that girl allison

When it was announced in August 2009 that Tony Vincent would play St. Jimmy in the Berkeley Rep run of American Idiot, I knew he’d be perfect.  The first time I saw him take the stage in Berkeley he was exactly as I’d imagined the character and he was perfect.  It was like his portrayal of Judas (in Jesus Christ Superstar) except more intense and edgier.  In the Broadway transfer, I only cared whether or not he was also being transfered, and he was.  I was determined to see him one last time in American Idiot before he left, and although it didn’t need to be at his last show, it was and I’m glad I was there.

The house was packed and the show was completely sold out (thank you, tourist season), as was the lottery beforehand, but I scored a ticket a few minutes before the show started (J101).  I hadn’t seen [American Idiot] since the Actors Fund performance in October and it was also my first time seeing Jeanna de Waal as Heather.  The casts’ pre-show “fuck time!”-ritual was clearly audible to the house which not only got the cast energized, but also the audience (at least those who knew what they were doing).  

The show was exceptionally energetic last night, and it was held for a minute here or there to allow for the copious amount of applause at both the beginning and end of “St. Jimmy.”  I believe they were having trouble with the projections because during “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” there was a red box projected with the ‘city,’ and there was no falling paper during “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”    de Waal was enjoyable and clearly needs a bit more time to ease into the role and maybe get a bit more in touch with her character.  Though she has a great voice, her singing sounded stunted (paused? slow?) against the beat of the music.  Michael Esper lost a few of his high notes during “Nobody Likes You” for the first time (that I’ve seen) since previews.  

But Tony Vincent was the star last night.  He gave his all vocally, and mentally.  He wailed his way through “Know Your Enemy,” the way he did in Berkeley before he (or anyone else in the cast) was concerned with vocal-upkeep.  He made no speech at the end, though the cast was sure trying to get him to deliver one during their guitar riffing (pictured above) after curtain call.  He looked grateful for all of the praise.

Thank you, Jimmy.