Don't want to be an American Idiot

Two topics, one subject. Originally I was just going to write about the second thing, but then I remembered my mom sent me this video yesterday morning. WARNING: after viewing this, you may feel like the biggest genius ever. I sure did. No American Idiot here.



And in other American Idiot news, yesterday I saw this...



My friend Fran came to the city for work and called me Friday night asking if I'd be interested in seeing American Idiot on Broadway. FYI: when I get asked questions like that, the answer is always ALWAYS yes. Since tickets can be pretty pricey, we decided to try our hand at the ticket lottery and if we didn't win, we could run over to the TKTS booth and try to get some for around $60 each. Saturday at noon Fran and I met up and both filled out a lotto slip and threw it into the bucket at the theatre. We were told the drawing would be at 12:30 and the show was at 2:00. Grabbed a quick piece of pizza around the corner and ran back about 2 minutes before they started the drawing. The person running the lottery picks about 10 names out of the bucket - each name drawn has the option for one or two tickets in the first two rows for just $27. Guess whose name was the first one called...

FRAN!

Two tickets for the front row of the orchestra. We got inside and took our seats. Extend your arm in front of you and you're touching the stage. I'm not even going to hide it - I was so incredibly excited to be sitting that close. And for so cheap! The show is pretty intense and brilliant. It's almost like this generation's HAIR in the way that it speaks to what the entire generation is going through. Not quite exactly the same, but I think similar in the idea.

The show is based on a concept album of the same name by Green Day. It revolves around a year in the lives of three best friends from suburban USA - a place called Jingletown. All three are looking for something more in life. Their paths all take different turns: one stays in town with a pregnant girlfriend, one joins the army and is deployed to a war zone and one takes on city life. Without giving the entire story away (you really should see it if you get the chance!), the three friends find themselves reunited a year later. The cast is amazing, full of energy and everyone in the ensemble is featured at some point, which I thought was really cool.



Video is from the Tony performance... opening number of the show. Definitely worth seeing if you're in NYC! Well, Dad, maybe not you. (Haha, love you Pops!)