Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT

By: Mar. 04, 2016
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New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," continues its 25th anniversary season of adult, alternative musical theatre, with the first local production of the searing rock fable AMERICAN IDIOT, running now through March 26, 2016, at the company's new home, the Marcelle Theater, the new blackbox theatre space in Grand Center, St. Louis' arts district. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

This powerful, high-octane, rock fable is based on the powerhouse original album by Green Day, a scorching attack on what they saw as the hypocrisy and moral evils of the Bush Administration after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the increasingly submissive nature of the American public.

The show's score includes every song from Green Day's American Idiot, as well as several songs from their follow-up release, 21st Century Breakdown, with music by Green Day, lyrics by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, a book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer, and musical arrangements and orchestrations by Broadway composer Tom Kitt ( High Fidelity, Next to Normal, If/Then).

Lost and disconnected in a post-9/11 America, three friends, Johnny, Tunny, and Will, struggle to find meaning in their lives. The three twenty-somethings flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life, but their paths quickly diverge as Tunny enters the armed forces, Will is called back home to attend to a pregnant girlfriend, and Johnny descends into an urban underworld, following a seductive love interest and a deadly new best friend. As each of the three men learns to navigate his "alienation," we see in them America's struggle to find a new path in this new millennium, after a long period of darkness.

The cast of New Line's AMERICAN IDIOT includes Evan Fornachon (Johnny), Brendan Ochs (Will), Frederick Rice (Tunny), Chris Kernan (St. Jimmy), Sarah Porter (Whatsername), Larissa White (Heather), Sicily Mathenia (Extraordinary Girl), Kevin Corpuz, Cameisha Cotton, Clayton Humburg, Jeremy Hyatt, Omega Jones, Sean Michael, Tanya Sapp, Ariel Saul, and Gabe Taylor. The show is directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy, with scenic design by Rob Lippert, costume design by Sarah Porter, sound design by Benjamin Rosemann, and lighting design by Kenneth Zinkl.

AMERICAN IDIOT runs March 3-26, 2016, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, at 8:00 p.m., at the new Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive (63103), just three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students/seniors on Fridays and Saturdays; and only $20 for adults and $15 for students/seniors on Thursdays. For other information, visit New Line Theatre's full-service website at www.newlinetheatre.com. Note: American Idiot contains adult language and content.

Photo Credit: Jill Ritter Lindberg

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Tunny (Frederick Rice), Will (Brendan Ochs), and Johnny (Evan Fornachon)

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
The cast of New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Frederick Rice (as Tunny) and Omega Jones

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Larissa White as Heather and Brendan Ochs as Will

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Omega Jones and Gabe Taylor

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
The cast of New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Favorite Son (Kevin Corpuz) and his back-up girls (Ariel Saul, Tanya Sapp, Larissa White, Cameisha Cotton, Sicily Mathenia),

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Chris Kernan as St. Jimmy,

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Chris Kernan as St. Jimmy,

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Larissa White as Heather and Brendan Ochs as Will

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Frederick Rice as Tunny

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Sarah Porter as Whatsername

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Gabe Taylor, Brendan Ochs (as Will), and Jeremy Hyatt

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
(front) Sarah Porter as Whatsername and Evan Fornachon as Johnny with the cast of New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Brendan Ochs as Will and Larissa White as Heather

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Gabe Taylor (seated) with Brendan Ochs as Will, Larissa White as Heather, and Cameisha Cotton (seated)

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Ariel Saul, Chris Kernan as Jimmy (seated), Evan Fornachon as Johnny (laying on bed), Tanya Sapp, Larissa White, Sarah Porter as Whatsername (partially hidden), and Cameisha Cotton (in front)

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Frederick Rice (as Tunny)

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
The drug trip in 'Extraordinary Girl,' with Sicily Mathenia as Extraordinary Girl, Frederick Rice as Tunny, Kevin Corpuz, and Jeremy Hyatt

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
The drug trip in 'Extraordinary Girl,' with Sicily Mathenia as Extraordinary Girl and Frederick Rice as Tunny

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Sicily Mathenia as Extraordinary Girl and Frederick Rice as Tunny

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Brendan Ochs as Will and Larissa White as Heather

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Brendan Ochs as Will

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
The cast of New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Larissa White as Heather and Clayton Humburg as the Rock and Roll Boyfriend

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
Evan Fornachon as Johnny (in front) with the cast of New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT

Photo Flash: First Look at New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT
The cast of New Line Theatre's AMERICAN IDIOT sings 'We're Coming Home Again'



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