Opened: April 20, 2010

Book by: Billie Joe Armstrong & Michael Mayer

Music by: Green Day

Lyrics by: Billie Joe Armstrong

Original Broadway Cast: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Vincent, Stark Sands, Michael Esper, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Christina Sajous, Mary Faber, Declan Bennett, Andrew Call, Gerard Canonico, Miguel Cervantes, Joshua Henry, Brian Charles Johnson, Leslie McDonel, Chase Peacock, Theo Stockman, Ben Thompson, Alysha Umphress & Libby Winters

Exploding with energy and urgency, American Idiot is a fine display of Green Day’s popular songs, but the storyline is cut too short.

Johnny (John Gallagher Jr.), Tunny (Stark Sands) and Will (Michael Esper) decide to leave Jingletown. Will gets stuck staying with his pregnant girlfriend Heather (Mary Faber). Johnny turns to drugs as he falls in love with Whatersname (Rebecca Naomi Jones) and Tunny goes off to war.

The vocalists are fantastic and don’t have any hint of a traditional Broadway sound. Instead, they embrace the punk-rock of Green Day’s score.

However, there’s not much dialogue in between the songs and those unfamiliar with the lyrics will lose track of where the story is going. If this had been split into a two-act show, the character development could’ve been stronger.

Final say: The enemy is a short running time. ★★★☆☆