Berkeley Rep Blog
Category archive: At the theatre
More American Idiot contest winners
posted by Chad Jones on Thu, Sep 10, 2009
in At the theatre
We asked members of Green Day's fan club — the Idiot Club — to tell us why they want to see Berkeley Rep's world-premiere production of American Idiot with a promise that we would choose one entry as the grand-prize winner (premium tickets to the show plus a gift bag full of all kinds of American Idiot- and Green Day-related goodies) and one runner-up (tickets to the show).
From the 245 entries, winners have been selected, and here's what they wrote:
"Never has an album affected my life so immensely. The first song I heard off American Idiot was 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams,' and I was sitting on my living room floor watching music videos when it came on. I even remember the date: December 13th, 2004. It was as if he was singing straight to me. I was going through my parents' divorce and my brothers going to Iraq, and — yes — my uncle getting throat cancer. My strong adolescence didn’t help my family's situations either. All I did was rebel because I had no escape, no way to deal with my pain and anger — until American Idiot. I would spend hours in my room lying on my bed listening to that CD, first song to the last over and over and create the images in my mind — dreaming. American Idiot gave me hope, inspired me, and sparked my undying love for music. I would love to see this amazing work of art performed on stage."
— Lydia in Missouri, grand-prize winner
"Green Day has been one of my favorite bands for the past 10 years. I'm almost 18 years old, so that's most of my life. I've only seen them once live, but out of the 80+ bands I've seen live, they are by far one of the best. I lived in the Bay Area until I was 15 and then I moved to Arizona. I just recently moved back to CA, so I'm very excited to see this show. It's going to be amazing! My dad is a huge Green Day fan but he's still in Arizona. If I won these tickets, he'd most likely fly up to see the show with me and I'd love that since we were supposed to see them live but then I moved last minute."
— Casey in San Ramon, runner-up
Stay tuned to this blog for upcoming contests...
Rebecca Naomi Jones is Whatsername
and John Gallagher, Jr. is Johnny in American Idiot.
Photo by Doug Hamilton
Comments: 6 | Read comments
Off the wall — literally
posted by Chad Jones on Wed, Sep 9, 2009
in At the theatre
Before and after performances of American Idiot at the Roda Theatre, you'll find a crowd of people in the lobby writing on the wall. Not to worry, they're all scribbling on the graffiti wall specifically designed to showcase their thoughts, emotions, and messages. Reading the wall, we found that audiences members had come from as far as New York, Denver, Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Texas, and Washington, D.C., to see the first previews.
After only a few performances of American Idiot, the wall was pretty much full. We'll be putting up some fresh paper for incoming audiences, but we didn't want to cover up any of the old graffiti without at least sharing some of the highlights.
"This was the most amazing performance on the planet." — Cameron C.
"This show does something magical. it takes frustration and turns it into pathos. The music of Green Day never did anything for me. Until now. Performers and musicians, thank you." — R.
"Berkeley Rep is one of the most amazing places in my life. I grew up to Green Day. The combination? Awesome."
"I laughed. I cried. Brilliant. Love it."
Comments: 13 | Read comments
When it's time
posted by Megan Wygant on Fri, Sep 4, 2009
in At the theatre
Last night was the invited dress for American Idiot, or, as director Michael Mayer put it, "the first tech rehearsal we'll make it through without stopping. We hope." As implied, "invited dress" was a dress rehearsal (all sets, lights, costumes, sound, in place) — with a very special extra factor: an audience.
Specifically, a friendly audience. Even more specifically: the staff of Berkeley Rep, the actors' families, a few assorted friends and Green Day band members (see photo below). It was still officially a technical rehearsal, with huge swaths of seats held off-limits for the production team. Much of the front section of the house kept empty so that people could move easily throughout the theatre as needed, so it definitely didn't look like a regular performance...but it also didn't feel like rehearsal any longer.
For those of us who haven't been in the rehearsal room day in and out, we've had a few specific opportunities to check in and witness the show's progression — the sing-through, the run-through, and now, the invited dress. Each time, I've found it fascinating to discover what elements have been added, and how they affect my experience of the production. Personally, I've always been a big believer that lighting and sound shouldn't make or break a show — either a moment holds up without them, or it just doesn't work. I mention this because during the latest iteration of rehearsals, the effects were added. And they did exactly what they were supposed to do: add drama and dimension to key moments, and augment — while without overwhelming — the work that the actors were already doing.
Comments: 8 | Read comments
A tasty toast to American Idiot
posted by Chad Jones on Thu, Sep 3, 2009
in At the theatre
With previews for American Idiot beginning this week — at long last! — we'd like to raise a glass in honor of this ambitious, head-banging, sure-to-be-incredible show. In fact, we'd like to raise several glasses. Our highly skilled resident mixologists have outdone themselves concocting irresistible libations to celebrate the world premiere of American Idiot. Of course, the lobby bar will be offering Pabst Blue Ribbon — what punk doesn't love PBR? — and you don't even have to wonder if there will be whiskey chasers available (duh). If PBR is a little too punk for you, fret not. There's also an outstanding selection of local brews including Pyramid Hefeweizen, Bison Brewery IPA, and Speakeasy Brewery Prohibition Amber, and there are a couple imports as well, Heineken and Newcastle.
But oh, the cocktails! Inspired by the show, our bartenders are serving for your delectation:
Comments: 2 | Read comments
Green Day talks about American Idiot
posted by Chad Jones on Fri, Aug 28, 2009
in At the theatre
Interviewed by Access Hollywood, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool shared some thoughts on turning American Idiot into a world-premiere theatrical event at Berkeley Rep:
And while we're on the subject, here are some links to help you catch up on what the world is already saying about American Idiot:
- The San Francisco Chronicle's Pink Section cover story on American Idiot.
- The SF Bay Guardian's fall preview cover story on American Idiot.
- Rolling Stone zeroes in on the incredibly talented American Idiot cast.
Comments: 3 | Read comments
Six pics I wish I'd taken last Monday
posted by Megan Wygant on Thu, Aug 6, 2009
in At the theatre
As you might have guessed from reading Andrew's post, last Monday —- July 27 — had been circled in red on the company management calendar for the past two months. If you're just joining us here, last Monday was the day that the American Idiot team — 19 actors, two understudies, and countless designers and design assistants — would arrive in the Bay Area for the first time.
When the marketing department learned we’d be picking about 30 people up from Oakland Airport on Monday, they asked if we’d take photos to share with the blog. We couldn’t do that for a lot of reasons, among them being that our hands were filled with bags and contracts and keys (I'd like to pause for a second to give a shout-out to John Gay, Andrew Susskind, Bok Choy, and Johnny Van Chang for becoming honorary members of company management for the day — accomplishing the airport pickups as easily as we did was definitely a team effort). We also figured that no one wanted their photo taken after flying for six hours. In coach. Especially when you had to be at your first airport at 7am, East Coast time.
Still, I wish I had taken pictures, if only because it was a really neat day. So, here are the captions of six photos I would go back and take, if only I had access to a time machine.
Comments: 3 | Read comments
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right
posted by A Susskind on Wed, Aug 5, 2009
in At the theatre , News
Last week we announced the creative team for Green Day's American Idiot (you can read about it in Rolling Stone). This week, we announced the cast, a group of extremely talented performers, all of whom bring tremendous abilities to our stage (Playbill.com, Variety and the LA Times are among those who've picked up the story).
Berkeley Rep is a great place to work because we not only endeavor to maintain an environment in which talented artists can do their best work, but we also have a fantastic corporate culture for our full-time and seasonal staff that provides them with opportunities to interact with our visiting artists and to spend time working cross-departmentally on special projects.
Last week, a group of us helped our Company Management Department with a very special project... Meeting the cast of American Idiot at the Oakland Airport and driving them to their local housing.
Euphrates, Andrew, Jamie, Jonny, John and Megan waiting at the airport for the cast to arrive
I had five of the actors in my van: Matt Caplan, Mary Faber, Chase Peacock, Libby Winters, and Brian Charles Johnson. We made a quick stop-off at In-N-Out (for a few, it was their first time eating at the California favorite) and made it to their apartment building just as the luggage van was rolling up (we had so many people we needed a van just for their luggage!). After a brief break we went to Whole Foods and Safeway so the new Bay Area residents could pick up some essentials.
During our drive they sang with the radio and we talked about San Francisco, Berkeley, New York, musical theatre, and Green Day. They talked about how great it was to work on this project and how awesome it was to hang out with Billie Joe, Tre Cool, and Mike Dirnt after a concert over the weekend.
This is a wonderful group of people -- this show is going to totally kick ass.
Comments: 3 | Read comments
Box Office Olympics
posted by Elana McKernan on Wed, Jul 22, 2009
in At the theatre
Summers at Berkeley Rep are traditionally a time for the organization to take a collective breath, to finish up tasks from the previous season, and to prepare ourselves for the season to come. In the box office, we are grateful for the extra time to process subscriptions, clean up our database, and tackle ongoing projects that fell by the wayside during the previous months. Last summer, there were days when we received more "wrong number" calls than we did legitimate ones.
Well, in case you hadn't noticed, things are a little different around here this summer. Our dear friend Carrie Fisher decided to pay us a visit. We're thrilled to have her, but she's definitely spiced up our summer phone lives.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
Squeaky Clean
posted by Megan Wygant on Fri, Jul 17, 2009
in At the theatre
While it might feel like midsummer to all of you out there, to us at Berkeley Rep, the scent of autumn is in the air. See, work on our first show of the season, Green Day’s American Idiot, began in earnest a few weeks ago. The prop shop is searching for trash, sets are being constructed, actors have been cast, costumes are being rendered...and all eyes are trained on the prize: getting to the first week of September and the start of previews.
Well, almost all eyes. I recognize that my main focus right now should be on the logistics of bringing more than 30 actors, designers, and associated artists to Berkeley in the coming weeks; thinking about flights, contracts, housing, and all the tiny details that you would never consider when thinking about how theatre artists get from point A to point B. This isn't just an ordinary business trip -- any actors coming to Berkeley from out of town are effectively moving here for four months. And a major part of my job is to accomplish that move smoothly, so that they can do their job as best they can, once they're here.
And yet, that's not what I'm thinking about. I'm thinking about the fellows.
Comments: 1 | Read comments
Even Eddie Fisher Gets Carried Away
posted by Robert Sweibel on Mon, Jul 13, 2009
in At the theatre
Well, we've survived the first weekend of Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking. The Roda was close to sold out for the first six performances.
Carrie attracts the most fun audiences -- fans of her best-selling books, the recovery movement, the celebrity seekers, a big LGBT following, and yes, Star Wars fanatics. And of course the general theatre-going communities. They're all having so much fun. They love the extraordinary photos of Carrie taken by Rebecca Martinez that decorate the lobby. They love the specialty drinks -- Princess Leia's Pleasure, Rum & Coke Zero, and my personal favorite, Darth Vodka. They love Carrie.
I saw the show on Thursday night. Rapturous ovation at the end. No surprise -- we're going to have a great run. On Friday night, well, big surprise. Turns out Carrie's dad Eddie Fisher was in the house. A natural star himself, Eddie joined Carrie on stage and they sang a duet of "If I Loved You" from Carousel. The audience was very moved. Rapturous ovation.
Rapturous ovations nightly!
Just nine performances left. Tickets are flying out the door. Reserve your seats now.