Reviewed by Catherine Joyce
Green Day’s American Idiot is the winner of two Tony Awards and was also the 2010 Grammy Award winner for Best Musical Show Album. After two critically acclaimed and celebrated West End runs as well as a sell-out UK Tour, Green Day’s American Idiot returns to mark both the show’s 10th anniversary and the 15th anniversary of the Grammy Award winning album. We went to the opening night at Blackpool Opera House last night and whilst we are not particularly familiar with the music, with a pedigree like that we were hoping for a memorable night.
The story is about three layabout young men who, following the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, decide that they’re off to the city. Will, played by Samuel Pope, changes his mind when he discovers his girlfriend is pregnant whilst Tunny, Joshua Dowen, soon decides to join the army and goes off to fight in the war against terror. This leaves Johnny, Tom Milner, on his own in the city where he soon descends into a life of self-destruction and drug abuse. The addition of a 2nd Johnny (St Jimmy) who portrayed his drug addict side was actually very effective although it did take me a bit to realise what was actually going on. Tom Milner was excellent as Johnny and a real star of the show.
Despite reading up on the story beforehand I did struggle to follow it in the first half, as it just didn’t seem to flow. Perhaps a die-hard Green Day fan who knows every lyric of every song would make more of this show but for me the songs just didn’t explain what was actually happening and with very little dialogue I was left quite confused. The second half of the show flowed better and was much easier to follow and the story did start to make more sense. Tunny, now in a military hospital after having a leg blown off, falls in love with his nurse and gives an amazing performance of “Before the Lobotomy.” It was performed as a duet, however the 2nd voice was also himself but on a TV screen. This worked incredibly well and was immediately followed by a great performance of “Extraordinary Girl” by Raquel Jones. Another highlight of the show was “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Johnny which I thought was brilliant.
The on-stage band were fantastic, adding another dimension to the show. I really enjoyed listening to the music of Green Day it’s just the story that was a little confusing. The show made good use of the large stage at the Opera House, the grungy set matching the rock music perfectly and allowing us to see the band performing.
There were a good number of Green Day fans in the audience and they obviously enjoyed the night, giving the performance a standing ovation but this must be balanced by a few people who didn’t stay around for the second half.
One thing to mention, the show does include strong language throughout along with some violence and plenty of drug use. In our opinion it is not suitable for children.
Rating: 3/5
Tickets cost from £15 (booking fees may apply).
Green Day’s American Idiot is at the Blackpool Opera House from 5-9 March 2019, for more information or to book tickets visit www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk or call the box office on 0844 856 1111.
Winter Gardens & Opera House Theatre, 97 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1HL
