Kent Trumbull Theater Brings ‘American Idiot’ to Valley

WARREN, Ohio – Shiloh Hart recalls the power of Green Day’s “American Idiot” album and how it made her feel when it came out in 2004.

She’s using those memories as fuel in directing Kent State University Trumbull Theater’s production of the musical based on the album.

An eight-performance run of the production opens Thursday.

The rock musical “American Idiot” brings to life the story of suburban dysfunction told in the Green Day album – whose songs become its soundtrack.

Hart stepped in to direct the Kent Trumbull production after her friend, Emelia Sherin, had to bow out because she landed a role with a touring theater troupe. Being a Green Day fan, she welcomed the opportunity.

“I grew up with the ‘it’s just a phase’ group of kids,” Hart said. “I wore all the Hot Topic clothes, and I always loved Green Day. So I was super attracted to the show, even if just for the nostalgia.”

The production will mark the second time in a year that Kent Trumbull has delivered the Valley premiere of a major rock musical. In November, the theater presented “Escape to Margaritaville,” which is based on the songs of the late Jimmy Buffett. The theater reprised the musical in June at the Robins Theatre.

“American Idiot” is a coming-of-age story that focuses on disaffected suburban friends Johnny, Will and Tunny. The three young men take different paths to find meaning in their lives.

The musical opened on Broadway in 2011 and ran for 422 performances. A subsequent national tour played Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the 2014-15 season.

The music was written by Green Day and its leader, Billie Joe Armstrong. The book was written by Michael Mayer.

Hart has never seen the Broadway version. But it doesn’t matter because her goal is to make Kent Trumbull’s production unique.

“I have seen [theaters] ‘karaoke-ing’ a show, in which they’ve watched it so much that they copycat it,” she said. “I try not to do that. I’ve researched the show as much as possible. But I do everything to make it my own while still keeping all of the important points.”

For example, she has added dancers to the cast. And one of the three main characters, Tunny, also got a major twist.

“The Tunny character, who goes off to the military, I have him starting as a drag queen,” Hart said.

She explained why.

“There are three lead male characters, and Tunny is the only one [whose backstory] gets left out,” she said. The idea came up because the actor who plays Tunny does drag shows.

“You don’t hear much about what soldiers are, other than a soldier,” Hart said. “So we said, ‘Let’s give him a little more life.’”

Of the other two main characters, Johnny struggles with drug addiction, while Will – who has mental illness – gets his girlfriend pregnant.

Hart said the story deals with many issues and weaknesses that are leading to bad outcomes. 

“There are so many kids falling through the cracks, and no one is paying attention to them,” she said.

The cast of “American Idiot” includes Harmon R Andrews (St. Jimmy), Demitri McMinn (Johnny), Paul Dahman (Will), Keith Stepanic (Tunny), McKenna Lago (Whatshername), Bethany Yamaner (Extraordinary Girl), Jojo Garcia (Heather) and Steve Brown; ensemble and dancers are Nate Chapline, Carly DelliQuadri, Jose Garcia, Erica Hays, Trudi Herrholtz, Katie Kurdziel, Kailey Meehan, Dakota Smith,Cadence Treeich and Emma Woodyard.

The musicians are Rosie Bresson (music director), DJ DePanicis, Jason Vuksanovich, Dave Wolbert and Jesse DeLorenzo.

Eric Kildow, professor and theater coordinator at Kent State Trumbull, typically directs shows at the campus but is acting as more of a producer for “American Idiot.”

Like Hart, he has never seen the show but feels like he was among its target audience.

“[Green Day] was at the height of their popularity when I was in high school and college, and I was the prime demographic for them,” he said. “I was a political science major, so any protest music struck a chord with me.”

The set will feature a raised platform at the rear of the stage that can be accessed by stairs on either side. The live band will be on stage, but at the rear.

As for whether “American Idiot” will find its way to the Robins Theatre stage, like “Margaritaville,” it’s too soon to say.

Kent Trumbull and the theater had talked about doing another collaborative show, Kildow said.

“We don’t have a show in mind at this point,” he said.

He did point out that “Margaritaville” drew well at the Robins. “In the two performances we did there, we reached more than half of the total audience that we got for all eight shows on campus,” Kildow said.

The performance schedule for “American Idiot” is: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, July 18-20 and 25-27; and 2 p.m. Sunday and July 28.

Tickets are $20 ($22.69 with service fee); $17 for seniors and students ($19.51 with service fee); and $15 for children under 13 ($17.39 with service fee).

To purchase tickets in advance, click HERE.

The production includes drug use and a sex scene.

Pictured at top: The cast of “American Idiot” includes Kailey Meehan, Demitri McMinn, Keith Stepanic (standing), Paul Dahman and Katie Kurdziel.

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