When “Green Day’s American Idiot” premiered on Broadway in 2009, it made headlines as a punk rock opera written by Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong, seen by many as a rock star ahead of his time.
The production tackled illicit drug use, war and unplanned pregnancies to the upbeat grunge tune of the band’s renowned hit album, “American Idiot.”
This fall, American Stage Theatre Company is presenting “Green Day’s American Idiot” with a colorful cast of musical theatre actors and creative team ready to make it their own. It’s still Green Day, it still rocks, but it has an eccentric St. Pete style flavor.
Opening night is Sept. 9, but the seven-person main cast and the nine-person ensemble have been working to bring Green Day’s 90s sound and disillusionment to life since August. The rock musical features 22 of the band’s songs and is full of electrifying rock and spine-tingling moments of hardships and sorrow.
Director Gavin Hawk has been dreaming of a show like this one since he was a high school kid in the punk scene of the late ‘80s and ‘90s grappling with his home life. When he was 14, Hawk’s mother suffered injuries in a car crash caused by a drunk driver. His friends at the time encouraged him to attend rock shows and get into the music scene.
“I think teenage me would be thrilled that his two passions – theatre and punk rock – had been merged together, and in a way that doesn’t feel reductive of the power of the music,” Hawk says. “Like any good punk rocker, I am wary of the commercialization of this thing I love.
“There’s nothing wrong with making money off it, though, as long as you stay true to the thing you are representing,” he continues. “Teenage me would also wonder why current me didn’t have more tattoos.”
Hawk’s come a long way since his youthful angst, directing multiple hit shows throughout Tampa Bay. He’s also a professor of theater at Eckerd College.
Unlike the original show on Broadway that reflects on the dismay following 9-11, Hawk says American Stage’s version isn’t set in any particular time period, though there are still references to war.
“We were still in Afghanistan in 2022,” Hawk notes. “This ‘American Idiot’ could happen anytime, anywhere.”
Casting a crew of ironically flawed characters through virtual audition tapes to make that a reality was no simple task. “American Idiot” circles three men, Johnny (Johnny Shea), Will (Nathan David Smith) and Tunny (Zummy Mohammed).
Plagued with the boredom of suburbia, the three beer-guzzling protagonists belt out the need for a change, any change. Change comes, of course, but not in the way they hope.
Johnny and Tunny leave the suburbs behind for the big city. Will plans to flee with them but stops in his skinny jeans when his girlfriend, Heather (Mia Massero) tells him she’s pregnant.
Offstage, 25-year-old Mohammed is a proud Brooklynite, Egyptian-American and a gay man. He travels to Florida frequently to visit his family in Bradenton and works in the Sunshine
State when he can. Local fans may recognize him from his role as Lyle and Dance Captain in American Stage’s “Footloose” in the park earlier this year.
Tunny in “American Idiot” is written as a stark contrast to Mohammed; he’s a heterosexual character who enlists in the military and ultimately loses a leg due to impulsive behavior.
While recovering from his injuries in a bed-stricken state, Tunny hallucinates that he sees a beautiful young nurse, “The Extraordinary Girl” (Ari Glauser) dancing in a dream. He’s entranced by her miraged image, and Mohammed sees this behavior as something not widely recognized in his character.
“I think Tunny is a little gay,” Mohammed laughs. “I was having this talk with Ari, who plays The Extraordinary Girl. I think my character didn’t see her character as a whole person until he saw her as a nurse. It reminded me of the crushes I had on my girl friends growing up. Tunny is an uninspired guy that doesn’t know who he wants to be.”
What does Hawk think of Mohammed’s take on Tunny?
“I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s important that actors find a link to their characters and a way to really fuel the performance,” Hawk says. “I call it ‘an actor’s secret.’”
It isn’t the first time the LGBTQ community has had ties to Green Day. In 1994, openly gay punk band Pansy Division went on tour with the band, which refused to play anywhere that wouldn’t allow Pansy Division to perform. The next year, Armstrong himself publicly came out as bisexual.
Mohammed’s interpretation of his character is one that comes at a difficult personal time, however. The Pennsylvania native came out as gay to his family this summer while working on the show.
He says it’s great to be completely open about his identity, but it hasn’t been easy.
“It didn’t go well. I love and respect my dad so much, so it’s been very hard,” Mohammed explains. “I’m the same gay boy that I’ve been for 25 years.”
He got his start with theatre and dance when he was in primary school, becoming infatuated with the stage in high school. Despite his family’s concerns that performance art was not a career path worth pursuing, he’s had one foot in acting, dancing and singing ever since.
Despite all this, Mohammed hopes his father will come to the production.
“I hope he will come see me. He’s very proud of the work. I continue to open his eyes to it and I know that our culture does not see this as a career, so me doing big things surprises him,” Mohammed says. “My mom will come several times. I know that.”
Like the difficult life change Mohammed is experiencing, “American Idiot” tells the story of an imperfect humanity’s generational trauma.
Mohammed hopes that audiences see this and take something away from the production.
“America is in a tumultuous time,” he says. “With mass shootings to everything going on right now, I hope people learn that growth is painful, and if we visit these tough subjects, we open the conversation up.”
Abby Baker, in addition to freelancing for Watermark, is the communication coordinator for American Stage. The venue’s production of “Green Day’s American Idiot” plays Wednesdays-Sundays Sept. 9-Oct. 2 at 163 3rd St. N. in St. Petersburg. Times vary and tickets are $45, with reduced preview prices Sept. 7-8. Learn more at AmericanStage.org.
