Billie Hoe Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 we have the worst seats they're also selling some relatively cheap AI merch but I'm stupid and didn't bring any cash. There's a cool AI bag for 6 euros that I can't buy now. if someone else sees the musical please get me one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatsername Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 30 minutes ago, Billie Hoe said: we have the worst seats they're also selling some relatively cheap AI merch but I'm stupid and didn't bring any cash. There's a cool AI bag for 6 euros that I can't buy now. if someone else sees the musical please get me one Oh, what kind of seats did you get? I bought the cheapest ones all the way in the back because I thought maybe if it's horrible, the actors won't notice when I cover my ears I can get you the bag if you like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billie Hoe Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 5 hours ago, Thatsername said: Oh, what kind of seats did you get? I bought the cheapest ones all the way in the back because I thought maybe if it's horrible, the actors won't notice when I cover my ears I can get you the bag if you like Yep we got the cheapest ones The chairs are all on the same level so you have to hope that were won't be any huge people in front of you. I had to really stretch my back sometimes to see what was going on the ground of the stage. But I'm short. YES PLEASE I will love you forever!!! Here's what happened: (extreme spoilers ahead ) Spoiler So, the venue is a average sized club (I think, not that I've ever been to one) but for a musical venue it's very small and intimate, which means that the stage is very small too. There were musicians on both sides of the stage and there was absolutely no set design which was a little disappointing. It was just black. The venue itself has an alternative feel (it's a rock club) though so it wasn't catastrophic for the atmosphere. I was there with my best friend who really doesn't know the musical as well as I do. She's just now really getting into Green Day and we watched the Broadway Idiot documentary together and I told her some stuff about the musical and that's it. I watched a video of the original production with the original cast and that's the only reason why I kind of knew what was happening. Now the way that I'm saying it makes it sound like I thought the German musical was really bad, but it really wasn't! I think it was fine, really, there were (very) good and bad things about it. The musical started off with an empty stage and when the music started you were wondering "where the hell are the singers?" but then they popped up from the audience one by one (there were 10 actors max), and Johnny came running down the stairs from behind the audience. Which I think was awesome and it's not something I expected. The show also ended with everyone going back to their places in the audience / the stairs. At first I wondered why the hell they even bothered translating it because during American Idiot and Jesus Of Suburbia they kept using the English words (American Idiot, Idiot America, "Klang der Hysteria", Whatsername, Jesus of Suburbia, etc...) for everything during the song, but I have to say: The translation was really not bad. Give me Novacaine was the problem child for several reasons, but one of them was that they translated "Drain the pressure from the swelling, this sensation's overwhelming" to (I THINK, I might not remember it well) "Nimm den Druck weg von der Schwellung, sonst verlier ich gleich die Stellung", which made two old ladies in front of us piss themselves with laughter every time. However I liked that they translated the rest with "Gib mir mehr Morphin". Which would have made SO. MUCH. MORE. SENSE. if the song included Tunny. Because it didn't. It was all about Will and Johnny, but Tunny didn't even show up during the song... but more about that later. "On Holiday" was translated to "Wir machen blau", "Jingle Town" was "Spießerstadt"... All in all I think the translation was really well done! It wasn't always 1:1 but they had some creative room to play with words, so the words still rhymed when in German. I particularly liked the translation of WMUWSE: "Sommerwind kommt und geht / die Unschuld, die vergeht im Wind / Weck mich auf, wenn der Herbst beginnt" and "7 (20) years have gone so fast" was translated into "seit sieben (zwanzig) Jahren rennt die Zeit"... which is clever. The Death of St Jimmy was another matter though, because he sang "Saint Jimmy stirbt heut Nacht... und hat dabei gelacht" (or something like that, I don't really remember anymore) and then the Character let out a high pitched laugh It was weird as hell but also funny, but it makes me think: why the hell did he laugh? Couldn't they have found another way to translate it? Oh well. What I think they did WONDERFULLY is the relationship between St Jimmy and Johnny. When St Jimmy first appears, he's behind some kind of mirror/window thing (which is a mirror/window depending on which side they threw a light on). At first Johnny was just looking into the mirror, but then suddenly you saw St Jimmy in his reflection, who then jumped from behind the mirror. In the death of St Jimmy the same thing happens in reverse: St Jimmy is back behind the mirror and you see both of them and suddenly he's gone. That really translates well into the "theory" (can you call it that?) that he's literally a part of Johnny's self and just a voice inside his head, as if Johnny is schizophrenic. St Jimmy kind of looked like a hipster who's also a sex offender Instead of just giving Johnny the pills, he takes them himself and kisses Johnny which even is a step up from the original if you asked me Definitely gives off a way more dangerous and adventurous and "fuck everything, nothing matters anyway" vibe. The real problem that I have with this musical is that you really have NO idea what the hell is going on if you don't already know the original musical. It really doesn't help that they translated the songs because even with German words for German viewers who don't understand English, the story is practically incomprehensible. American Idiot is a musical where you have to rely on the visual to understand and follow the story (with props and background and acting etc. etc.) because the songs aren't literal and don't tell you what's happening. But with no set design whatsoever and literally no props except for chairs and two hats, you couldn't understand the story. I'm glad that I had my friend with me because she told me afterwards that she didn't understand the plot at all, and here's why: There is no baby. Heather is never really pregnant. She touches her stomach at some point which made ME think: "Ah, I think that's the scene when she finds out she's pregnant", but she wasn't holding a pregnancy test, nor did she ever really have a baby belly, nor did the actual baby EVER show up. If I didn't KNOW that she was pregnant, I never would have understood why Will had to stay home and be miserable while Johnny and Tunny were living large in the City. Tunny never actually went to the military? I mean during the Favorite Son/Lieblingssohn song (which was nicely done imo) the Lieblingssohn 'crowns' Tunny with a military helmet (which is silver and glittery) and puts war paint on his face, which was nice and symbolic. But especially in the song Give Me Novacaine, you should see him wringing on the floor with other soldiers while you hear bombs going off (and flashing lights), but he was just absent throughout the entire song. Extraordinary Girl / Abgefahr'ne Frau's presence was really really confusing. In the original musical she's a nurse caring for Tunny and his missing leg by a hospital bed, but here he was just lying on the floor crying for some reason and she was some random girl trying to give him water etc. Tunny never lost his leg either. They're just there and it's entirely confusing, it's like she had no reason to be there at all. The play is advertised as "a life after 9/11" yet there was not a single indication that it the event even happened. if they had given Tunny more importance, it would have made more sense. As for props, it would have helped so much if they had things like a TV, a hospital bed, a mattress instead of just chairs. That made everything seem a little bit.... half assed.... The singers were really good, especially Johnny and Whatsername. You really shouldn't expect much from the show, it's very low budget and just fine when you paid around 20 euros for it. If it had been any more expensive, I would have been disappointed for sure. But the atmosphere was so nice - lining up, hearing Green Day songs surrounded by Green Day fans almost made me feel like I was back on tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertrose Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertrose Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billie Hoe Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 Curious to find out what you think @Thatsername Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I am so happy for you guys, I know the feeling that I once had of accepting the fact that I'd never see the musical, and then it came here to Australia and I have now seen it five times and it is AMAZING. I have hope that it's virtually untouched and untranslated for you, it wouldn't make sense since the story takes place in America and a lot of the themes are based on events that happened/are happening there and as someone else mentioned the songs themselves are in English. Either way, you guys are in for a real treat! Edit: Sorry I didn't realize it had already premiered, but I hope it is every bit as good as ours is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billie Hoe Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 48 minutes ago, RisingRedWolf said: I am so happy for you guys, I know the feeling that I once had of accepting the fact that I'd never see the musical, and then it came here to Australia and I have now seen it five times and it is AMAZING. I have hope that it's virtually untouched and untranslated for you, it wouldn't make sense since the story takes place in America and a lot of the themes are based on events that happened/are happening there and as someone else mentioned the songs themselves are in English. Either way, you guys are in for a real treat! Edit: Sorry I didn't realize it had already premiered, but I hope it is every bit as good as ours is! that post is just the cutest thing, thank you for being so excited for us! the musical was translated and is very low budget (i'd even say amateur-ish), but it was nice enough albeit not comparable to the "original" version. I don't know how good the Australian production is but y'know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatsername Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 It was really better than I thought it would be! I thought I would freak out about the translation, but most of it (or at least the parts I could understand because acoustics sucked and I only got half of it, lol) was actually pretty good! I'll continue in a spoiler now: Spoiler The first few songs blew me away because the band was really, really good imo and I didn't expect that. So I closed my eyes and listened only to the sound of the instruments and almost felt like I was at a GD show. BOBD made me even a bit teary, I loved the performance of that one JOS was very strong too. St. Jimmy (the character) disappointed me a little because he was too nice and not angry enough for my taste, but maybe I'm unfair here because I have Billie in my head as the embodiment of St. Jimmy, and who can live up to Billie? The second half of the show was weaker, I didn't really like 21 Guns and Whatsername although those are two of my favorite songs and give me so many emotions, but I just didn't feel it, maybe because the songs were played very soft / almost unplugged, you could hardly hear the instruments. What I did love about Whatsername was the translation though. The translation of the last line was just so clever, it was something like "Die Zeit kommt nicht zurück / Vergesse dich, doch nicht das Glück" for "I'll never turn back time / Forgetting you, but not the time". The "time - time"-rhyme has always been the only thing that bugs me about that perfect song, so I really dig the German version now The biggest bummer were the bad acoustics though, the friends I went with (some of them just casual fans who know only the hits) didn't understand the story at all. And I think I'm just not a musical person, I don't like the overacting and that stuff. But I still had a great night because it was so nice to see all those people (the place was sold out) paying tribute to my favorite band, and I loved that. When I went to bed I listened to AI and realized once again how great it is and that it will probably always be my favorite record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billie Hoe Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Thatsername said: Hide contents St. Jimmy (the character) disappointed me a little because he was too nice and not angry enough for my taste, but maybe I'm unfair here because I have Billie in my head as the embodiment of St. Jimmy, and who can live up to Billie? I think the St. Jimmy was maybe more modeled after Tony Vincent, the guy you see portraying St Jimmy in Broadway Idiot at first. Kind of lanky and flamboyant and the German production sprinkled an extra bit of gay on top (the actor is gay as well) I think if he had just looked more dangerous, more punk, maybe he would have seemed more angry. Cause he just looked like a hipster who gets you hooked on oregano lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatsername Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 9 minutes ago, Billie Hoe said: I think the St. Jimmy was maybe more modeled after Tony Vincent, the guy you see portraying St Jimmy in Broadway Idiot at first. Kind of lanky and flamboyant and the German production sprinkled an extra bit of gay on top (the actor is gay as well) I think if he had just looked more dangerous, more punk, maybe he would have seemed more angry. Cause he just looked like a hipster who gets you hooked on oregano lol Did you ever have to watch the movie to Goethes Faust at school? There's this horrible movie, I think it was a theater production recorded for TV, where Mephisto is acting super-gay, it's so hilarious and I hate it because Faust is one of my favorite books. St. Jimmy is kind of the Mephisto for me (I think there's a strong Faust theme in AI - but I guess that's another topic), so I immediately had that reference in my head. I laughed so hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatsername Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 They have an official trailer now with some scenes from the musical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CherryBombs&Gasoline Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 3 hours ago, Thatsername said: They have an official trailer now with some scenes from the musical. Wow, that's interesting. It's super weird to hear the songs in German, but I think the translations capture the essences of the songs quite well (as far as I can tell after seeing this trailer of course :D). I kind of regret that I didn't get a ticket. There are some shows left according to the internet. Maybe I'll go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatsername Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 The musical will go on tour to other German cities: Berlin, Bielefeld and Munich between August 2018 and January 2019. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billie Hoe Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Thatsername said: Bielefeld I call that a myth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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