Last night I went to see American Idiot at the Mark Taper Forum, presented by Deaf West. Green Day is one of my favorite bands of all time, but I had only heard of the musical and never became interested in it. I was emotional from the start, sitting up front, just thinking how far this album as come. The songs were similar to the album, with some stuff from 21st Century Breakdown, I think. Dialogue was sparce (subtitles seen on projections), outside of the ensemble songs but a strong, cohesive story was told that stayed true to the mission of the music. It is about a group of friends who leave home in the midst of a propaganda-torn America, themes that resonate from 2004 to 2024, on an Into The Wild type adventure and end up getting involved with the military and substance use. Images of George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump felt interchangeable as they faded in the background. I could not help but think of Stella Adler’s comments, “an addict is someone who uses their body to tell society that something is wrong.” The show did a good job conveying teenage angst towards political authority.
Theater that is accessible is the future. I did not know what it would mean that Deaf West was putting up the production. Silly me thought that there would be an ASL interpreter at the show; but watching performances done in ASL adds another beautiful layer to the characters. The characters spoke in ASL, and other performers played music and sang in the background. The set design felt minimal, strong lighting, and a good use of projections. Stand Out performances by Daniel Durant, Milo Manheim, and Kaia T. Fitzgerald.
Stage Takes 