DOOM! Magazine

Posted by Paula O'Keefe on Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Davey Havok performs in American Idiot on Broadway at the St James Theatre in New York, New York on March 5, 2011 ©2011 Elizabeth V Bouras All Rights Reserved

Saint Jimmy at the St. James: Davey Havok in “Green Day’s American Idiot”, St. James Theatre, NYC, 4/5/11 – By Paula O’ Keefe, photographs by Elizabeth V Bouras ©2011, please do not repost.

First the backstory: “American Idiot” is the tale of three young buddies—Johnny, Will and Tunny—from suburban Jingletown, somewhere in the near-present USA. Stifled, bored senseless, and feeling life must offer more than beer and TV, they grab their guitars and buy bus tickets to the Big City. However, before they can leave, Will’s girlfriend Heather discovers she’s pregnant; he stays behind. Johnny and Tunny make it to the city, but Tunny can’t cope, and—to Johnny’s fury—he enlists in the Army instead. With his friends mired in traditional roles, only Johnny is still determined to try for fame and fortune, but he finds it a lonely struggle; one night he cries out in desperation –

–and through this mess like a switchblade cuts his alter ego, his bad twin, the answer to his prayers: Saint Jimmy.

The cast of American Idiot featuring Davey Havok as St Jimmy perform on Broadway at the St James Theatre in New York, New York on March 5, 2011 ©2011 Elizabeth V Bouras All Rights Reserved

Now yeah, it’s a shock to see our steel angel of straightedge—so straitlaced that he was crushed when his cinematic dreamgirl smoked a cigarette—in the role of a sexy Mephistopheles whose first move is to hook our hero on smack. But Havok nails it, and I suspect it’s exactly that background that gives him the insight to get there. You don’t spend so many years in strict abstinence without understanding there’s a reason why hedonism and self-destruction are so popular: they feel good, and they’re fun, and there’s a big measure of reckless joy in burning that candle at both ends. Havok dives into the role with just that much joy and abandon, throwing the doors wide open, absolutely lit up with freedom and power. And I don’t mean evil glee, I mean pure goddamnradiance. He looks gorgeous—proud, elegant, very toned, with gelled hair, makeup that sharpens his bone structure and dressed in a ton of flash—moves like a cat, and has all the candy you want in his pocket. “I am the son of a bitch and Edgar Allan Poe!” he proclaims, and it’s no wonder Johnny caves on the spot.

Davey Havok on Broadway ©2011 Elizabeth V Bouras

Jimmy may be called Saint but he’s a lot more of a fallen angel (in a cartoon he’d be the little imp on Johnny’s left shoulder, with a pitchfork and a lot of bad ideas) and he knows a devil’s best means is seduction. (And who’s more steeped in angel lore than Davey Havok?) Jimmy drapes himself all over Johnny, whispers in his ear, lays on the innuendo while pressing little bags of white powder into his hand. When Johnny meets the girl he’ll fall in love with, a laser-eyed beauty who’s only called Whatsername, Jimmy reacts by giving him a set of heroin works. Boy and girl are soon shooting up together (there’s an amazing number where they use the rubber tubing they tie off with in a passionate bondage dance), but no good: Johnny’s bad side wants the kid’s self-immolation all to himself. When Johnny puts aside the drugs to sing a love song to the sleeping girl, Jimmy watches from the background, glowering in downright murderous jealousy [Havok’s eyes are amazingly intense in this role: a great mix of skilled lighting and strong acting. In this scene they literally gleam out of the shadows like a jungle cat’s. Wow.] and that’s the last straw: he slinks in, coaxes Johnny to OD and gives him a knife.

Davey Havok on Broadway ©2011 Elizabeth V Bouras

This won’t end well, right? Contrary: Whatsername strikes back [note, BTW: in this play the women are the only ones with any sense. It’s the men who get fucked up and wallow in trash and self-doubt: all the female characters are strong, practical, clear-headed, and consistently call the guys on their bullshit. If women like these were running the country, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess. Ahem.] She tells Johnny that St. Jimmy is just a figment of his imagination, of his “father’s rage and mother’s love”, and leaves him.

This sets the stage for Havok’s last big turn in the play, and it’s a beauty. Johnny acknowledges that his irresponsible behavior has cost him the love of his life and it’s “time to grow up”. St Jimmy, acknowledging that all his temptations aren’t enough to drag this kid under, prepares to “commit suicide” and swan-dive out of Johnny’s life. A steel staircase is rolled out, with cast members arrayed on the steps, Jimmy at the top and Johnny at the bottom; Jimmy and Johnny strip off their shirts (oh, the squeals!). Jimmy draws a pistol, holds it to his head, fires—and a little “Bang” flag pops out. Havok rolls his eyes and gives a big “Oh sure, as if” shrug, then turns his back–giving the audience its first full view of his gorgeous tattoo backpiece: full, waist to shoulder, folded black wings; there were oohs and ahhs of awe—and throws himself backward down the stairs, a fallen angel in truth, to be passed down hand-over-hand by the dancers and carried off, waving the silly gun in ironic triumph. You can almost hear the unspoken “ ’Bye, sucker”. Dead? Not a chance, just retiring from the field to wait for the next idiot.

I don’t mean to ignore the play itself, because it’s terrific. It has tremendous energy, the music kicks ass, the staging is imaginative and effective (I loved the use of about 50 TV screens to provide running commentary and background imagery), and the cast is just great; I specially want to applaud Van Hughes as Johnny, Justin Guarini as the tormented Will, and Rebecca Naomi Jones, who is a total force of nature as Whatsername. But the reason we went and the reason you’d likely go is to see Davey Havok, and if you can, you should. Everything he knows about the power and charisma of a rock star is poured into this role, and there’s no question he’s having the most fun ever. This is his dream coming true right before your eyes: don’t miss it.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 6th, 2011 at 2:07 PM. It is filed under Arts/Entertainment, Blog, Elizabeth V. Bouras, Feature, Live Music, Paula O'Keefe, Photo Galleries, Reviews, Theater, Zoé Aimee Sateen and tagged with American Idiot, Broadway, Davey Havok, Green Day, Justin Guarini, photos, St Jimmy, St. Davey, Van Hughes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.