American Idiot at the Milwaukee Theatre

American Idiot at the Milwaukee Theatre

The company of American Idiot Photo by Litwin Sure, the aughts are behind us. “W” is now clearing Texas brush full time, and Facebook isn’t just for college freshmen. But the spirit of that time (and the rebellion waged against it) lives on in American Idiot, the 2010 Broadway show based on Green Day’s classic “rock opera” album of 2004. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong co-wrote the libretto, which follows the struggle of spiky-haired kids in eyeliner as they search for the meaning of it all. Award-winning albums notwithstanding, this is no humdrum jukebox musical. American Idiot (April 12-13). Milwaukee…


The company of American Idiot
Photo by Litwin

Sure, the aughts are behind us. “W” is now clearing Texas brush full time, and Facebook isn’t just for college freshmen. But the spirit of that time (and the rebellion waged against it) lives on in American Idiot, the 2010 Broadway show based on Green Day’s classic “rock opera” album of 2004. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong co-wrote the libretto, which follows the struggle of spiky-haired kids in eyeliner as they search for the meaning of it all. Award-winning albums notwithstanding, this is no humdrum jukebox musical.

American Idiot (April 12-13). Milwaukee Theatre. 500 W. Kilbourn Ave., 800-745-3000, milwaukeetheatre.com.

Paul Kosidowski is a freelance writer and critic who contributes regularly to Milwaukee Magazine, WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio and national arts magazines. He writes weekly reviews and previews for the Culture Club column. He was literary director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater from 1999-2006. In 2007, he was a fellow with the NEA Theater and Musical Theater Criticism Institute at the University of Southern California. His writing has also appeared in American Theatre magazine, Backstage, The Boston Globe, Theatre Topics, and Isthmus (Madison, Wis.). He has taught theater history, arts criticism and magazine writing at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.