I seem to remember reading a whiff of a rumor about this, maybe that Green Day had met with some theater producers to discuss a theatrical, Broadway-style, production of American Idiot, but I have to admit I never thought it would come to pass. Yet, here it is, and the news is from The New York Times so it’s a more than reliable source.

The punks are invading the theater. A new musical production adapted from American Idiot, the best-selling album by the punk band Green Day, is scheduled to make its debut in September at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in California.

The article says that Michael Mayer, a Tony Award-winning Broadway director, is a big fan of American Idiot, and even had the album on his mind when working on earlier projects. He envisions the possibilities for a theatrical adaptation, with full-scale production, of this album that we all loved so much and know so well. It’s pretty thrilling.

The guys seem quite excited about it too: “The project is also causing some shock to the band members, who acknowledge that they had grand aspirations for American Idiot but perhaps not quite this grand.” Billie Joe also comments, in the article, that they now have done what The Who was able to do, whose Tommy and Quadrophenia made it to the stage as well, but surpassed the Clash, who never had a musical made of any of their albums:

“I guess maybe we’re a bit more fruity than the Clash.” Ah, you gotta love Billie…

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