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Green Day -- live at last

posted by Bert Reptile on Mon, Aug 17, 2009
in Backstage buzz

With rehearsals for Green Day's American Idiot in full swing, we here at Berkeley Rep are happily immersed in the living, breathing world of Green Day on a day-to-day basis.

And almost as if on cue, here come the living, breathing members of Green Day themselves! Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool arrive in San Jose at the HP Pavilion Tuesday, Aug. 18 as part of the North American leg of their tour promoting the new record, 21st Century Breakdown.

Reviews for the concerts have been extraordinary -- you can read a selection of them on the Green Day website.

After San Jose -- the closest the band members get to their East Bay homes -- there are still a few dates left on the tour: San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. Between the end of this tour and the beginning of the international tour (launching Sep 29 in Lisbon), we expect to spot the band members attending rehearsals for American Idiot, which begins previews Sep 4 in the Roda Theatre and runs through Oct 11.

The above photo (taken by Carole Litwin) documents the last time Tré, Billie Joe, and Mike (seen with director/co-book writer Michael Mayer and arranger, orchestrator, and music supervisor Tom Kitt) dropped in on the American Idiot creative process. We imagine they'll be doing the same thing after they catch their collective breath following the final concert on Aug 25, weighing in on the incredible work Michael, the creative team, and the cast have been doing in rehearsal.

It's not every day, after all, that a classic rock album becomes a highly anticipated world-premiere piece of rock theatre. You definitely want a front-row seat for that magnitude of creative endeavor.

Tickets for American Idiot are selling fast. Visit our online box office or call 510 647-2949 today.

Photo by Carole Litwin