Jump to content

Billie Joe Armstrong to Write Songs for Yale Repertory Theater Show


BillieJoeObsesser

Recommended Posts

That's something Billie Joe wanted to do ever since American Idiot was on Broadway. I'm happy for him. He's reaching his goal. At the same time, it's funny. It's the punk musician «meeting» the master of classical theater, Shakespear. But I like the idea anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 173
  • Created
  • Last Reply

When I saw this headline on GDA I got a huge smile on my face. I think its really cool for Billie to be writing songs not related to any of the bands he's in. He's an excellent writer, and it makes me so happy that his talents are being recognized in this way. It sounds like a really awesome project - he's going to be interpreting Shakespeare! I'm so excited for him. :happy:

Something really different about this vs. American Idiot is that this will be brand-new music he's writing from scratch; it won't be doing again what I think was a much harder task last time he did a musical -- that is, adapting for the stage already-written music that was kinda-sorta-but-maybe-not-really intended for a stage show. I'd actually like to see him stay focused on the music (collaborating with Tom Kitt like Heather suggested would be ACE!) this time as opposed to attempting to do the whole book; I think his real talent lies with the music and professional stage script writers should be engaged to weave that music into a tight plot. That will distinguish this new work from what he did with American Idiot, be a more manageable task than AI was, probably have a greater chance of long-term success if the book ends up the better for it, and for fuck's sake it'll keep him out of New York City where he ALWAYS seems to find trouble too easily. :lol:

And it's Shakespeare he's doing for Chrissake!! If they get

this guy cast in the show to sing music written by Billie/Green Day it'll be a multi-year hit for sure!!

220px-Patrick_Stewart_Met_Opera_2010_Sha

This is utterly fantastic news. Like many of you I'm concerned about him overworking himself, what with a big tour ahead and there being something of a time crunch and outside pressure with this thing needing to premiere by next March, he would obviously have to have all the songs done well beforehand. I don't know how long things are typically in workshop/pre-production mode (especially for Yale Rep as opposed to other theaters) but this being something somewhat outside of Green Day's control, Billie Joe being hired on as the songwriter actually does put him in a position of "need to finish writing by X date." That being said, I'm sure Billie signed up for this because he read the story and got excited and felt creatively stimulated by it, so I'm sure he's going in with enthusiasm.

I think it's entirely possible Billie could find himself in this play one day, but even if he doesn't, I really love the credibility it gives him as a songwriter. It will be really interesting to see how these things are imagined without Mike or Tre? I guess it's not all that different, we've seen in Cuatro how Billie sits alone in his studio and records drums and bass tracks...

Also, if he can get Tom Kitt in there somehow... golden.

While I'm excited to see what comes from it, there's a part of me that doesn't want him to kick it right back into high gear and over-working himself. That said, music is his passion, and I'm sure he's happier working on something than sitting around. We are opposites.

I'm concerned about him overdoing it again as well...however, we also know that especially with Billie, idle hands are the devil's fucking playground. :lol: I'd much prefer to see him having a blast being creative again (and getting a second bite at the musical apple that he's been longing for ever since AIOB closed up shop!) than sitting around bored off his ass. Keep him busy -- not overloaded, just busy -- and creative, and maybe he'll be able to keep things in the rails this time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm concerned about him overdoing it again as well...however, we also know that especially with Billie, idle hands are the devil's fucking playground. :lol: I'd much prefer to see him having a blast being creative again (and getting a second bite at the musical apple that he's been longing for ever since AIOB closed up shop!) than sitting around bored off his ass. Keep him busy -- not overloaded, just busy -- and creative, and maybe he'll be able to keep things in the rails this time.

I think this will be a fabulous opportunity to get his creative gears flowing in a different direction. I delighted in seeing the subtle changes in his performances post-Broadway. It seems as though spending time with the awesome theatre geeks helped inspire much of the artistic thought that became the trilogy. I agree that as long as he doesn't get too overwhelmed, this will be a positive experience for all involved.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something really different about this vs. American Idiot is that this will be brand-new music he's writing from scratch; it won't be doing again what I think was a much harder task last time he did a musical -- that is, adapting for the stage already-written music that was kinda-sorta-but-maybe-not-really intended for a stage show. I'd actually like to see him stay focused on the music (collaborating with Tom Kitt like Heather suggested would be ACE!) this time as opposed to attempting to do the whole book; I think his real talent lies with the music and professional stage script writers should be engaged to weave that music into a tight plot. That will distinguish this new work from what he did with American Idiot, be a more manageable task than AI was, probably have a greater chance of long-term success if the book ends up the better for it, and for fuck's sake it'll keep him out of New York City where he ALWAYS seems to find trouble too easily. :lol:

My take on his deal with AI was that he basically had input - Mayer was staging the album as opera, and Billie Joe shot him some extra songs that were already written to expand it somewhat. This time, he's creating something new and purpose-built, and that to someone else's purpose - a riff off Shakespeare's original. It's cool because it will put him in another space, outside of himself, and there's a freedom to that, and a learning. So yeah they can go 'we need a song to express whatever from whatever character in whatever situation, and he can provide it - and maybe in the process, check out the origin, engage with Shakespeare.

All of it is steps to creating something that's wholly his own - the next thing. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I think these details are new! Super cool about the kid-school screenings.

paperbulletssmheader.jpg

World Premiere
THESE PAPER BULLETS
Adapted by ROLIN JONES
From William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Songs by BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG
Directed by JACKSON GAY

March 14-April 5, 2014
University Theatre (222 York Street)
About These Paper Bullets

Meet the Quartos. Ben, Claude, Balth, and Pedro. Their fans worship them. Scotland Yard fears them. And their former drummer will stop at nothing to destroy them. Can these fab four from Liverpool find true love in London and cut an album in seven nights? These Paper Bullets is a rocking and rolling version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing with a serious backbeat.

Adapted by Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award nominated writer Rolin Jones (Friday Night Lights, Weeds) and featuring new songs by Grammy Award winning Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who wrote the Tony Award winning musical American Idiot, These Paper Bullets is directed by Jackson Gay, who staged Jones’s The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow at Yale Rep in 2004.

Please note: These Paper Bullets is Yale Rep’s 2013-2014 WILL POWER!production. The run includes three 10:30AM performances on March 31, April 2, and 3, 2014, recommended for 9th-12th grade school groups. For information on WILL POWER! performances, please contact Ruth M. Feldman at (203) 432-8425 or rm.feldman@yale.edu or click here.

http://www.yalerep.org/on_stage/2013-14/paperbullets.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

:dance: I have tickets to opening night.

You better write up a complete review (and film/tape anything you possibly can)!! Congrats and have fun!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Never mind Broadway, or even off-Broadway — non-NYC theaters have got Sting, Jonathan Lethem, Lawrence Wright and Billie Joe Armstrong

4. These Paper Bullets (Yale Repertory Theater, New Haven, Ct., Mar. 14-April 5)

Another rock star who has had some experience on Broadway, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong (American Idiot), wrote the songs for this oddball venture: a rock-n-roll take on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, revolving around a fictional “fab four” group from Liverpool. Just how fictional remains to be seen. Rolin Jones (The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, TV’s Friday Night Lights) wrote the book for the show, from the enterprising Yale Rep, which has introduced the new work of playwrights ranging from August Wilson to Amy Herzog.


http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/08/10-reasons-for-theater-lovers-to-leave-new-york-in-2014/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Let's hope this doesn't turn out like Bono and Spider-Man :happy:

Spider-Man was a bad idea to begin with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was at the show last night and couldn't have loved it more. It was funny, romantic, and just an enjoyable funny adaptation of Shakespeare. The four main characters in the play are Claude, Ben, Pedro and Balth. These four boys play in a rock group called The Quatros. The Quatros were just The Beatles, all four of the members had similar names and personalities like the real Beatles.The play takes place in the 1960's around the same time The Beatles conquered America. The Quatros are introduced on a TV screen by three investigators who think that they are nothing but a "rubbish" band. The TV then starts telling their whole history about how they originally went by another name, how they were once a hard Rock&Roll band, and how a former Quatro named Don Best was fired from the group because he wasn't a decent drummer. All of this was shown on the stage with a projector screen.

The Quatros then appear on stage playing a concert in America. They open with what sounded like "Follow you around". The Quatros then go into their dressing room and meet three girls, Bea (a designer), Higgy ( a model) and Ulcie ( a model). The girls don't like the band because they think that they aren't anything other than a Rock&Roll group that parties and sleeps with multiple woman. The two members Ben and Claude fall in love with two of the other girls, Bea and Higgy. Higgy and Claude's relationship grows, but Ben and Bea have more conflict. As the play develops, The Quatros old drummer Don is jealous of their success, he then builds a relationship with two other men and tries to ruin The Quatro's career by telling Claude that Bea doesn't love him.

The play had a lot of humor, as well as romantic moments. It wasn't the usual dark ending that Shakespeare plays have. The humor was 1960's orientated, and a lot of the jokes were written for that time period. The jokes had a lot to do with sex, drugs, and famous celebrities during the 60's. There was a lot of smoking and drinking, and a lot of "rock star life" scenes.There were scenes where The Quatros were fooling around at small parties with the girls all night in a hotel room, so the next morning they would show up to the recording studio hungover.

One of the things that stood out was the audience involvement. In a lot of scenes the audience plays a part in the play. At the wedding scene, the priest told everyone in the audience to rise for the bride and groom, and Higgy felt light headed as she was walking down the aisle, so she fell on one of the audience's chairs. The characters also gave a couple sitting in front of us a prop during the play. They used the projected screens on the stage frequently. There's one scene where the news reporter did a live report from the women's bathroom in the theater, and you could see her on the projector. The Quatros manager also made up a short funny song, so he asked everyone in the audience to sing it with him and you could follow along with the lyrics in the screen, everyone enjoyed it and was out of their seats laughing.

The atmosphere was different. It wasn't the same atmosphere you would see at American Idiot or at a green day show. Not many people in the theater knew who Billie was. The audience consisted mostly of elderly people, as well as a few older college students, so we stood out. There was around 6 songs that were sang that were written by Billie. You could really feel the vibe that Billie wrote them. One of the slow songs called "Baby Blue" that Claude sang to Higgy reminded me of When it's time and Last Night on Earth. It sounded like it was something that could have been included on a green day album. The Rock&Roll songs were catchy, simple and fun to listen to, and you could feel a kind fun trilogy vibe to them. It made you wonder if Billie Joe used any lyrics that he intended to write as a green day song.

I went into the theater expecting to see a modern day version of Shakespeare with just a Beatles sound to the songs, but was really impressed about how everything turned out. The whole cast was spectacular. In the playbill it mentions that quite a few of the cast appeared on TV shows as well as Broadway.The staff was nice too. Some of them came around with refreshments to our seats during the intermission, and the size of the stage and theater was just right. It looked like the audience was impressed with the performance too. Everyone around the theater was saying how they think it should make it to New York. It was fun! I can't wait for more interviews with Billie, and I'm exited to see what will happen in the future with this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spider-Man was a bad idea to begin with.

How so? I thought it was an awesome idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent review. Thanks so much for doing this and glad you enjoyed it.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the slow songs called "Baby Blue" that Claude sang to Higgy reminded me of When it's time and Last Night on Earth. It sounded like it was something that could have been included on a green day album. The Rock&Roll songs were catchy, simple and fun to listen to, and you could feel a kind fun trilogy vibe to them. It made you wonder if Billie Joe used any lyrics that he intended to write as a green day song.

Possible to likely...Misc4.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You mentioned that 6 songs were performed.... they said he wrote 8 total, so the other 2 were supposedly played over the speakers as pre-recorded songs? Is that true? Did you really get to listen to those, or were they just background?

And my biggest question: Did this feel like a musical, or like a play? Like, if it goes to Broadway, would it be branded as a musical?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh wow so cool!! So maybe this "Baby Blue" is the same we saw in Cuatro and we thought it was re-named in Baby eyes or Angel Blue but actually it may be another song

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Possible to likely...Misc4.jpg

So there is a Baby Blue, Teenage Blue and Angel Blue.. does anybody else see the pattern? Maybe there is a Child Blue and Adult Blue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty sure Teenage Blue and Angel Blue are the same song, there's another one of those screencapped tracklists that has one listed as 'Teenage Blue/Angel Blue', whereas that picture above has Teenage Blue and Baby Blue shown separately. Be interesting to see what Baby Blue sounds like anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You mentioned that 6 songs were performed.... they said he wrote 8 total, so the other 2 were supposedly played over the speakers as pre-recorded songs? Is that true? Did you really get to listen to those, or were they just background?

And my biggest question: Did this feel like a musical, or like a play? Like, if it goes to Broadway, would it be branded as a musical?

Some songs were played as background music and when someone turned on the jute box. I don't remember if the background songs were just repeated from the songs that were played live. There was more dialog than singing. There were not many scenes where the characters started singing during their lines. it was mostly when the band was performing.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Baby Blue," written by Billie Joe Armstrong, performed by James Barry, Bryan Fenkart, and Lucas Papaelias.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...