A wall of televisions occupies the stage. Each screen plays its own clip, from Hurricane Katrina news coverage to Survivor episode segments. Then, the screens synchronize to play a single video. George W. Bush, in his 2001 address to a joint session of Congress, steps up to the podium and proclaims, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” The television sets turn off. The lights dim. American Idiot: The Musical begins.
Within the first minute of the show, which ran on Broadway for one year and is currently on a national tour, the musical grounds itself in a specific
