‘American Idiot’ @ Bainbridge Performing Arts

I guess history repeats itself, because jukebox musicals have overtaken the art form in a way not seen since the 1920s. Sure, they weren’t called that a hundred years ago, but the concept is the same: Put together a bunch of preexisting songs by the same artist or writers, slap a clothesline narrative over them (or not!) and rake in the money.

Less interesting, though more profitable, are the biomusicals: Tell an estate-sanctioned, heavily censored version of a famous musical artist’s life, toss in a couple dance routines, get an audience sing-along going and immediately start touring it across the country. But adjacent to these cash grabs are some gems, ones that breathe new life into the music via their themes, moods and politics. (What a concept!) Most importantly, they relish exploring how the music makes you feel.

This is all to say that Green Day’s “American Idiot,” 22 years after the concept album’s release and 17 years after its pre-Broadway engagement at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, is still in the S-tier of jukebox musicals. It’s a screaming cannonball of East Bay punk energy that doesn’t just use the band’s music, but recontextualizes their whole essence, successfully blending punk music and musical theater tropes in the process. (That’s not an easy feat).

The plot, though loose, still tears through your senses. The story of three bored suburban youths yearning for something more — two blast off like bottle rockets into an uncaring America while one stews in their hometown with his pregnant girlfriend — it’s a hot-blooded and pissed-off screed against our f*cked-up country, and it only grows more relevant with each passing year.

The score provides some of the best ensemble opportunities this century, the book is abstract enough that each theater company can make its own mark and it has the good grace of being intermissionless.

Take the ferry to Bainbridge and yell into the void.