The production currently playing on the thrust stage at Berkeley Rep -- while American Idiot finishes out its raucous pre-Broadway run in the Roda Theater -- is Tiny Kushner, a collection of one-act plays written by Angels in America scribe and Pulitzer-winner Tony Kushner. The plays were all written in the 90's and 00's and originally produced in this grouping by the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Though they all bear some familiar Kushner-esque markings -- psychotherapy, fictionalized portrayals of real people, fantastical premises involving the afterlife, politicized critiques of the government -- they are relatively unconnected pieces and deserve to be discussed separately. So here goes, in brief: more ›

According to Berkeley Rep, "American Idiot" (see SFist's review here) has turned out to be the highest grossing show in the theater's history, with the biggest one-day gross and the largest advance sales of any show in all their 41 years in operation. Given its popularity, they've extended the show another two weeks, to a must-close date of November 15th. As we suspected, beyond the Green Day fans, it's a raucous and well-staged affair that's an easy crowd-pleaser, especially for young audiences. We just hope they're doing something to flesh out the story before the show moves on to face New York critics. Get your tickets here, and as always, everyone under the age of 30 can get half-price (starting at $19) if they just say so over the phone and show ID at the box office. more ›

There probably hasn't been a true rock opera produced for the stage since "The Who's Tommy" -- "Rent" and "Spring Awakening" come from more pop traditions in our book and basically amount to musical theater scores with electric guitar on top -- but Green Day's "American Idiot," which just had its world premiere at Berkeley Rep, definitely qualifies. The music is urgent, driving, and loud. Whatever you feel about Green Day, there's a theatricality and consistent narrative element to their music that lends itself well to staging, and it's accomplished in this show with a lot of art and only a little of the cheesiness that many associate with musicals. more ›

In honor of this past weekend's world premiere of Green Day's "American Idiot" musical at Berkeley Rep (the show's still technically in previews, and has recently been extended until November -- we'll have a review for you next week), we give you this video of these hometown boys performing the song "American Idiot" live at Abbey Road studios in London. The 2005 concept album by the same name was the band's response to a post-9/11 America, and the rock musical based on the album will most likely move to Broadway after its run in Berkeley. It's directed and co-written by Michael Mayer, who was a collaborator on the Tony Award-winning "Spring Awakening," and it includes a few tunes off Green Day's newer album, 21st Century Breakdown. more ›