Monthly Archives: April 2012

by | April 12, 2012 · 5:17 pm

A“21 Guns” Salute to American Idiot

Gabrielle McClinton (Whatserame) and Van Hughes (Johnny) in AMERICAN IDIOT
Photo credit: Doug Hamilton

Part of any theatrical project includes the major challenge of sending a message to the audience and having the audience experience an emotional reaction.  This challenge for many can be complicated due to the multitude of cultures and generations seeing live theater today.  For many, they have to choose which culture/generation they are going to attempt to reach.  American idiot does what few productions are able to do.  They successfully send different messages to the audience based upon their own personal life experiences, in such a way that everyone, no matter the culture/generation finds a way to relate to, and take something away from, the production.

Different generations of theatergoers walk away from the play experiencing different reactions from personal direct similarities to the three main story lines, to having friends that experienced those things, to having children or parents that went through those trials.  Whether or not we are about to experience, are currently experiencing, have experienced, or have simply viewed other people experiencing things similar to the plot lines, the emotional reactions caused by American Idiot are substantial.  They tend to linger to the extent that, as time passes and the audience member dwells on the experience, the love and understanding for this great production grows.  Whether or not you are a green day fan or not, this show has something for everyone.  There is only one person I have met that didn’t ‘get it,’ and ironically it is a theatre person that is trying to relate to the ‘young people’ today, something we talked about before here.

Some people I’ve spoken with that have yet to see American Idiot tend to think the show is just a tribute to Green Day.  It is not.  The show takes the music from Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ album, which already has a kind of story, fills in the holes, and presents a musical with full and rich plot lines onto the stage.  In this way, whether or not you are a fan of Green Day, you will still be able to enjoy this musical.  American Idiot is truly a great theatrical experience in every aspect.  If you have not gone yet, see the national tour of American Idiot at The Ahmanson Theatre, or where ever you can.

For the normal person audience member:

If money is tight, you have a few options, we went there at about 5:30pm and signed up for the lottery, you fill out a form, and at 6pm they announce the winners.  The winners get $30 tickets for the first and second rows of the theatre.  If you go on a slower day, like a Tuesday like we did, everyone that signed up for the lottery won.  If you for some reason don’t win you can ask the box office to purchase Hot Tix.  Hot Tix are $20 last minute tickets, generally seated in the balcony.  Not great seats, but who’s complaining since they were $20.  The $30 lottery is definitely the way to experience this show so you can see the plethora of details that make this production the success that it is.  (You could also attempt to get goldstar tickets ahead of time here.) I know I know, you are thinking, “but if we go out to see a show at Center Theater Group there is no place for cheap food or drinks anywhere near there!”

Let me just say, oh ye of little faith, would we ever do that to you?

We have finally found an amazing solution to this.  The restaurant is McCormick & Schmick’s and they have happy hour Mon-Fri from 3pm-10pm.  What does this mean for you?  $3.95 ½ lb cheeseburgers.  Which was one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve had in some time, and I’m from the Midwest!  That, along with $3.50 14 oz. draft beers, a good selection I might add, makes this the perfect pre-show drinking hole.  Here is their happy hour menu.

We had just enough time to win the lottery, run to McCormick and Schmicks, order and eat a 4-buck awesome cheeseburger and fries, down a Sam Adams and a whiskey and head back to the theater just in time to sit down and enjoy an amazing show!  No more overpriced theater drinks for you, now you know the secret… shhhhhh…. Don’t tell too many people, or everyone might actually enjoy himself or herself without breaking the bank.

One more thing I want to mention, American Idiot is also participating in “Broadway Cares” Which is a charity that awards grants to AIDS service organizations nationwide.  As a man who has ridden in AIDS Lifecycle,  (which is still looking for more riders this year, BTW) I am all about the cause. PLUS if you donate $40, you get a window card (some refer to them as posters) signed by the whole cast!  A normal, unsigned, window card generally goes for around $20 bucks.  So if you shell out $40 clams, then you get to help an amazing organization fight AIDS, as well as walk home with a great souvenir.  It’s a win win!

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by | April 7, 2012 · 12:31 pm

Save The Chicago Storefront Theater!

I know that we generally write about the Los Angeles Theater community, however the City of Chicago is scheduled to lay off the entire staff of the DCA Storefront Theater (Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events) on June 30th.  Storefront theater can be compared to 99-seat theater’s here in LA.  The space is funded by the city, yes, but in that way it is able to provide those companies with a free venue, front of house staff, and marketing.  It is a place for artists to do art without having to worry about the funding.  If only such a place existed here in LA.  Smaller companies who don’t pay their actors much (ahem, 99-seat theater) get to produce work that otherwise would not be able to be produced.  This is a space that provides artist a place to do art.  It’s not about making a profit, it’s all about the art, and they are making that road a bumpy ride by getting rid of a competent staff that loves their work, and I’m sure the DCA staff isn’t getting rich off of working there either. I’m sure we can all relate to the staff there as well as the companies and artists producing work in that venue.

When I asked my good friend Mikey Laird, Artistic Director of Nothing Special Productions in Chicago, IL what he knew about this issue he said, “Basically, due to the city dissolving/merging departments that concern art and culture, a city funded theatre, called the DCA (Department of Cultural Affairs, which was merged last year) Storefront Theater is being laid off because of governmental policies on hiring.  Essentially, the programs have to have their staff cleared out in order to prevent any sort of nepotism or favoritism.  Which makes sense, but honestly, this is just some horseshit. the staff of the theater had no say in the decision to merge these departments, and when you have a dedicated staff for a theater, you don’t just dump them and start from scratch. It’s extremely difficult to find a balanced staff that can do their jobs well, and I’ve only ever heard good things about their staff and had positive interactions with that theater. It’s silly to me: not only are you disrupting these people’s lives by laying them off, but you’re bound to disrupt the work that’s contracted to go up at the theater. There won’t be a staff there to support them, and the folks in charge will be tied up hiring and familiarizing new staff.”  Well put Mikey.

I then told him that I loved interviewing him because I only had to ask him one question and he replied with, “Hey man, I’ll talk about theatre endlessly any time.”  My kind of folk. I think he is your kind of folk too, so you should probably sign the petition.

This is important, not just to the City of Chicago, but to the nations theater scene as a whole.  Chicago has an amazing theater community, that does great work out of sheer passion.  They do some of the best work in the country, and nurture up and coming plays, theater companies, and theater artists.  It is vital to all of us to allow this theater community to continue to thrive and function.  Chicago based playwright, Jeff Helgeson, on the Change.org petition comments section said, “Chicago’s “Off Loop”/storefront theatre movement beginning in the early 1970′s has vitalized the Chicago community and created such institutations as The Steppenwolf, Organic, and Victory Gardens theatres. The acknowledgement and support for this significant, grass roots movement that is demonstrated by the downtown Storefront Theatre is something which the city, in its efforts to vitalize the arts community in Chicago, should actively seek to sustain.” Allison Amidei, Artistic Director of WildClaw Theatre posted in the Time Out Chicago article (where you can find more information on this issue) in the comments section, “My theatre, Wildclaw, is slated to produce in the fall and we are just sick thinking about making our show happen without the wonderful DCA Staff…Jim and Nate especially…who were so wonderful when we did Carmilla in January 2011. This program has been crucial to the growth and success of small theatre companies like mine and these wonderful people are a BIG part of why the DCA Storefront is an integral part of the Chicago cultural scene.”

There are many more comments on the Change.org petition that are relatable to any theater practitioner in any part of the country, check them out and support your fellow theater artists!

Now is the time to come together, sign the petition here to help save the Chicago Storefront Theater!

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