American Idiot, the new American musical based on the Grammy Award-winning rock album by Green Day, and featuring direction by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, opens April 20 at the St. James Theatre following previews from March 24.

A far cry from the sexual coming-of-age and teen-angst tale that was Spring Awakening, for which Mayer won the Tony Award for Best Direction, American Idiot — a narrative expansion of the album — is about a young man named Johnny (played by Spring Awakening's Tony-winning John Gallagher, Jr.), who journeys from the soulless suburbs in search of something

Check out exclusive behind-the-scenes video from Rolling Stone's recent photo shoot with the American Idiot cast before their big Broadway debut. Look for the spread in the April 29th issue.

(CNN) - The band Green Day has come a long way since their big break in 1994 with an album called, "Dookie."

September 11th changed their approach to music and they released back-to-back albums that defied their simple roots, with more rock opera than punk rock.

Now, those two records, "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown," have become a Broadway musical. The show is also called "American Idiot" and it opens tonight after a month of previews.

Our John Roberts had a chance to talk with the band, the cast, and the director about how it all came together.

[Full interview at CNN]

NEW YORK — With their punk-informed hairdos and garb, the members of Green Day look slightly out of place in Sardi's, a landmark theater-district restaurant frequented by stage folks and matinee crowds.

But Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt are Broadway babies themselves these days. The new musical American Idiot, an adaptation of the rock band's multiplatinum 2004 album, opens Tuesday at the St. James Theatre. And the guys are clearly, in Armstrong's words, "stoked" as they chat with director Michael Mayer.

It was Mayer who approached frontman Armstrong about bringing