American Idiot — Nominee for Best Musical

Opened:
April 20, 2010

The Story:
Three best friends in suburban America during the Bush years watch their lives get torn in different directions: Conflicted Johnny heads to the big city to be a rocker (falling into a life of drugs and despair), Will stays at home to raise a baby with his live-in girlfriend and Tunny goes off to war in Iraq.

Based On:
The acclaimed Grammy Award-winning pop punk album by Green Day

Show History:
After finding Tony gold with singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik on Spring Awakening, director Michael Mayer envisioned a harder-edged musical based in contemporary music after falling in love with the aforementioned Green Day album. With his Spring producers, designers and a handful of stars onboard, he premiered the show at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009 before its Broadway bow.

Authors:
Book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer; music by Armstrong, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt; lyrics by Armstrong

Producers:
Tom Hulce, Ira Pittelman, Ruth and Stephen Hendel, Vivek Tiwary/Gary Kaplan, Aged In Wood and Burnt Umber, Scott M. Delman, Latitude Link, Hop Theatricals, Jeffrey Finn, Larry Welk, Bensinger Filerman and Moellenberg Taylor, Allan S. Gordon/Elan McAllister and Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Other Honors:
—Broadway.com Audience Award nomination for Favorite New Broadway Musical
—Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Musical
—Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Musical
—Drama League nomination for Distinguished Production of a Musical

Fun Fact:
The score for the show was actually culled from two Green Day albums: American Idiot and the more recent 21st Century Breakdown, which includes the hit “21 Guns.”