BY JAMES DEZIEL // DEC. 12, 2016 //

The crowd sits in quiet anticipation.  An announcer informs the crowd of the emergency exit locations and the lights begin to dim.  The crowd that’s been eagerly waiting for the show to start get their wish.  

The opening guitar riff of Green Day’s titular track ‘American Idiot’ begin to play (courtesy of a respectable band seated in the back of the stage) as the cast fills the stage and aisles.  The song was clearly edited in terms of tempo and was split up amongst multiple characters, as all of the songs featured in the show.  

After this, we go into the main story: three friends have finally had enough of sitting around their hometown doing nothing and decide to take off for the big city.  Not everything goes as planned, starting from the very beginning for some of them (no spoilers here, though).  The show delves into and deals with topical post-9/11 issues like war, violence, drug addiction, and the struggle to find your identity.

 It’s worth noting that the crowd was almost entirely young.  For many sitting around me it was clear that these issue and the soundtrack as a whole were familiar as well as relevant.  The cast handles the topics extremely well, and keeps the crowd attentive and eager for more.

Curry theatre presents “Green Day’s American Idiot.” // PHOTO BY CURRY COLLEGE //

The show starts with a bang and it never truly stops.  It’s pretty fast-paced and there’s no intermission.  You’ll be in and out after approximately an hour and thirty minutes.  But you’ll wish it was longer.  The performance is absolutely amazing.  All audience members from known Green Day fans as well as those who may not know any Green Day songs can’t help but enjoy the production.

The cast nails their characters as well.  Andrew Friedman (Will), Megan Kosciak (Tunny), and Devon Michael (Johnny) are the three lead characters, and they absolutely crush the roles. You truly feel their anguish, lack of identity, and struggles to adapt to a new world.  

St. Jimmy, who serves as the personification of Johnny’s addiction, is played to perfection by Joseph Capozzo.  The role in general is a difficult one to pull off when performing.  Because of what his character represents, the role has to find the right balance/ratio of over the top exaggerations, comedic timing, and movements as well as the dark and ever-looming presence that, as addiction, he needs to have.  If one outweighs the other, it can become hokey, goofy, or tiresome.  Decked out in an all black punk rock style outfit, Capozzzo takes a role once played by Green Day front-man Billie Joe Armstrong himself and absolutely nails it.  He may be the highlight of the show.

Overall, Curry College’s performance of  ‘Green Day’s American Idiot’ is a home-run show, bringing a rock concert right to the Curry community. If you missed it, you really missed out.