Welcome to a New Kind of Tension: Billie Joe Armstrong on His ‘American Idiot’ Role

By DAVE ITZKOFF

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times Billie Joe Armstrong backstage at the St. James Theater on Friday night.

Billie Joe Armstrong plays many roles in “American Idiot,” and that’s before he even takes the stage at the St. James Theater. Mr. Armstrong, the 38-year-old Green Day front man and guitarist and a co-writer of that Broadway musical adapted from his band’s hit album of the same title, rejoined the show on Jan. 1 to resume the role of St. Jimmy, the pugnacious, drug-pushing alter ego of the protagonist, Johnny (portrayed by John Gallagher Jr.). (Charles Isherwood’s review of Mr. Armstrong in “American Idiot” appears in Monday’s New York Times.)
But in the final minutes before showtime on Friday night, Mr. Armstrong took on other parts — from a nervous neophyte gingerly reviewing his notes from Michael Mayer, the musical’s director and co-writer, to an extroverted jester prancing around the stage in a female co-star’s sequined dress.
In his dressing room — furnished with the record albums of vintage punk acts like the Avengers and Generation X, and dried-out bouquets suspended from the ceiling by their stems — Mr. Armstrong spoke with ArtsBeat about his experience as a performer in “American Idiot” and about what the future might hold when he leaves the show after Feb. 27. These are excerpts from that conversation.

Q.

So what notes does Michael have for you tonight?

A.

He told me I was flat. [laughs] That’s his job.

Q.

Yikes. Sounds like someone’s going to wake up tomorrow with a broken guitar in his bed.

A.

He goes over it every night. I’ve got a good rapport with him, so it’s cool. In this situation I have no choice. I’m a rookie. I even have a hat that someone gave me that says “rookie” on it. When you get older, it’s good to feel like you’re getting into uncharted territory.

Q.

How did the idea come up for you to perform in the show the first time?

A.

We were having drinks one night. I was with Michael and that was the first time he brought it up. I was like, yeah, sure. Then I was in Buffalo [with Green Day], we were getting ready to play a show, and Michael called. He goes, “I really need to talk to you.” And I go, “Can you wait? Because I’m getting in an elevator.” He goes, “No, it can’t wait – I’m on with Tom Hulce [an "American Idiot" producer], also.” Then they officially asked me. I was like, well, I can’t say no. Sounds like something that I have to do.

Q.

Even when you were developing the show, you weren’t fantasizing about getting up on stage and joining in?

A.

I was more a spectator than anything else. That was as far as it was going to go. I always liked how in the “Quadrophenia” movie, it was the Who’s music, and it was cast with different people. That was cool. When they first asked me, I was like, am I too old?

Q.

To do the show at all, or to play St. Jimmy?

A.

To play that character. But since he’s sort of an alter ego, he’s sort of ageless.

Q.

He’s supposed to be the embodiment of what Johnny wishes he could be, so it should be O.K. if he’s a little more, shall we say, mature.

A.

Or less mature.

Q.

You were noticeably press-shy during your original run in the show, for the eight performances you played in the fall. Was that by design?

A.

The previous run was kind of like a test drive. I didn’t want to announce it. I wanted it to be last-minute. I wanted to get into rehearsal and figure out, can I do this? Am I capable of it? I wanted to keep the pressure down as much as possible.

Q.

Were you also concerned about how your coming into the show might be received by other cast members?

A.

Yeah, I was worried. When me, Mike [Dirnt] and Tré [Cool] are on stage, it’s three hams going crazy. These people have been in plays and theater their whole lives. They’ve got tons of experience, and I’ve had none. That to me was really intimidating. I also didn’t want to come in and feel like it was some kind of vanity thing. There’s a funny story about George M. Cohan: at the St. James, he wrote, directed and starred in his own production – I think it was “The Merry Malones.” And it was written up as, “George M. Cohan, who arrogantly wrote, directed and starred in his own production.” So that was going through my mind. I was like, oh, God, I don’t want to be that guy.

Q.

I never thought I’d someday have a conversation with you about George M. Cohan.

A.

You might want to fact-check that. I hope I got the right person. [Update: Commenter JFranklin shares more details about "The Merry Malones."]

Q.

Did you have any previous experience with musical theater before you started performing in “American Idiot”?

A.

I had a vocal teacher when I was really young, like 7, 8 years old, and that’s how I sang, through standards and show tunes. Stuff from “Oliver!” and “Annie Get Your Gun,” things like that. It taught me a sense of melody. I was also really into AC/DC.

Q.

Was your teacher horrified that you grew up to become a punk-rock star?

A.

She was a really cool lady. My mom keeps in touch with her, and she came to see “American Idiot” in Berkeley, which was really fun.

Q.

So you can have one foot in the world of punk rock and other in the world of musical theater at the same time?

A.

I’m old enough where I think you have to take everything you learn and put it in somehow. And you can’t escape your past. It comes in handy, no matter what.

Q.

How did your band mates in Green Day feel about losing you to the show for a few weeks?

A.

They were like: “Do it. We need to take a break. Get away from us for a while.” They’re totally into it.

Q.

Did you do any special training in preparation for your current run?

A.

No. I remember, I texted Theo [Stockman, an ensemble member], and all I wrote was, By the way, how do you act? And the response I got, was “Ha, ha, ha.” He goes: “Just be yourself. Just be honest.” The first rehearsal was really funny. Michael says to me, “O.K., I’m just going to tell you this right now, it’s something I forgot to tell you: This is going to be really awkward.” I was like, you couldn’t have told me that a month ago?

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

[The reporter is asked to leave the dressing room while Mr. Armstrong changes into his costume. Mr. Armstrong emerges a few minutes later in one of the sequined dresses worn by the women in the number "Favorite Son." For a few minutes he dances around the other cast members who are performing their vocal warm-ups on the theater stage. Then Mr. Armstrong returns to his dressing room and changes into pants. The interview resumes.]

Q.

I understand that’s a regular preshow ritual for you?

A.

I don’t really know how to do their warm-up thing so much. The first day I came in, I was watching it and didn’t really know what to do with myself. I was like, hopefully I’ll get a laugh out of them. I’ve also got this nurse’s outfit. [indicates outfit on his clothing rack]

Q.

What do you do during your downtime from the show?

A.

I have an apartment and I do demos during the day, just writing songs and stuff, and I have this night thing. I like the fact that I can be on stage at night and be physical and in front of people, while I go home and write at the same time. It’s not like doing it in a tour bus.

Q.

Are those songs that could turn up on another Green Day album?

A.

Right now, I’m at a stage where it’s just for fun. I’m not sure yet. When I get home in March, I’ll just hang out with my band mates, and we’ll pick through the piles. But I’m always writing for the next Green Day record, for sure.

Q.

Do you get to see your family at all?

A.

Yeah, they come off and on. My wife’s with me right now; my kids were with me last week for a little bit. I’m going to go home for a week and then fly back, and they’ll come meet me after a week of me being here by myself. You try to split it up.

Q.

Can I ask what part of the city you’re living in?

A.

Oh, I don’t want to go there.

Q.

But I assume you can still go incognito when you want to.

A.

That’s the beauty of New York. There’s a similarity between here and the Bay Area, people are very chill about things like that. Someone actually came up to me on the street once and said, “I’m being a terrible New Yorker right now, but I really love your band. That’s all I wanted to say.” And that was it. I was like, wow. It was just nice. It was no big deal.

Q.

Are you finding any differences between performing in a rock concert in front of thousands of people, and performing in a Broadway show, in front of a smaller audience with a different set of criteria?

A.

Playing a big rock gig at Madison Square Garden is one thing, but to play in such an old theater and doing a stage production, it’s just as massive. I only get one moment to really acknowledge the crowd and that’s at the beginning when I come out. The rest of the time, I’m on John and Rebecca [Naomi Jones] – I can’t look at the audience. That’s the first time that’s happened to me in my whole life, to not pay attention to them.

Q.

Is this kind of performance something you think you might stick with? Would your rock ‘n’ roll skills apply to it?

A.

In your head, you’re always thinking, how can I improve? What can I do differently? That’s their craft. I was making this analogy, that if you master one form of kung-fu and you want to learn a different technique, that’s almost what it feels like. But I don’t know, I’m not a kung-fu master. [laughs]

Q.

Are there any other Broadway shows you’d like to see while you’re in town, for the sake of comparison?

A.

Maybe if they stop closing down. I wish I could have seen a lot of stuff that happened this last season. I really wanted to see “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.” But I was never here long enough to have the time to do it, and it sounded like it was really cool. Since I’m friends with the guys in U2, I’d like to see “Spider-Man,” but I’m going to wait until it’s ready to be seen. I really want to see “Lombardi.” And I’d like to see the future of some of the actors, because these guys are going places. Just to be able to watch what their next moves are and the next shows they’re going to be in, I’m excited to see that, too.

Q.

Do you think about the long-term viability of “American Idiot”? It’s performed very strongly in weeks when you’ve been in the show, and struggled more when you haven’t been in it. Can it keep going when your run ends?

A.

I hope so. I’d like to see the integrity intact with the show. I’d like to see it have a really nice long run. Who wouldn’t? It’s been almost a year now.

Q.

Is that an important milestone for you, that it runs a year on Broadway?

A.

Yeah. It’s huge. I’d love for a year now, and then I’d like to see it for a couple more.