After months of anticipation, Cordwainer Productions’ American Idiot opens on Friday, December 4th at Market Hall in Peterborough. Directed by Dane Shumak and Jaime Schaffel, American Idiot is not only the final musical of 2015, but marks the end of a bold and exciting era of Peterborough theatre.
American idiot is an energetic and edgy musical featuring a perfect cast and company. It truly is an accumulation of some of the best that the Peterborough theatre community has to offer.
Based on the classic album of the same name by punk rock band Green Day, American Idiot was the theatrical collaboration between the band’s front man Billy Joe Armstrong and Tony award-winning producer Michael Mayer. The show, which became a surprise Broadway hit in 2010, presents Armstrong’s cutting commentary on a post-9/11 America filled with anguish and anxiety.
A show without heroes, American Idiot is a bleak look at the crumbling American myth. It’s a musical about a lost generation in an era without an identity, and looks at events and politics of the recent past that are impossible to romanticize. The success of American Idiot is that it doesn’t try to find the silver lining.
It’s takes an honest look at our modern history, holding a mirror up to the audience. It’s a story of the people you lost touch with as they dropped out of college and fell off the radar. No matter what path your life has taken, you’ll find something in the story you can relate to. It may be something that’s very real and very raw, or something long buried you don’t want to be reminded of — but you’ll find it.
Ryan Hancock takes centre stage as Johnny, who goes to the city and encounters two figures who motivate his story: a young woman called Whatshername (Caitlin Currie) and a spasmodic pusher known as St. Jimmy (Kevin Lemeuix).
Together, they become a powerful threesome fighting an erotic power struggle between sex, drugs, and sanity. In the end, it becomes a battle that nobody will ever truly win.
It’s difficult to like Johnny, but it’s also often easy to identify with him. Hedonistic, cocky, hollow, and a believer in his own delusional mythos, Johnny is the unsympathetic anti-hero. Ryan plays him with stark realism, making him a symbol of the lost boys who get chewed up and spit out by the big city.
But it’s Kevin Lemieux who owns the stage as St. Jimmy. Terrifying, energetic, and magnetic, Kevin is a juggernaut of endless energy who captivates the audience. It’s impossible to take your eyes off him. He’s like the villain of a horror film in all its evil glory. Forget Jared Leto: Kevin Lemieux is The Joker. He makes St. Jimmy the most engaging of all of the characters, which is terrifying given what he represents. I’ve seen Kevin in many shows, but St. Jimmy is easily his most exciting performance.
When preparing to leave, Will finds out he has gotten his girlfriend Heather (Bronte Germain) pregnant and stays behind to take responsibility for what is an unwanted pregnancy — and to try halfheartedly to start a family with the girl back home.
Will wallows throughout the show in a stoned state of depression and apathy, longing for adventure and believing there’s something more than the life he’s living.
As a result of his depression and lack of motivation or ability to grow up, he risks losing the girl who made him stay behind and the child he has unwittingly brought into the world.
As Will’s girlfriend Heather, Bronte Germain plays the polar opposite of Caitlin’s Whatshername character. While Whatshername is the fantasy, Heather is the reality.
She’s the frumpy girl back home who many young men don’t think they want, but end up getting and — when she’s gone — quickly realize was the best thing they ever had.
Bronte also has the most cutting moment of the night with her brief rendition of “Nobody Likes You”, which isn’t just a slap at Will, but also cuts the audience like a blunt knife.
The third story in American Idiot follows Tunny’s entrance into the military and eventually into war. Although the conflict is never identified, Tunny is wounded in a Middle Eastern country and ends up in a war hospital where he meets and falls in love with a nurse known as The Extraordinary Girl (played by Caleigh Chirico).
Taylor Beatty as Tunny is possibly the most likable of the three main characters because, while the others waste away in states of self-destruction, he actually does something with himself. However, there’s no glory in war and Tunny’s loss is just as great, but in different ways.
Meanwhile, The Extraordinary Girl is perhaps the purest of the show’s characters since she’s outside the culture of apathy, and offers a sense of love and salvation for Tunny — giving hope that there may be one happy ending to American Idiot.
The big company numbers are easily the strongest part of the show, and the dance becomes true art in “Wake Me When September Ends”, which manages to capture the confusion and the tragedy of 9/11 without the cliched and nauseating sentimentality and victimization that often goes along with it. The choreography is brilliant and emotional and a real triumph.
A huge shout-out goes to the show’s band made up of Lucas Duncan, Kyle Nurse, and Brayden McGregor under the direction of Sam Quinn. On stage for the entire show, the band becomes the backbone of the production, keeping its pulse. They become a character all of their own, embodying the spirit of Green Day. American Idiot is very much a dramatic rock concert, with the performers creating the story and words but the band keeping the show on track.
I’ve been a fan of Dane Shumak ever since his 2013 production of Spring Awakening. He’s always original and I’ve enjoyed watching the unique productions he has brought to the Peterborough stage. As Dane has recently relocated to Toronto, American Idiot marks his last production in Peterborough. I’m excited to see what he’ll do as he continues his career in Toronto.
I’ve often remarked about Dane’s past productions that his vision seems to be greater in scope than the players or resources available to him. American Idiot is the production in which Dane finally finds the company who can bring his ambitious vision to life. It’s his biggest and most spectacular project to date, with the perfect cast for his farewell production in Peterborough.
While American Idiot is bleak, angry, and in your face, it’s also energetic, exciting, bold, and disturbingly honest. With some of the best performers in Peterborough, this is a landmark show that you won’t forget.
American Idiot runs for six performances only, from December 4th to 10th at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough. Tickets are $23 general admission ($18 for students).
Preview photos of the production by kawarthaNOW photographer Linda McIlwain
