American Idiot Ready for Manchester, 12 November
Day’s Grammy-winning album, arrives in Manchester in November.
The show, which played 422
performances at Broadway’s St James Theater and closed in April last year, tours to the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff from 15 to
20 October, Edinburgh Playhouse from 22 to 27 October, the Clyde
Auditorium in Glasgow from 29 October to 3 November, Dublin’s Grand
Canal Theatre from 5 to 10 November, Manchester’s Palace Theatre from 12
to 24 November and Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre from 26 to 30
November.
The musical will then play a week’s run at London’s
HMV Hammersmith Apollo from 4 to 9 December 2012. A spokesperson for the
production this morning said that the show hopes for a West End berth
after its December run.
Billed as “the story of three boyhood friends, each searching for meaning in a post 9-11 world,” American Idiot has a book by Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and the show’s New York director Michael Mayer who also helms the show in the UK.
American Idiot includes Green Day tracks from the band’s 2004 album of the same name, B-sides, 2009 release 21st Century Breakdown as well as an unreleased song called “When It’s Time”.
The show, which began life with a twice-extended run at Berkeley’s
Roda Theatre in 2009, was nominated for three Tony Awards including Best
New Musical, going on to win gongs for Best Scenic Design of a Musical
and Best Lighting Design of a Musical. The musical also subsequently
picked up a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.
Amongst a cast of high-profile musicians who fronted American Idiot in New York, the show’s book writer and Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong
performed the role of thrill-seeking drug dealer St Jimmy. A new
American cast, which is still to be confirmed, will bring the show to
the UK.
American Idiot has choreography by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Steven Hoggett (Black Watch), and music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). The Tony Award-winning Christine Jones (scenic design) and Kevin Adams (lighting design) will also work with the show.
