Green Day's American Idiot - Art In Motion Theatre Company (5 April 2025)

In the early going of American Idiot there are videos projected on the rear screen that give us a sense of time and place and most importantly mood. These include snippets from 9/11 and its immediate aftermath. What strikes me is how a pivotal moment in history can be used as the catalyst for vastly different types of stories. Last year saw Come From Away celebrate community and compassion in the wake of that seismic event. Here is the polar opposite. A tale of disillusionment and the struggle to find meaning in a world wracked with strife. Conveyed through the uncompromising music of punk rock. 

Attitude is paramount. Anger, frustration, regret, and longing for something more, something better. Decisions are made that lead to cataclysmic consequences as three friends learn through their mistakes that self-acceptance and belonging is a hard won battle. Quite literally for one of the characters as the Iraq War is a key historical context that informs the story. 

Another element that strikes me is that this musical, unlike a recent production at the same venue, is based on an actual concept album - Green Day's eponymous hit - with additional songs taken from a subsequent offering. While not claiming to be a Green Day fan these are well known songs from a lauded release that won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. The musical is sung through with the lyrics carrying the narrative. While the band isn't on-stage, the power and volume of the music does, at times, obscure those lyrics. However, it's the sheer brio of the playing and singing that impresses under Musical Director Callum Presbury. 

The in your face attitude is reinforced with muscular choreography by Jordan D'Arcy and Jason Nettle which often zombifies the cast and large ensemble as they stumble through the remnants of their character's lives. It also bolsters the sense of rage at the world and essential conflict as they collide with each other trapped in their own bubbles.

This is a particularly well sung production led by Liam Tickner as Johnny. He gives a full-throated performance as the central figure who descends into a drug fuelled malaise unable to cope with the disconnect between longing and reality. To such an extent Johnny creates a manifestation of his self-destructive tendencies in drug dealer St. Jimmy, played by Christian Dichiera, who also gives a full tilt portrayal. Salvation looms in the form of Whatsername played with tenderness by Jessica Reynolds until Johnny's demons outweigh his better angels and she leaves him. 

Bailey Bridgman-Peters is excellent as Tunny, the friend who makes a dramatically different choice on seeing Favourite Son (Aramis Martino) extol the virtues of American patriotism writ large. Tunny enlists in the army only to be shipped off to war and calamity. Bridgman-Peters has the bearing of a soldier but it's the slow unravelling of that demeanour into something far more vulnerable that is a standout. In Mary Carter's Extraordinary Girl, Tunny creates his own fantasy character as he laments the loss of a limb only to find acceptance through love with the real life nurse on which he bases his dreams. 

Mathew Leak completes the trio of friends - the one who didn't take the leap; caught in stasis by responsibility and inertia as his partner Heather (Breanna Redhead) falls pregnant. Leak doesn't have as many opportunities to shine as Tickner and Bridgman-Peters, largely anchored to a couch, stage left, as Will is frozen by apathy, pot, and booze. His work with Redhead though is affecting as she presents Heather as a far more spiky character not content with Will's bullshit. 

Director Chloe Palliser ratchets up the energy at every opportunity, utilising a large ensemble who use (often nerve-rackingly) movable platforms, shopping trolleys, and the multi-tiered set to clamber on and over to complement the raw nature of the music with kinetic motion. However, there are telling moments of reflection and solitude in quieter numbers played invariably by Tickner on acoustic guitar. There is also a lot of subversive undercutting of iconic American symbolism - especially the flag and the uniform - which speaks volumes as to the disaffection with the status quo. 

Highlights abound from Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Are We The Waiting, Give Me Novacaine, and there's a particularly classy touch with closing number Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). The Before the Lobotomy/Extraordinary Girl/ Before the Lobotomy (Reprise) sequence is also a deftly executed excursion into fantasy and nightmare. 

I really enjoyed this production for its no holds barred approach, a kickarse band that I thought for the longest time was a backing track - that's how good they were - and excellent vocal performances that captured the spirit of rebellion and vitriol when needed, and were plaintive and almost wistful at times as a lovely counterpoint. A powerful depiction of discontent and decay in a post 9/11 America that continues to spiral into the abyss. 

Green Day's American Idiot is on for three more shows only at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, 10-12 April. 

*Photos by Perfectly Picturesque Photography 

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Art In Motion Theatre Company (7 September 2024)

For some it's a recurring nightmare. You're walking down the street minding your own business when suddenly a pack of feral music theatre kids pounce on you out of nowhere with their jazz hands and harmonies. You stagger around the corner only to be met with a busker singing Memory. Reeling, you plunge into a company of tap dancers where anything goes. You plead with them, "All I ask of you is to stop this damn infernal music of the night." They respond with a rousing chorus of Do You Hear The People Sing. You wake up screaming, "I don't want to be welcomed to the sixties!" Sobbing, you reflect that it used to be quiet uptown.

So it is for our hero Paul who hates musicals. Except Paul isn't really our hero but we'll come to that later. For now though, this comedy horror musical sees a meteor crash into a small American town unleashing a blue goo that infects people with the urge to sing and dance. As Marlon Brando might warble, “the horror, the horror.”

Proceedings begin promisingly with the 'infected' company singing the title number where Mathew Leak in particular makes an impression as he belts out the song. What follows is an oddly paced first act where I wasn't quite sure what was being parodied. There is a lot of table setting as the characters are introduced in their normal world. Paul (Joshua Hollander) works in an office for Mr. Davidson (Leak) alongside Charlotte (Brittany Isaia), Bill (Clayton van Dijk), and Ted (Blair Price-Morgan). Paul has the hots for Emma (Escher Roe), a barista at a nearby cafe. Ted has the hots for Charlotte. Charlotte still loves her husband Sam (Leak) while Bill wants to reconnect with his daughter Alice (Georgia McGivern). Mr. Davidson has the hots for... we'll get to that. 

A long time passes before we get to the next song with the pacing quite slow as the show puts all these narrative balls in the air. The tone was also hard to pin down. Isaia's Charlotte felt more like a character from a Tennessee Williams play with a fraught portrayal of a neglected southern wife. I don't doubt the commitment to that choice, however, it didn't gel with the expected comedy horror vibe. The other issue is that Paul is totally passive as a character. He reacts to the suggestions of others - notably Roe's Emma and, later, van Dijk's Bill who is desperate to rescue his daughter - instead of driving the story forward in any meaningful way.   

There are moments in the first act that work well - What Do You Want, Paul? is a hilarious piss-take of the 'I want' song where the main character of a musical expresses their hopes and dreams in song. It's reversed here where Leak's Davidson asks the question of Paul before revealing his predilection for [say what?] with his wife while [oh my]! There's a sequence where John Carpenter's The Thing is obliquely referenced in both the behaviour of the aliens and the need to test for who's still human, amusingly by asking them to sing. I also liked the change in disposition when the later infected Charlotte and Sam launch into Join Us (And Die). The first act doesn't end on that musical number, rather a cliffhanger as Bill sets off to save Alice... with Paul in tow.

The second act is where the show works much better starting with McGivern's Not Your Seed as the infected Alice rejects her father's rescue attempt in taunting fashion. It's then that all the tropes and cliches of horror and disaster movies are parodied as the pace ramps up - destroying the 'hive brain' to wipe out all the infected; secret military agencies; stopping to have a deep conversation when urgency is called for; characters presumed dead reappearing; fake out endings; improbable twists and revelations; and the mad scientist who goes off the rails. 

Here it's Artorius Emanuel as Professor Hidgens who gives a very idiosyncratic performance that reminded me of Brent Spiner's Area 51 scientist in Independence Day. Emanuel's Professor springs a surprising revelation on us before launching into the wonderfully bizarre parody of the musical showstopper with... Show Stoppin Number. Hollander finally breaks free of the straightjacketed Paul with Let It Out as he sings up a storm to save the day. But really, Emma is our true protagonist which is hammered home at final bows in uproarious fashion with a frantic Escher Roe who is excellent throughout. 

I liked the rock style score which is well played by a five-piece orchestra under Musical Director Zac Skelton. The songs are fun and generally well sung with lots of belting as the craziness escalates. While there were some pacing and narrative issues for mine, the performances are enjoyable with the actors committing to clearly delineated archetypes including Price-Morgan as the office sleazeball and van Dijk as the single-minded father. 

Staged on a simple set, it's the growing prevalence of blue makeup and other effects that track the spread of the infected with visual clarity... along with a blue brain! Special mention also to Emma's very effective wound. Director Micheal Carroll lets his cast and even crew members embrace the zaniness, greeted with raucous approval by the more well-versed StarKid fans in the audience. The lady next to me was beside herself at times with excitement.

The show is on at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre until 15 September. 

Pictures by Perfectly Picturesque Photography 

The Trail To Oregon! - Art In Motion Theatre Company (28 October 2023)

The great westward expansion was one of the pivotal events in mid-19th century America as hundreds of thousands of settlers forged a path to the Pacific coast. One of these Emigrant Trails typically started in Missouri and wound its way thousands of kilometres to Oregon. It was a hazardous journey that, in many ways, defined the character of a young nation. Those brave souls had many obstacles to face - bandits, harsh weather, starvation, disease, wagons with octagonal wheels, deformed oxen, aggressive hand puppets, um, vengeful crustaceans, the whims of a capricious God, and, of course, dysentery. Oh, and a particularly savage and bloodthirsty race known only as The Watchers. It's a wonder any of them survived!

Yes, this comedy musical, based on a video game, takes some basic facts and runs wild with exaggeration and absurdity. It follows a family - surname chosen by the audience, in this case the Spareparts - whose farm has burned down so purchase a wagon in Independence, Missouri to head west to Oregon. The family unit comprises the Father (Mathew Leak), Mother (Lukas Perez), 7 year old Son (Verity Lux), 14 year old Daughter (Brittany Isaia), and Grandpa (Max Leunig), all named by the audience with great enthusiasm. We had a Yo Mama, Woody Woodpecker, Screw Loose, and Seymour Butts while the father's *name was probably an inside joke I didn't quite catch and seemed to change slightly on each utterance. These were incorporated into lyrics and dialogue with generally amusing effect. Riley Merigan plays a variety of characters they encounter on the way, notably the bandit McDoon.

At first I didn't quite know what to make of what was going on. The volume of the performers' mics was quite loud to compete with the onstage band so a lot of the expository lyrics were hard to catch in the early going. The humour was broad to say the least and it was all being played way over the top. Then it started to win me over as I realised what type of show it was and for this main reason - the talented cast was one hundred percent committed to the bit. Anything less and this could have devolved into a slog but they sold the hell out of the craziness with no shortage of charm and, at the end, considerable bravery. 

They were well supported by the cowboy-hat-wearing band who were all visible, corralled behind a wooden fence. There was also a bit of a home crowd feel to the audience who cheered on approvingly so I settled into a night of entertaining silliness. It also helped that the story vaguely reminded me of that great, quirky road trip movie Little Miss Sunshine where a fixated father and practical mother travel to California in a broken-down VW van with their starry-eyed daughter, withdrawn son, and crotchety grandfather. In this analogy Steve Carell is the... ah, blind and horny ox pulling the wagon (sorry, Steve). 

Every performer gets a moment to shine, whether it's Leak extolling the virtues of the journey ahead in The Grind or trying to woo Mother before the portentous Dysentery World; Perez dishing out homespun practicality and sass whilst also delivering the vocal highlight of the show with their solo When The World's At Stake; Leunig leading the cast in the whacky first act highlight Pays To Be An Animal; or Lux, displaying deft comic timing throughout, plunging headlong into the show closer Naked In A Lake where the cast strip down to tan bodysuits and tights as the second part of perhaps the zaniest ending you'll ever witness in a musical. 

The first part of that ending involves the audience selecting the fate of one of the family members. On this night it was Isaia who was tapped to perform a, shall we say, breezy and theatrically aromatic tour de force that saw her throw herself around the stage with the threat of wardrobe malfunctions aplenty. Isaia also has a strong vocal moment at the start of the second act with Lost Without You. Then there's Merigan who is the spare parts man extraordinaire to this Spareparts family. Forget dressing up as Barbie, Ken or Oppenheimer for Halloween... if you're not rocking a full-size Lobster costume (which genuinely had me in stitches) or Ox outfit you're simply not doing it right. Merigan chomps his way through the scenery with a bevy of villains and bizarre characters the family encounters.

The band under Musical Director Joshua Hollander plays an integral part in keeping the tempo upbeat, even rocketing the second act along with the frenetic Speedrun. As befits the mostly mid-west country vibes, it's a guitar (Sam Michael; Erin Steicke, bass) and banjo (Kieran Ridgway) driven score that's a jaunty accompaniment to the antics right in front of them. Hollander and Jennifer Phan play piano with Dylan Boxwell on drums and an uncredited saxophone player makes a cameo when Father is in the mood for lurve. 

Director Micheal Carroll allows plenty of room for the cast to "go big" with a sparse set and uncomplicated props including the practical simplicity of the wagon itself. Production Assistants Stella Sawyer and Tashlin Church create effective costumes for the family members with some memorable flourishes utilised for various creatures and villains. Sophie David enhances the eclectic nature of the family members with idiosyncratic choreography that favoured energy over technique. 

In all it's a boisterous show that doesn't shy away from its inherent silliness and one that the cast seemed to enjoy immensely with several corpsing alerts along the way. The audience also had a blast the night I was there and, I admit, I was heartily laughing along to the absurdity. A fun night at the theatre. 

*after inadvertent digital snooping I believe the name bestowed upon Father was Hatsune Miku who is - quick Google search - a 16 year old 'virtual idol'... okay then. *checks notes* I guess I was close with Hotsuemekoo (blank stare).