American Idiot - Arts Theatre / Tour

Sam Lavery was also X-Factor, saw her in concert within last year, good to see her getting a prominent stage role.

For fact fans, he was the runner up to Sam Bailey.

Saw this at the 5pm showing in Brum tonight.Hands hurting from clapping like a demented seal to support the cast and help cover the fact that the audience numbers were rather limited shall we say.We were sat in row C of the Dress on 2 for 1 tickets and there were only a few people behind us.
The show is raucous and delivered with gusto from start to finish.Great energy.The band were on fire(not literally).A simple storyline but the songs are iconic.Feels like a rock opera.Lots of merch.I plumped for the rather nice double-sided fridge magnet.Nice touch with the ushers dressed in post-punk gear.Winderful programme notes.For example,Sam Lavery trained hard for the Great North Run we are told and Davina McCall was one of the other runners...oh and Mo Farrah won the race.
Must admit I do admire Selladoor.They seem to know their limits in a good way and we have seen nearly everything they have produced.Amelie and Little Miss Sunshine next!

Saw the 4pm Show in Brum yesterday, front row and had a blast! This is my fourth time seeing this brilliant piece, the cast always give it their all and its got so much life and energy about it, A real kick up the arse that musical theatre often needs. Tom threw what i think was supposed to be a joint to me, which i caught, but on closer inspection turned out to be a twiglet lol! Like someone else posted i also loved the dress code of the ushers here, really set the tone.

Two very small down points to yesterday, I loved it so much more at the Arts theatre played straight through without an interval. I know the last tour had one too but it completely kills all the atmosphere stone dead, plus the structure of the piece was never intended as a two act play in the first place so with an interval wedged in it seems somewhat fractured.

Also this show fits small venues so much better, the energy of the cast should feed into the crowd and vice versa,like an intimate rock gig more than a musical, and all this is lost in a huge barn like the Alexandra. At the Arts theatre, the cast were virtually on top of the audience, and it seemed so much more visceral and kinetic. Plus it doesn't help that a show like this cant hope to sell out these large theatres, so the empty sections(there were quite a few) do not help the atmosphere one bit,and the audience was completely dead yesterday afternoon until the end. A much smaller, gig size crowd always works better with this show.

Other than that I do love this show,had no interest in the band or the album before i saw it, now im a fan of both. Normally don't like this sort of music at all but this show has even led to me seeing the real Green Day a couple of years ago.

Why thank you alltheworld, makes a change to be complimented on a post I make on here instead of criticised! Funnily enough I was thinking Rock City would be a perfect venue myself. Send my compliments to the Soldier lol, he had exactly the right body type to spend the entire show either in his y fronts or topless right in front of my face, no complaints from me!! And of course he’s a very talented actor and musician lol.😂😂 xx

Ha Im the opposite. I hammer the keyboard, hit post and then deal with consequences of offending or enraging atleast one person haha.

I think its probably more ignorance on my part haha
Wait, ARE YOU CALLING ME TOXIC? How dare you even think of replying to me in that.... joke!

Saw this in Blackpool a while ago and was very pleasantly surprised. Thought this was totally not my cup of tea and only booked due to a £10 premium ticket deal. Really energetic show and an excellent cast. Had some passing familiarity with the American Idiot album but none of Green Day's other work. Cast album has been on repeat since, though I haven't gone as far as to look into their back catalogue!

However the atmosphere in Blackpool was awful with 90% of the theatre empty. Felt terrible for the cast facing that, needed fewer days at the venue or finding a smaller venue.

Enjoyed it so much I went again in Manchester, much busier and more responsive audience and the show was the better for it. Agreed with the above posters that smaller venues would have worked much better for this tour. Definitely work checking out even if the music isn't what you normally plump for, especially since there'll probably be more half-empty venues with heavy discounts...

Any offers cropping up for this one in Wimbledon?

Thanks! Yeah that's what I thought. Working with a lower budget because I'm bringing a non-stagey friend (it's the call of Green Day!), so I'd hate to buy a cheap seat and then end up stuck behind swathes of empty seats. TOTAL vibe killer. Especially for something as high octane as AI.

Anyway I'll keep an eye out...

I loved this show when I seen it a while back. The songs are fantastic and the cast were great. It's a shame it doesn't sell better, but it's overlooked by a lot of musical theatre fans and maybe the older audience as they don't know much about it and it's generally not their cup of tea, but I think a lot of people would enjoy it if they gave it a go. It's a simple, but good story. Smaller venues would be better for it, but it's still great to see it in any venue.