Reprise Records will release The Original Broadway Cast Recording of American Idiot on April 20, 2010, the same day the show will open at the ST. James Theatre in New York City. The official album features the 24-member cast accompanied by Green Day, marking another incredible collaboration between the band and the musical. Based onGreen Day‘s chart-topping 2004 album American Idiot, the musical and the cast recording include every song from American Idiot, as well as several songs from the band’s GRAMMY® Award-winning current album 21st Century Breakdown.
Green Day‘s singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool wrote the electrifying score to the show, which follows the exhilarating journey of a new generation of young Americans as they strive to find meaning in a post-9/11 world. Armstrong wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book with the show’s director, Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening). The album’s arrangements and orchestration were done by Tony Award-winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), who is the show’s music supervisor, orchestrator and music arranger. Armstrong is the album’s producer.
The album features the entire Broadway cast, including Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr. as “Johnny”, Tony Vincent as “St. Jimmy,” Stark Sands as “Tunny,”Michael Esper as “Will,” Rebecca Naomi Jones as “Whatsername,” Christina Sajous as “Extraordinary Girl,” and Mary Faber as “Heather.” The show is choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Steven Hoggett (Black Watch) andCarmel Dean is the Music Director.
For more information, visit www.greenday.comor www.AmericanIdiotOnBroadway.com.
AMERICAN IDIOT follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration – an exhilarating journey borne along by Green Day‘s electrifying songs. This high-octane show includes every song from the album, as well as several new songs from 21st Century Breakdown. Green Day won two Grammys ®- Best Rock Album and Record of the Year – for its multi-platinum American Idiot, which sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Now the band brings this explosive album to the stage with the director of Spring Awakening, which won eight Tony Awards in 2007.
The show features scenic design by Tony-nominee Christine Jones (Spring Awakening), costume design by Baryshnikov fellow Andrea Lauer (The Butcher of Baraboo), lighting design by two-time Tony-winner Kevin Adams (Hair), Sound design by Obie Award-winner Brian Ronan (Cabaret), as well as video design byDarrel Maloney.
AMERICAN IDIOT will be produced on Broadway in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
Green Day (Music & Lyrics)- vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool – were loud, snotty, scrappy kids from working-class backgrounds who came of age in the underground punk scene in Berkeley. Even though they had released two records prior (1039 / Smooth Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk), they announced their arrival with 1994′s Dookie, a dynamic blast of exuberant three-chord punk-pop that spoke to bored teenagers everywhere. The album eventually sold 15 million copies, earned the band its first Grammy® Award, and inspired a raft of imitators. Over the years, Green Day continued to top the charts with their subsequent studio albums Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning while entertaining millions of fans with their frenetic live shows. But it was their landmark 2004 album American Idiot that launched Green Day into the stratosphere. “Jesus of Suburbia” set the tone by telling a tale of the choice between self-destruction and redemption that resonated with listeners of all ages, nationalities, and political persuasions. American Idiot debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. It spawned five hit singles, earned seven Grammy® nominations (winning two, including Rock Album of the Year), and raised the bar for modern rock and roll. This year,Green Day released its new album 21st Century Breakdown, to critical acclaim. The first single off of the album, “Know Your Enemy”, was the first song ever to top the “Rock Songs”, “Alternative Songs” and “Mainstream Rock Tracks” Billboard charts at the same time. The second single, “21 Guns”, has gone platinum, selling more than one million downloads, earned Grammy® Nominations for “Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals” and “Best Rock Song”, while the video won three 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in September, including “Best Rock Video”. 21st Century Breakdown earned a third 2010 Grammy® Nomination for “Best Rock Album”. For more information on Green Day, visitgreenday.com.
