Green Day's 'American Idiot'

At opening night of ArtsWest's production of "Green Day's American Idiot," I stood on stage with the rest of my group for the night and gave the audience the finger. That might give you the tiniest inkling that this performance is completely different from any theater experience you've had before. I'll save you reading the rest of the review: this show is incredible. Just go get your tickets and enjoy the ride.

I knew nothing about Green Day when I arrived for the show, directed by Eric Ankrim with book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer, and lyrics by Armstrong, except that they're a band. The show, which the website describes as "(e)qual parts house party, opera, rock concert and theater," is based on Green Day's album "American Idiot" and follows three childhood friends along very different paths into adulthood, using the songs from the album as a soundtrack.

Tunny (Justin Huertas) goes into the military where he is wounded in action; Johnny (Frederick Hagreen) gets involved with some seedy friends and ends up addicted to drugs; and Will (Michael Coale Grey) stays in his home town with his pregnant girlfriend, Heather (Chelsea LeValley).

The stories of the individuals are almost irrelevant although the performances are marvelous. Tunny's recruitment into the military ("Favorite Son" and "Are We the Waiting") was beautifully moving, as was the scene after his wounding when he falls in love with his nurse, Extraordinary Girl (Jimmie Herrod).

When Johnny reached the depths of his drug addiction and narrated a hopeless letter to his mother, the audience was practically holding its breath. And when he threw his drug supplies down into a hole in the stage, the audience burst into spontaneous supportive applause. LeValley gave a marvelous performance of "Too Much, Too Soon" when her character Heather walks out on Will.

Despite the differences in the individual plot lines, the show is about shared experience on multiple levels. Firstly, I felt the powerful sense of the ensemble of people who came together to create this show. The cast is large, enthusiastic and incredibly talented, and I can't even begin to imagine the logistics behind the scenes to create the craziness that is this musical. (More on that later!)

The audience is invited into that cohesive group experience in a very unique way by splitting it into four groups. One is observational and sits in a traditional theater seating area, and the other three are immersive and move around from place to place all over the theater during the show. Rather than being just an audience, we become part of a sub-culture, each experiencing the show in a slightly different way from different perspectives.

Finally, there's the shared experience of a generation. For those who recognize Green Day as part of the soundtrack of their development into adulthood, the musical will hit an obvious chord. Those of us who grew up before Green Day can easily understand and appreciate the idea of what it means to have this shared generational resonance that exists regardless of our individual backgrounds. If you have an appreciation for music, and a sympathetic thrill for the anthem of youth, you will enjoy this music even if it's not the music of your time.

I highly recommend the immersive ticket, although it's not for everyone. If you choose that path, you need to be comfortable moving around frequently and sometimes at a jog in the dark and up and down stairs, as well as standing for periods up to 20 minutes and sitting on the floor. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes and don't bring anything you need to carry in your hands.

I got the sense that the "Jesus of Suburbia" group might have been slightly more sedate (I was in "St. Jimmy's" and the other option was "Military"), but there's still a good amount of standing involved. We're planning to go back again to try a different track.

Which brings me to the technical end of things, an absolutely vital component of the show. Try to imagine herding your audience into four different groups as they arrive, keeping track of them and keeping them safe and happy, making sure that they end up where they're supposed to be, in locations literally all over the building, while keeping a musical with an enormous cast and orchestra running smoothly and you get a sense of what ArtsWest took on with "Green Day's American Idiot."

There are too many to note individually, but bravo to the people behind the scenes, as well as the ensemble players who took the audience under their wings, for managing that utter chaos with perfect finesse. Beats me how they did it. ArtsWest has really stepped up their game under the artistic direction of Matthew Wright and they are a theater to watch out for!

"Green Day's American Idiot" runs through Oct. 11 at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, 4711 California Ave. SW in Seattle. For information or tickets, call 206-938-0339 or visit www.ArtsWest.org.