THE PATRIOT ACT

Having run on Broadway and through the rest of the States over the past two years, the critically-acclaimed American Idiot: The Musical is now Dublin-bound. Thomas Hettrick, a young New Jerseyan thesp with Irish heritage, is one of the lead actors in the production, which co-opts the music and narrative of Green Day’s 2004 pop-punk odyssey of the same name.

The show launched recently in the UK.
“It’s been crazy so far,” he says mastter-of-factly. “We had three weeks off before we left the US and the show is really physically demanding, so I think right now all of us are getting back into the flow of it. It’s getting easier: our bodies are adjusting finally!”
Hettrick graduated with a BFA in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College – and this is his first professional role.
“The casting director came to my senior showcase and saw me perform two scenes,” he recalls. “She was like, ‘If he can sing and play guitar he’d be good for the role’. So she called me in and after weeks of call-backs and auditions, voice lessons and further dance call-backs, I finally got in. I’d done a lot of musical theatre in high-school. Then when I went to college my focus turned towards acting, which I felt was something I needed the most training for. I never saw myself doing a musical right out of college but to be doing this one is great.”
Hettrick plays Tunny, a kid stuck in Jingletown, USA, who leaves with the chief protagonist Jimmy to find a more meaningful life in the city.
“When Tunny gets there, he realises there’s nothing in the city for him. He gets hypnotised by the idea of joining the army, becoming a hero and serving his country. He ends up going to war and still doesn’t find what he needs there either.”
As a teen living in suburbia when the original album was released, Hettrick says Green Day’s music resonated deeply with him.
“I got into the band through that album,” he recalls. “I was in the eighth grade, totally vibing with everything Billy Joe Armstrong was saying. And it translates well. It’s called American Idiot but it’s much more universal than that.”
What about his Irish background?
“I’ve been living in New York since I was like 12 or 13 but my family’s Irish. I’ve actually never been to Ireland so I’m pumped to be going to Dublin. My dad’s last name is O’Connell. I don’t know how it happened – but now there’s, like, five or six of us that are Irish in it!”
What did he make of Billy Joe Armstrong’s recent onstage tantrum and subsequent admission to rehab? For a brief moment, it seemed like a rare slice of rock ‘n’ roll anarchy – before the band issued an apology to Clear Channel!
“Yeah I agree,” Thomas says. “I don’t think any apology was necessary. I saw the I Heart Radio Festival thing and I thought it was pretty awesome actually! But I just hope he’s doing well and getting better.”
How does Hettrick account for the commercial and critical success of the musical to date?
“Well [director] Michael Mayer is a genius. He really knew how to take the music and turn it into something that works onstage. We don’t try to hide the fact that it’s a punk rock show. You’ve the band onstage playing the whole time. The physicality matches the essence of the music so well, that it creates a harmony between the two rather than a clash.
“The best thing is seeing who diverse the audiences are. You’ll have the theatre-goers who probably don’t know what to expect, and then you have the young kids who are huge Green Day fans. But the band have been around since 1988, so you’ve also got an older fanbase who love their music. It’s one of those shows that really crosses the board and gets everyone involved.”

American Idiot: The Musical runs in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre from November 5 – 10.