Green
Day’s songs in the pop-punk genre often allude to situations that paint the
youth’s subconscious diaspora from responsibilities. Their songs are not just
about sex, drugs, and rock n’roll, they also revolve around insomnia, politics,
apathy, and even suicide.
Billie
Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed the group in 1986, 5 years before the Gulf
War ended. The latter event caused the youth’s disillusionment with what they
were taught and Green Day’s songs, which reeks of lyrics dealing with the
feeling of numbness and just living every day to pass the time, were the
perfect anchorages for dashed hopes. Together with other punk bands from
California which are Sublime, Bad Religion, The Offspring, and Rancid,
they were credited for the revival of the majority population’s interest in
punk rock. However, their popularity declined from 1997 until their next
breakthrough came.
In
2004, they became a commercial success once again with their American
Idiot album topped the charts. This led to an initial show in 2009 when
the songs from the album were strung together to form a sung-through musical
about three youths in a quarter-life crisis who feel they can take on the world
in a snap. In 2010, the show officially opened on Broadway and went on to win
two Tony Awards that year.
One
of the most memorable bits from the musical’s Philippine premiere is Johnny’s
(Jason Fernandez) somber stroll in the city while exhibiting very believable
emotional catatonia and singing Boulevard
of Broken Dreams. As a first-timer in theater, he does a decent job but his
fellow theater neophyte, Basti Artadi (as Johnny’s alter-ego St. Jimmy) does a
better one. His presence commands authority and he moves with the agility and
gait of a mountain lion, which is quite a challenge considering the set pieces
are reminiscent of an unfinished construction site, steel pipes and all. Yanah
Laurel (as Whatsername) noticeably had a "less angsty" take on the character, which added a different dimension to the scene. Instead of the usual attack which was
portraying the character as someone who hurls insults at Johnny in an attempt
to retaliate because of his hurtful letter, she was portrayed as a woman who
accepted the fact that she just can’t win over St. Jimmy and she might not be
the best thing for him after all.
This
was also the first time that the LED screens, which featured really crisp and
stunning backdrops (visuals by GA Fallarme), were used in a way that made them cohesive
with the performance instead of drawing eyes to them and distracting from the
actual performance. The energy of the ensemble is electrifying but quite still
need’s push in mirroring the youth’s rage. Another facet of the production
which deserves praise is the crisp audio quality even though the venue, Bonifacio High Street Amphitheater, is
packed and there’s a bit of drizzle outside.
With
a simple storyline which ends with the three learning their individual lessons,
it is easy to misconstrue the musical as shallow. One has to listen carefully
and get into the words to get the gist of the character’s internal struggle.
Director Robbie Guevarra revealed during the first show that he envisioned the
three leads not just to be literally Americans, but Filipino-Americans. What
could be more radical than that?
American Idiot is staged by 9 Works
Theatrical in partnership with Globe and will have its last show tomorrow July 10,
8p.m. at the Bonifacio High Street Ampitheatre. For ticket inquries, you may
contact Ticketworld at 891-9999.
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