American Idiot deals with travails of youth

MANILA, Philippines - 9Works Theatrical and Globe Telecom have teamed up to mount the award-winning rock opera Green Day’s American Idiot. It is the story of three young men in the first decade of the 21st century, as they grapple with the harsh realities swirling around them — love, teenage pregnancy, drugs, war, peer pressure and loss.

The musical play will be staged from June 24 to July 9 at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila.

This was announced at a recent press conference held, appropriately, at Hard Rock Café in Glorietta, Makati City. Among the speakers were Santi Santamaria and Robbie Guevara of 9Works Theatrical, and Joe Caliro of Globe.

The cast — a gaggle of young actors, singers and dancers from various groups — was in full force during the press launch, and they did some lively production numbers, which wowed the audience. They were also very articulate during the open forum.

Among those who performed and spoke were theater heartthrob Nelsito Gomez, a half-Latino (he appeared as Romeo in a recent presentation of Karla Gutierrez’s Philippine Opera Company), Basti Artadi, Miggy Chavez, Jason Fernandez and Norby David.

“It’s really a coming-of-age story,” said Nelsito. “The three guys are trying to make sense of the world around them.”

“It will be very different from previous productions of 9Works Theatrical,” observed Santi, who is executive producer of the company. Joe, head of Globe Retail, described the show as “very appropriate, very relevant as it deals with the dreams, struggles and delusions of youth created by media.”

He added, “That’s why we embraced this musical.”

“We will be reflecting what is in the minds of the characters,” shared Robbie, the director. “There are the travails of the three main characters, some succeed, some don’t. Every song has a story, there is no chorus. The lyrics add to the story.”

This writer asked: “What if you were allowed to adapt the play to the Philippine setting and title it Philippine Idiot? How different would it be?”

The director replied, “That’s a difficult question, interesting. Some of the same problems will be there but it will be difficult, as you have to (reflect) Filipino culture. It will depend on the script, which in this case is very American.”