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Before closing on Broadway, ‘American Idiot’ to bring back Billie Joe Armstrong

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‘American Idiot,’ the Green Day rock musical on Broadway, has posted a closing notice of April 24. But before the curtain falls for a final time at the St. James Theatre, producers will bring back the band’s frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who will perform in the final three weeks of the show.

Without Armstrong leading the charge, ‘American Idiot’ has been a tough sell on Broadway. Last week, the musical saw its box office revenue plunge nearly 47% after Armstrong ended his most recent set of appearances. The rock musical, which uses songs from two Green Day albums, had recently announced new cast members, including ‘American Idol’ alumnus Justin Guarini.

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Armstrong is one of the primary creative forces behind the musical. He will return to the production April 5 in the role of St. Jimmy.

It remains unclear if the Broadway run of ‘American Idiot’ will recoup its investment. But the show will launch a national tour beginning in the fall, with confirmed stops in Los Angeles (at the Ahmanson Theatre), Costa Mesa (at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts) and Boston.

Tom Hulce, a producer of the show, said in a recent interview that Armstrong will be involved in the final casting decisions for the tour. Hulce said he didn’t know if Armstrong would perform at any of the cities along the tour since the musician is working on a new album. ‘American Idiot,’ directed by Michael Mayer, was nominated for a Tony Award for best musical and the cast album won a Grammy. The show will have played for a little more than one calendar year by the time it closes in April.

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-- David Ng

Photo (top): Billie Joe Armstrong. Credit: Andrew Burton / Getty Images

Photo (bottom): John Gallagher Jr. and Tony Vincent in the Berkeley production of the show. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times


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