Monday, January 10, 2011
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day Back in ‘American Idiot’
NYTimes.com: "Rock star impersonators are not exactly rare creatures on Broadway today. An imitation Elvis and Jerry Lee and friends are stirring up trouble in “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Nederlander Theater. Flesh facsimiles of Paul, John, George and Ringo are running through the Beatles’ greatest hits nightly in “Rain” at the Neil Simon.
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Having seen both Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Vincent play the role, I was surprised to find that though Mr. Armstrong is perhaps the more "starry" of the two in real life, his St. Jimmy seemed more real and more connected to the protagonist Johnny than Mr. Vincent's. Vincent's St. Jimmy was, as Isherwood said, a sort of vicious demi-god, someone of celebrity status whom the young punks bowed to. Armstrong's St. Jimmy seems to be a more direct parellel/alter-ego of Johnny (this is also in part due to some new costumes that parallel Johnny's more than Vincent's did). With Mr. Armstrong, St. Jimmy really does come from Johnny, and even when St. Jimmy begins to possess Johnny more, the entire struggle is Johnny's in a way that it wasn't before.
It's very refreshing to hear of someone who is so prominent in the world of rock and roll and music entertainment have such a profound understanding and sense of humility towards the theatrical arts. The fact that Armstrong recognizes the fact that his name is not Billie Joe when he gets on stage and that the show is not about him speaks to his character and his admiration and respect for the craft of live theatre.
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