Purdue Convocations to kick off 110th season with Green Day's 'American Idiot'

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The national tour of the explosive Broadway hit "American Idiot," called "wonderfully raucous" and "emotionally charged" by The New York Times and "flat-out electrifying" by the Boston Globe, will make its West Lafayette premiere at Purdue University's Elliott Hall of Music at 8 p.m. Sept. 1 and 3 p.m. Sept. 2.

These performances are presented by Purdue Convocations.

"American Idiot," a 2010 Tony Award-nominated best musical and 2010 Grammy Award winner for best musical show album, features the music of Green Day with the lyrics of its lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong. The book is by Armstrong and Michael Mayer and direction is by Tony Award winner Mayer ("Spring Awakening").

The acclaimed creative team also includes choreography by Olivier Award winner Steven Hoggett ("Black Watch"), and music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt ("Next to Normal"). The Tony Award-winning scenic design by Christine Jones and the Tony Award-winning lighting design by Kevin Adams also will be featured in the tour.

Winner of two Tonys, "American Idiot" is the story of three boyhood friends, each searching for meaning in a post 9/11 world. "American Idiot" began its Broadway run at the St. James Theatre (March 2010 - April 2011) and its national tour launched in December 2011 in Toronto.

"Since its inception, audiences have been surprised by the emotional journey the show takes them on, told almost exclusively through Green Day's songs, including many they are already familiar with and love," said producer Tom Hulce. "This is such a potent time for our country and the search of our characters for what to believe in is gorgeously celebrated through Billie Joe and Green Day's wonderfully lush score."

The musical features the hits "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "21 Guns," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," "Holiday" and the blockbuster title track "American Idiot" from Green Day's 2004 Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum album. Also included in the score are several songs from Green Day's 2009 release "21st Century Breakdown," and an unreleased love song, "When It's Time."

"American Idiot" premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in September 2009 and played through November of that year. When the musical opened on Broadway reviews were unanimously positive, with Charles Isherwood of the New York Times calling the show "the most adventurous musical to brave Broadway in the past decade," and the Toronto Star naming it "the first great musical of the 21st century."

VIZIO is the official TV partner of the "American Idiot" tour.

Tickets are $22-$52 for adults and $22-$39 for children 18 years and younger, Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at 765-494-3933 or 800-914-SHOW. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster outlets. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more can be ordered at 765-496-1977.

Initiated in 1902, Purdue Convocations was one of the first professional performing arts presenters in the United States. Each year, Convocations offers the region 20-30 performances of widely varying genres. Purdue Convocations aims to promote frequent exposure to and familiarity with human cultural expression in a multitude of forms and media.

Source: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-9712, aeeddy@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Publication-quality photos are available at http://www.convocations.org/press