Broadway Idiot

Broadway Idiot is a documentary that follows the Broadway play that adapted Green Day's American Idiot album into a rock opera. I adore musicals, so it was very entertaining to see how the director, Michael Mayer, worked with the band to turn one of their most famous albums into a play. 

Broadway Idiot Movie Poster (Source: Imdb.com)

The documentary follows the cast and crew through the initial development of ideas to the play's debut on Broadway. It portrays all the hardships and uncertainty that comes along with creating an entirely new musical as well as the major triumphs and highlights that these artists attain. Viewers can see Mayer's spin on various well-known Green Day songs and how they are incorporated into a complex plot. I was drawn into the documentary to the point where I felt very nervous alongside Mayer and the crew as they first pitched their take on "Last Night on Earth" to the band. And I felt such relief when lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong said, "That was fucking sick!" 

Billie Joe Armstrong and the American Idiot cast (Source: thedisolve.com)

One of the most touching moments was when Green Day was asked to perform "21 Guns" at the Grammy's and asked the Broadway cast to perform with them. Besides their incredible voices that literally gave me chills, it was great to see how rewarding the experience was and how it validated all of the hard work they had put into the show. 

Broadway Idiot is available on Netflix, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in musicals, behind-the-scenes type documentaries, or Green Day. 

Written by: Amber Pak