Theatre News

US cast reprise roles in UK premiere of Green Day musical American Idiot

The all-American cast of Green Day musical American Idiot has been announced in the build up to its London run at the Hammersmith Apollo and preceding UK tour.

Alex Nee will star as Johnny, with Thomas Hettrick as Tunny, Casey O’Farrell as Will, Alyssa DiPalma as Whatsername, Jenna Rubaii as The Extraordinary Girl, Kennedy Caughell as Heather and Trent Saunders as the drug-dealer character St. Jimmy, who was originally played by Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong.

The show, which closed in April 2011, played a run of 422 performances at Broadway’s St James Theater and scooped two Tony awards and a Grammy.

The London run at the Hammersmith Apollo lasts from 4-9 December 2012, with rumoured hopes of a West End transfer. Prior to performances in the capital, the musical will tour six other locations including Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff, starting with the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton on October 8 2012.

Billed as “the story of three boyhood friends, each searching for meaning in a post 9-11 world,” American Idiot features songs from the 2004 album of the same name, as well as sequel 21st Century Breakdwon, ad has a book by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. New York director Michael Mayer will also helm the show in 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. The Tony Award-winning Christine Jones (scenic design) and Kevin Adams (lighting) will also work with the show.