement of the city. Tunny quickly gives up on life in the city, joins the military, and is shipped off to war. Johnny finds a part of himself that he grows to dislike, has a relationship and experiences lost love.

The book was written by Armstrong and director Michael Mayer. The music was composed by Green Day and the lyrics were by Armstrong. The score included all the songs from American Idiot and additional Green Day songs from other sources, including 21st Century Breakdown, American Idiot b-sides, and a song called "When It's Time".

Reception to the musical was mixed. It was praised for its music and energy but was also criticized for lack of emotional depth. The musical won two 2010 Tony Awards: Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Christine Jones, and Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Kevin Adams. It also received a nomination for Best Musical. On February 13, 2011, it won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

Plot

Set in the recent past, the musical opens on a group of suburban youths living unhappily in "Jingletown, USA" and saturated with TV. Fed up with the state of the union, the company explodes in frustration ("American Idiot"). One of the youths, Johnny, goes to commiserate with his friend Will ("Jesus of Suburbia"). A third friend, Tunny, joins the two and they party until they run out of beer, prompting them to pick up more at the local 7-Eleven. Tunny soon exposes the do-nothing go-nowhere quicksand of their lives ("City of the Damned"). They get riled up, and Johnny challenges his friends to engage ("I Don't Care"). Will's girlfriend, Heather, soon makes an appearance. She is pregnant and doesn't know what to do ("Dearly Beloved"). Johnny borrows money and buys bus tickets to the city for the three young men, eager to escape suburbia. Before the boys are able to leave, Heather tells Will of her pregnancy. With no other choice, he stays home ("Tales of Another Broken Home"). Johnny and Tunny depart for the city with a group of other jaded youths ("Holiday").

While Johnny wanders the city and pines for a woman he sees in an apartment window ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams"), Tunny finds it hard to adjust to urban life and is seduced by a television ad for the army ("Favorite Son"). Tunny realizes that his generation has been so numbed and apathetic that nothing, not even the bright lights of the city, will excite him ("Are We the Waiting"). He enlists in the army.

A frustrated Johnny encounters a rebellious, drug dealer called St. Jimmy, and shoots heroin for the first time ("St. Jimmy"). Back in Jingletown, Will sits on the couch as his girlfriend's pregnancy progresses. He drinks beer and begs for a release. Meanwhile, Tunny is deployed to a war zone, and is soon shot and wounded ("Give Me Novacaine").

Johnny spends the night with the girl he saw in the window, whom he calls "Whatsername". Johnny is smitten with Whatsername and wants to celebrate, but St. Jimmy has other plans for them ("Last of the American Girls/She's a Rebel"). Johnny and Whatsername go to a club, shoot drugs together, and have passionate sex. By this time, Will and Heather's baby girl has been born, and Will is increasingly oblivious as Heather tenderly commits herself to her baby's future ("Last Night on Earth").

Heather has had enough of Will's pot-and-alcohol-fueled apathy. Despite Will's protestations, she takes the baby and walks out ("Too Much, Too Soon"). Around the same time, lying in a bed in an army hospital ("Before the Lobotomy"), Tunny falls victim to the hopelessness he has seen during wartime and hallucinates. He and his nurse engage in a balletic aerial dance ("Extraordinary Girl"). He quickly falls in love with her. His hallucination disappears, and he's left with his fellow soldiers in agony ("Before the Lobotomy (Reprise)").

Back in the city, Johnny reveals the depth of his love for Whatsername as she sleeps ("When It's Time"). The temptation of drugs, however, is too great; Jimmy forces Johnny to become increasingly erratic, and he eventually threatens Whatsername (and then himself) with a knife ("Know Your Enemy"). Whatsername attempts to talk about Johnny's behavior, while the Extraordinary Girl dresses Tunny's wounds and Will sits on the couch, once again alone ("21 Guns"). Johnny leaves a note for Whatsername, saying he has chosen Jimmy and drugs over her. Frightened and fed up, Whatsername tells Johnny that he is not the "Jesus of Suburbia" and reveals that St. Jimmy is nothing more than "a figment of [his] father's rage and [his] mother's love" ("Letterbomb"). She leaves him.

Hurt by Whatsername's departure, Johnny longs for better days ahead, Tunny longs for home, and Will longs for all the things he's lost ("Wake Me Up When September Ends"). St. Jimmy appears and makes one last attempt to get Johnny's attention, but that part of Johnny has died, resulting in the metaphorical suicide of St. Jimmy ("The Death of St. Jimmy"). Johnny cleans up and gets a desk job but soon realizes there is no place for him in the city ("East 12th Street"). Will, all alone with his television, bemoans his outcast state ("Nobody Likes You"). As he finally gets up off the couch, Heather appears with her new show-off rockstar boyfriend ("Rock and Roll Girlfriend"). Will heads to the 7-Eleven to get away from them and, surprisingly, finds Johnny there. Johnny had sold his guitar for a bus ticket home. Tunny returns from the war zone (as an amputee) with the Extraordinary Girl. As Tunny introduces his friends to the Extraordinary Girl, Johnny becomes furious with him for leaving the group, but quickly forgives him and the three friends embrace. Heather and her boyfriend arrive. In an uneasy truce, she gives the baby to Will. Other friends show up to greet the three men they haven't seen in a year ("We're Coming Home Again"). One year later, Johnny laments that he lost the love of his life, but he accepts that he can live inside the struggle between rage and love that has defined his life. With this acceptance comes the possibility of hope ("Whatsername").

After the cast takes their bows, the curtain rises to reveal the entire company with guitars, with which they perform the song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". Each performance of this song was recorded and given to the audience as a free digital download.

Characters

There are seven principal characters in American Idiot: Johnny, Will, Heather, Whatsername, The Extraordinary Girl, Tunny, and St. Jimmy.

• Johnny. Also known as "Jesus of Suburbia", he is the main protagonist of the story and most of the plot points revolve around his picaresque journey, on which he experiences nihilism, drug abuse, and lost love. The role was created for the Berkeley and Broadway runs by Tony-Award-winner John Gallagher, Jr. When Gallagher left the production, Van Hughes, who was previously the three leads' standby, took over the role full-time. In addition, Hughes reprised his role for the first national tour. Alex Nee currently performs as Johnny in American Idiot's non-equity tour.

• Will, one of Johnny's best friends. He plans to leave town with the group until his girlfriend, Heather, reveals that she is pregnant with his child. Will stays at home in an alcohol and drug-infused depression. The role was created for the Berkeley and Broadway runs by Michael Esper. When Esper left the production, the role was taken over by American Idol alumnus Justin Guarini for the remainder of the run. Former Degrassi star Jake Epstein played Will in first the national tour. Casey O'Farrell can currently be seen in the role of Will for the non-equity tour.

• Tunny, another of Johnny's best friends. He accompanies Johnny to the city, but soon joins the military and is sent off to war. Tunny suffers serious injuries and loses a leg. During his rehabilitation, he falls in love with his nurse, The Extraordinary Girl, and the two accompany each other home at the end of the story. Matt Caplan created the role of Tunny for the Berkeley performances. When American Idiot opened on Broadway, Stark Sands played the role. When Sands left the production, the role was taken over by David Larsen. Actor Scott J. Campbell performed as Tunny in the shows first national tour. Thomas Hettrick has taken over the role for the non-equity tour.

• Whatsername. A nameless, attractive young woman who accompanies Johnny on his pleasure-seeking journey of sex and drugs. She eventually realizes that their relationship is mutually destructive and leaves him. The role was created for the Berkeley and Broadway runs by Rebecca Naomi Jones, who played the part until the end of the Broadway run. Gabrielle McClinton took over the role of Whatsername for the first national tour. Actress Alyssa DiPalma took over the role for the non-equity tour.

• Heather, Will's pregnant girlfriend. Her unplanned pregnancy causes Will to stay behind when his friends leave town. She leaves Will and begins a relationship with another man to protect their child, eventually leading a life of glamour that is in stark contrast to Will's couch-wallowing ways. The role was created for the Berkeley and Broadway runs by Mary Faber. She was replaced on Broadway by Jeanna de Waal for the remainder of the run. Leslie McDonel, who understudied the role of Heather on Broadway, took over the role full-time for the first national tour. Kennedy Caughell joined the non-equity tour as Heather and can currently be seen in the role.

• The Extraordinary Girl. A nurse who treats Tunny after he is wounded in war. She also appears in Tunny's dreams and hallucinations. The two eventually fall in love and accompany each other home after the war. The role was created for the Berkeley and Broadway runs by Christina Sajous. When Sajous left the production, ensemble member and Extraordinary Girl understudy Libby Winters was promoted to full-time. Nicci Claspell performed as Extraordinary Girl for the national tour. For the productions non-equity tour, Jenna Rubaii took on the role.

• St. Jimmy, an adventurous drug dealer who is eventually revealed to be a drug-addled manifestation of Johnny's id. The role of St. Jimmy was created for the Berkeley and Broadway runs by Tony Vincent. The part has become a star vehicle for rock artists, allowing several of them to make their Broadway debuts. Billie Joe Armstrong covered for Tony Vincent from September 27, 2010 to October 3, 2010 and then took over the role for two months when Vincent left the production in January 2011. Melissa Etheridge then covered for Armstrong from February 1, 2011 to February 6, 2011. Davey Havok of AFI replaced Armstrong in the role of "St. Jimmy" beginning on March 1, 2011. Armstrong reprised the role of St. Jimmy on April 5, 2011 until the show closed on April 24, 2011. Former Broadway swing and St. Jimmy understudy Joshua Kobak played the character during the first national tour. Trent Saunders currently plays St. Jimmy in the shows non-equity tour.

Background

In 2000, Green Day released the album Warning. Village Voice music critic Robert Christgau compared Warning to the band's previous album (Nimrod), and noted that "[Billie Joe Armstrong is] abandoning the first person. He's assuming fictional personas. And he's creating for himself the voice of a thinking left-liberal." Christgau also detected "a faint whiff" of the work of the theatrical composer/lyricist team of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. The trend of writing in the third person came to fruition with Green Day's next studio album, American Idiot in 2004. The first new song Green Day wrote was the single "American Idiot".

One day, bassist Mike Dirnt was in the studio recording a 30-second song by himself. Armstrong decided that he wanted to do the same, and drummer Tré Cool followed suit. Armstrong recalled, "It started getting more serious as we tried to outdo one another. We kept connecting these little half-minute bits until we had something." This musical suite became "Homecoming", and the group subsequently wrote another suite, "Jesus of Suburbia".

Green Day made the record an album-long conceptual piece which was a response to the realities of the post-9/11 era. The band took inspiration from the concept records by The Who., sources in the musical theater repertoire like The Rocky Horror Show and West Side Story, and the concept album-cum-stage musical Jesus Christ, Superstar. Armstrong also said the band intended "that it would be staged or we'd create a film or something... we were thinking in terms that it kind of felt like scoring a movie."

Director Michael Mayer heard the album and expressed an interest in adapting it for the stage. When he approached the band regarding a collaboration, they agreed to work with him. The band also gave Mayer a wide latitude for his adaptation after seeing his earlier work in Spring Awakening. Though additional songs were included from the Green Day catalog, Mayer added very little dialogue to the show. He felt instead that the music and lyrics were expressive enough on their own, and even removed some of the dialogue that was part of the Berkeley production before the show moved to Broadway.

Production history

Berkeley tryout

The musical premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Previews began on September 4, 2009 and the official opening was on September 15, 2009. After becoming the top-grossing show in the theatre's history, the producers extended the limited run twice to November 15, 2009. The cast included John Gallagher Jr. as Johnny, Matt Caplan as Tunny, Michael Esper as Will, Tony Vincent as St. Jimmy, Rebecca Naomi Jones as Whatsername, Mary Faber as Heather, and Christina Sajous as the Extraordinary Girl.

Broadway

The musical transferred to the St. James Theatre on Broadway, with previews beginning on March 24, 2010. It officially opened on April 20, 2010. The cast for the Berkeley Repertoire production was retained for the Broadway production, with the exception of Matt Caplan who was replaced by Stark Sands. It was rumored that the show cost between $8 million and $10 million to produce. After six months of performances, the show was "still a ways off from possibly turning a profit" according to a New York Times report.

The marquee above the St. James Theatre after the 350th performance of American Idiot

Tom Kitt was the music supervisor and orchestrator for both the Berkeley and Broadway productions. The lead producers for the show were Ira Pittelman and Tom Hulce. In addition to Pittelman and Hulce, Broadway producer Vivek Tiwary, whose experience included Raisin in the Sun and The Addams Family also joined American Idiot's team of producers. The creative team for the show was largely the same as for the musical adaptation of Spring Awakening: director Michael Mayer, scenic designer Christine Jones, and lighting designer Kevin Adams. Olivier Award winner Steven Hoggett was the choreographer. Andrea Lauer was the costume designer and Brian Ronan was the sound designer.

On September 26, 2010, Armstrong wrote on the official Green Day Twitter account that, from September 28 to October 3, he would play the role of St. Jimmy. The announcement led to an immediate increase in the sale of tickets at the St. James Theatre. Ticket sales for the week Armstrong performed were up 77%, average ticket prices increased 22%, and gross sales increased 127% from the previous week's totals. The singer-songwriter filled in for cast member Tony Vincent who took time off for personal matters; the week following Armstrong's run, St. Jimmy's understudies, Andrew Call and Joshua Kobak, split covering the role. On November 30, 2010, the producers announced that Armstrong would make another 50 appearances as St. Jimmy between January 1 and February 27, 2011.

Armstrong's Broadway performances were among a number of personal appearances he has made to help promote the show. As a part of the promotion for the show, the cast performed at the Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010 with Green Day. In addition to Armstrong's stint as St. Jimmy, singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge played the part of St. Jimmy on Broadway from February 1–6, 2011, and Davey Havok of the alternative rock band AFI took the role from March 1–15, 2011.

In the wake of weak sales following the departure of Armstrong from the role of St. Jimmy, The New York Times hinted that the producers could soon post a closing notice for the production. The Broadway production was then scheduled to close on April 24, 2011 after 27 previews and 421 performances. Armstrong returned to the role of St. Jimmy for the final three weeks.

Tours

It was announced on February 11, 2011 that the musical would begin a national touring production on December 28, 2011, in Toronto, Canada. The first national tour cast includes Van Hughes reprising his role as Johnny, Jake Epstein as Will, Scott J. Campbell as Tunny, Leslie McDonel as Heather, Gabrielle McClinton as Whatsername, Nicci Claspell as The Extraordinary Girl, and Broadway alumnus Joshua Kobak as St. Jimmy. The ensemble included Talia Aaron, Krystina Alabado, Gabriel Antonacci, Larkin Bogan, Jennifer Bowles, Matt Deangelis, Dan Gleason, Kelvin Moon Loh, Tommy McDowell, Jillian Mueller, Okieriete Onaodowan, Jarran Muse as Favorite Son, and Vince Oddo. A non-Equity second U.S. tour launched in the late summer of 2012.

On December 1, 2011, it was announced that the musical would be touring the UK, as well as Ireland, in Autumn 2012. The tour will visit Manchester, Southampton, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin, Birmingham and London. The cast includes Alex Nee as Johnny, Casey O'Farrell as Will, Thomas Hettrick as Tunny, Kennedy Caughell as Heather, Alyssa DiPalma as Whatsername, Jenna Rubaii as The Extraordinary Girl, and Trent Saunders as St. Jimmy. The ensemble includes Aurie Ceylon, Carson Higgins, Antwaun Holley, Daniel C. Jackson, Brandon Kalm, John Krause, Alison Morooney, Turner Rouse, Jr., Jamal Shuriah, Dustin Harris Smith, Ashley Tobias, Chelsea Turbin and Jared Young as Favorite Son. It started on October 9, 2012 at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre, and ended on December 16, 2012 at HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London.

Musical numbers

The show features all of the songs from the album American Idiot, some B-tracks and a few of the songs from Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown. The show also had an onstage band.

• "American Idiot" – Company
• "Jesus of Suburbia"
  • "Jesus of Suburbia" – Johnny and Will
  • "City of the Damned" – Tunny, Johnny, Will, & Company
  • "I Don't Care" – Johnny, Will, Tunny, & Company
  • "Dearly Beloved" – Heather & Men
  • "Tales of Another Broken Home" – Johnny, Will, Tunny, Heather, & Company
• "Holiday" – Johnny, Tunny, Theo, & Company
• "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" – Johnny, Whatsername, Tunny, & Men
• "Favorite Son" – Favorite Son & Women
• "Are We the Waiting" – Tunny, Favorite Son, & Company
• "St. Jimmy" – Johnny, Miguel, Declan, Theo, St. Jimmy, & Company
• "Give Me Novacaine" – Will, Tunny, & Company
• "Last of the American Girls/She's a Rebel" – Johnny, Whatsername, Gerard, Chase, St. Jimmy, & Company
• "Last Night on Earth" – St. Jimmy, Whatsername, Heather, & Company
• "Too Much Too Soon" – Theo, Alysha, Will, & Heather
• "Before the Lobotomy" – Tunny, Joshua, Ben, & Chase
• "Extraordinary Girl" – Extraordinary Girl, Tunny, & Company
• "Before the Lobotomy (Reprise)" – Tunny, Joshua, Ben, & Chase
• "When It's Time" – Johnny
• "Know Your Enemy" – St. Jimmy, Will, Johnny, & Company
• "21 Guns" – Whatsername, Extraordinary Girl, Heather, Tunny, Johnny, Will, & Company
• "Letterbomb" – Whatsername & Women
• "Wake Me Up When September Ends" – Johnny, Will, Tunny, & Company
• "Homecoming"
  • "The Death of St. Jimmy" – St. Jimmy & Johnny
  • "East 12th St." – Johnny, Theo, Gerard, & Company
  • "Nobody Likes You" – Will & Company
  • "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" – Miguel, Heather, Will, & Company
  • "We're Coming Home Again" – Johnny, Tunny, Will, & Company
• "Whatsername" – Johnny & Company
• "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" – Company

Green Day re-released the single "21 Guns" with the musical cast on Spinner.com on December 3, 2009. This version features Billie Joe Armstrong, together with Christina Sajous, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Mary Faber and Stark Sands, with backup from the rest of American Idiot cast. Another version was released with John Gallagher, Jr., Michael Esper, and Sands singing the parts that Armstrong had previously sung. Green Day and the cast of the musical also performed the song at the 2010 Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010.

The original cast recording of the musical was released on April 20, 2010. The cast album includes all the songs featured in the musical plus a brand new recording of "When It's Time" by Green Day. The album won Best Musical Show Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Reception

Reviews for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre production were mixed. Charles McNulty of latimes.com called the show "kinetically entertaining in a way that intentionally reflects the shallow, media-saturated culture the album rails against". Karen D'Souza of MercuryNews.com called the production "a thrashing collage of songs fused together with hypnotic movement and eye-popping visuals" and thought the show "as compelling as it is abstract [and] channels the grungy spirit of punk while also plucking at the heartstrings." However, Jim Harrington of the Oakland Tribune compared the show unfavorably to the original album, writing: "[what] once was a fine Gouda, has been prepackaged as Velveeta", and continued sarcastically, "In other words, it should do big business on Broadway." Charles Isherwood of The New York Times commented that the show contained "characters who lack much in the way of emotional depth or specificity, and plotlines that are simple to the point of crudity" but also felt that "the show possesses a stimulating energy and a vision of wasted youth that holds us in its grip."

Isherwood's review for the Broadway production was enthusiastic. He called the show "a pulsating portrait of wasted youth that invokes all the standard genre conventions... only to transcend them through the power of its music and the artistry of its execution, the show is as invigorating and ultimately as moving as anything I’ve seen on Broadway this season. Or maybe for a few seasons past." Jed Gottlieb of the Boston Herald enjoyed the premise of the show but found that "the music and message suffer in a setting where the audience is politely, soberly seated". Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press found the show to be "visually striking [and] musically adventurous", but noted that "the show has the barest wisp of a story and minimal character development". Paul Kolnik in USA Today enjoyed the contradiction that Green Day's "massively popular, starkly disenchanted album ... would be the feel-good musical of the season". Time magazine's Richard Zoglin opined that the score "is as pure a specimen of contemporary punk rock as Broadway has yet encountered [yet] there's enough variety.... Where the show fall short is as a fully developed narrative." He concluded that "American Idiot, despite its earnest huffing and puffing, remains little more than an annotated rock concert.... Still, [it] deserves at least two cheers – for its irresistible musical energy and for opening fresh vistas for that odd couple, rock and Broadway." Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, in his review of American Idiot, wrote "Though American Idiot carries echoes of such rock musicals as Tommy, Hair, Rent and Spring Awakening, it cuts its own path to the heart. You won’t know what hit you. American Idiot knows no limits — it's a global knockout." UpVenue described the musical as a "groundbreaking piece of artistry," having the "emotional charge of Rent," and congratulated Green Day for immortalizing American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown.

Awards and nominations

American Idiot won a total of 6 awards from 20 nominations. At a meeting of the Tony Administration Committee on April 30, 2010, the score of American Idiot was deemed ineligible for a Tony Award for Best Original Score nomination because less than 50% of it was written for the stage production.

Original Broadway production

Year	Award Ceremony	Category	Nominee	Result
2010	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Musical		Nominated
		Outstanding Director of a Musical	Michael Mayer	Won
		Outstanding Orchestrations	Tom Kitt	Nominated
	Tony Award	Best Musical		Nominated
		Best Scenic Design of a Musical	Christine Jones	Won
		Best Lighting Design of a Musical	Kevin Adams	Won
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding New Broadway Musical		Nominated
		Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)	Kevin Adams	Won
2011	Grammy Award	Best Musical Show Album	Billie Joe Armstrong, producer. Chris Dugan & Chris Lord-Alge, engineers/mixers.	Won

Broadway attendances, performances, and gross receipts

The following is a month-by-month breakdown of sales, attendance, and performance data for the production at the 1,709-capacity St. James Theatre.

Time period	Attendance	Gross sales	Average Paid Admission	Percent of Capacity	References
March 24 – April 4, 2010 (12 previews)	16,879	$1,312,033	$77.73	82.3%
April 5 – May 2, 2010 (14 previews, 16 performances)	38,195	$2,591,496	$67.85	74.5%
May 3 – June 6, 2010 (40 performances)	47,371	$3,898,058	$82.29	69.3%
June 7 – July 4, 2010 (31 performances)	36,876	$3,082,501	$83.59	69.6%
July 5 – August 1, 2010 (32 performances)	39,793	$3,199,187	$80.40	72.8%
August 2 – September 5, 2010 (40 performances)	45,125	$3,535,540	$78.35	66.0%
September 6 – October 3, 2010 (31 performances)	36,363	$2,491,234	$68.51	68.6%
October 4 – 31, 2010 (32 performances)	28,202	$1,983,404	$70.33	51.6%
November 1 – December 5, 2010 (40 performances)	33,334	$2,452,032	$73.56	48.8%
December 6, 2010 – January 2, 2011 (32 performances)	33,694	$2,694,839	$79.98	61.6%
January 3 – February 6, 2011 (40 performances)	47,347	$3,912,616	$82.64	69.3%
February 7 – March 6, 2011 (32 performances)	43,148	$3,818,799	$88.50	78.9%
March 7 – April 3, 2011 (32 performances)	32,498	$1,912,847	$58.86	59.4%
April 4–24, 2011 (24 performances)	31,898	$2,913,465	$91.34	77.8%
Totals
422 performances, 26 previews	510,723	$39,798,051	$77.92	66.7%

Film adaptation

In 2010, Tom Hanks and his production company, Playtone, optioned the musical to create a film version. On April 13, 2011, it was announced that Universal Pictures had begun initial negotiations. Dustin Lance Black has been selected to adapt the screenplay from the musical for the film. Michael Mayer, who also directed the Broadway version will be directing the film while the producers will be Green Day, Pat Magnarella, Playtone, and Tom Hulce (who also served as producer of the Broadway production). Magnarella is Green Day's manager and was a producer for the band's live albums Bullet in a Bible, Awesome as Fuck, and the documentary Heart Like a Hand Grenade. Rolling Stone reported that Billie Joe Armstrong would be starring as St. Jimmy in the film, and that it was set for a 2013 release date. However, Armstrong later posted on his Twitter account that he hadn't "totally committed to St. Jimmy for the AI movie. Yes, I'm interested. Yes someone jumped the gun..."

Broadway Idiot

On January 23, 2013, it was announced that a documentary showing Armstrong's journey from punk rock to Broadway was to be released. Called Broadway Idiot and showing a lot of behind-the-scenes of the musical production, the movie was directed by Doug Hamilton, veteran television journalist for CBS News' 60 Minutes and PBS documentaries such as Nova, Frontline and American Masters. A trailer was released on January 30, 2013. The documentary premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 15, 2013.

External links

• Official site
• Internet Broadway database listing
• Berkeley Rep's American Idiot page
• Did He Like It review aggregator