How Jobsite Theater Made Me Fall in Love with Green Day All Over Again

Jobsite Theater's production of American Idiot, the rock opera based on punk trio Green Day's 2004 concept album, seems to have everyone reflecting on their personal connection to the band, so here's mine.

I was introduced to them in the '90s with their album Kerplunk and saw them live on my 18th birthday at Jannus Landing in 1993. I loved their sound, energy and disillusioned-youth lyrics. I also really liked that they weren't mainstream. Yet.

In 1994, their album Dookie resonated with the rest of the youth in America and soon enough, they were staples on MTV. The secret was out. I remained a fan, but only for a few more years.

Now, Jobsite Theater's production of American Idiot has restoked the flames of my Green Day fandom. That's how good this show is, with its incredible cast and band and the heart with which they deliver it. That's the lasting power of live theater; Green Day music has been replaying in my head all week and so has this show.

Directed by David M. Jenkins, with choreography by Alexander Jones and musical direction by Jeremy Douglass, the show moves at the pace of the hard-driving punk rhythms that comprise the score. It's sung-through with every song from the album, as well as a few from their follow up, 21st Century Breakdown.

The book was written by Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong and director Michael Mayer. The music is by Green Day with lyrics by Armstrong. It debuted on Broadway in 2010.

While Armstrong's lyrics refer to the events of the early 2000s, like 9/11 and the Iraq War, two decades later America is still going through similar issues. Jenkins said ironically that he programmed the show in alignment with America250, because what better way to celebrate the birth of the nation than a musical that scathes it?

American Idiot follows Johnny (Cody Farkas), Tunny (Matthew Morris) and Will (Jaryn McCann), three friends jonesing to escape the suburbia of Jingletown. They've hatched a plan to go to the big city, but once Will finds out his girlfriend Heather (Noa Friedman) is pregnant, he stays behind.

Johnny and Tunny hit the city, but Tunny struggles to find himself there. He enlists in the Army — a decision depicted in the powerful number "Favorite Son" — and is sent to war.

Back at home, Will is depressed and withdrawn, spending all his time on the couch taking bong rips and crushing beers, while Heather gets increasingly frustrated by his apathy.

Quick detour from the plot here for some actor shout outs. Farkas first impressed me in Jobsite's excellent play from earlier this year, The Shark is Broken. He captured Richard Dreyfuss' essence to a T. It wasn't until after I saw American Idiot and looked up the cast that I realized this, which shows his range. This role as Johnny revealed his immense musical talent.

McCann nails the look of crushing monotony that pushes Will into substance abuse while Friedman's Heather is perfectly fed up with him and her plight as a young single mom.

I zeroed in on Morris (Tunny) right away as the quintessential embodiment of Green Day's spirit. Turns out, he has a band called Diver Down, so he really is a rock star, and a dynamic actor.

Jenkins said that when casting they were intentionally looking for singers whose style skewed more rock band than Broadway. This was key in making this production so successful, dare I say even more so than the original Broadway production, which you can watch on YouTube.

Back to the plot: Johnny's met a girl, Whatshername (the captivating Kiara Dorothea, whose voice I want to listen to on repeat) and things are going great, until he develops a drug addiction personified by his alter-ego St. Jimmy (Spencer Meyers, whose slinking performance is at once nefarious and electrifying).

Tunny gets injured at war but is nursed by the Extraordinary Girl, played by Mariela Zeno, whose performance in this number made me sit up. This moment of the show, a mash up of "Before the Lobotomy" and "Extraordinary Girl," set in a hospital ward, was visually and sonically powerful.

The ensemble bolsters the show with powerful vocals and fluid dancing of Jones' intricate choreography. Thanks in part to costume design by Katrina Stevenson, every member stands out individually, although it's mainly due to their own talent. (The versatile Jacqueline St. Pierre was especially fun to watch and the perfect punk rock girl.)

Athleticism seemed to be a casting requirement, as the cast climbed all over the scaffolding on the cool set designed by Chris Giuffré. They seem to fly up and down the balconies in the Jaeb Theater and ride rolling staircases across the stage — impressively never getting out of breath.

Naturally, the band led by Douglass kept the whole thing together and the musicians — Elwood Bond, Joe Grady, Tom Kersey, Dan Mockensturm and Mark Warren — looked like they were having a blast jamming.

American Idiot might just be a new American classic for its enduring themes that are relatable at any age. Punk music is also proving to be timeless.

You'll just have to go see for yourself. Don't miss it!

American Idiot. Through Aug. 9. Jaeb Theater, David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. 1010 N WC Macinnes Pl, Tampa. jobsitetheater.org.