Following the success of last year’s “Spring Awakening” performances, Penn State’s Center for the Performing Arts is ready to rock again with Green Day’s “American Idiot” musical.
Based on the band’s 2004 album of the same name, the musical follows a group of teens struggling to break free of the fictional, suburban “Jingletown, USA.” Fans of the album will recognize the characters such as St. Jimmy and Whatshername and the songs “Jesus of Suburbia,” “Holiday” and others. The show also features music from Green Day’s 2009 album “21st Century Breakdown.”
The cast includes Penn State alumnus Dan Gleason, an ensemble member who graduated from the university’s musical theater program in 2010. “American Idiot” is Gleason’s first national tour. He described the show as “wild, crazy and in your face.”
“This is one of the most exciting stops on the tour for me, and we’re going to places like Los Angeles and San Francisco,” he said. “The audiences on the tour have been great so far, and it’s been an amazing experience for me.”
Gleason said he was a Green Day fan prior to joining the “American Idiot” cast. He recalls listening to the band’s albums “Dookie” and “Warning” growing up and was excited for the opportunity to sing the band’s music himself.
The road to the stage, however, was not so easy. Gleason said he initially struggled with time management and balancing auditions with making a living in New York.
“My first year in the city was tough … until I realized I wasn’t in New York to wait tables,” he said. “Coming out of a program like Penn State, you’re more prepared than most other people at auditions.”
Fellow cast member Scott Campbell also was a Green Day fan and quickly dove head-first into preparing for the role of Tunny, a teen who joins the military and loses his leg in war. Campbell spent time with veterans and people with prosthetics to get a sense of how to play the role authentically.
“This character has a ton of rage and struggle,” he said. “While it’s been really interesting for me to harness those things without getting caught playing the victim, it’s been great to see the visceral response people have and how intensely they get revved up for the show.”
"American Idiot" will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28-29 at Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park. Visit www.cpa.psu.edu or call 800-ARTS-TIX for more information.
