American Idiot to close 24 Apr 2011

The Broadway rock musical American Idiot, based on the Grammy Award-winning album by the band Green Day, will play its final performance at St James Theatre on 24 Apr 2011, it had been selling tickets through to 1 May 2011. When the musical closes it will have played 421 regular performances and 27 previews.

Green Day frontman and the musical's composer and co-author Billie Joe Armstrong, who has starred in the show as 'St. Jimmy' for two short engagements, is to return to the role on 5 Apr 2011, and will remain with the show through to its final performance.

The Broadway premiere of Green Day's American Idiot, opened at St James Theatre on 20 Apr 2010, following previews from 24 Mar 2010. The show garnered the 2011 GRAMMY Award for "Best Musical Show Album" and two 2010 Tony Awards.

The musical opened to mixed reviews: Mostly unintelligible (newyorktheatreguide); Thrillingly raucous (NY Times); Hip veneer on vacant material"(Bloomberg); Loud, angry, & thrilling (Back Stage).

American Idiot features the music of Green Day and the lyrics of Billie Joe Armstrong. The musical is based on Green Day's Grammy Award-winning album of the same name, American Idiot.

The musical currently stars Van Hughes as 'Johnny,' AFI's lead singer Davey Havok as 'St. Jimmy,' Tony Award Nominee Stark Sands as 'Tunny,' Justin Guarini as 'Will,' Rebecca Naomi Jones as 'Whatsername,' Libby Winters as 'The Extraordinary Girl' and Jeanna de Waal as 'Heather.'

The cast also features Krystina Alabado, Declan Bennett, Jennifer Bowles, Andrew Call, Gerard Canonico, Miguel Cervantes, P.J. Griffith, Brian Charles Johnson, Jason Kappus, Lorin Latarro, Omar Lopez-Cepero, Leslie McDonel, Chase Peacock, Wallace Smith, Ben Thompson, Alysha Umphress, Aspen Vincent and Mikey Winslow.

American Idiot follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration.

Based on the Reprise Records Grammy Award-winning album of the same name, American Idiot features the music of Green Day and the lyrics of its lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong. The show is directed by Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), who also collaborated with Armstrong on the book, and choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Steven Hoggett (Blackwatch).

The show includes every song from the album, as well as several new songs from '21st Century Breakdown.' Green Day won two Grammys - Best Rock Album and Record of the Year - for its multi-platinum 'American Idiot.' The album sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.

The show features scenic design by Tony-nominee Christine Jones (Spring Awakening), costume design by Andrea Lauer, lighting design by two-time Tony-winner Kevin Adams (The 39 Steps, Spring Awakening), Sound design by Brian Ronan, as well as video design by Darrel Maloney.

The Tony-winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) is the music supervisor, orchestrator and music arranger. In addition, Kitt also provided string arrangements for Green Day's latest album, '21st Century Breakdown.'

American Idiot is produced on Broadway by Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre