The critically acclaimed Broadway musical “American Idiot,” which used songs by the punk rock band Green Day for a story about disillusionment among the nation’s youth during George W. Bush’s presidency, will close on April 24 after 27 preview performances and 421 regular performances, the producers announced on Thursday.
The final three weeks of the show will feature an encore performance by Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day’s lead singer and guitarist, as the character St. Jimmy, an impish but malevolent specter who enables the main character Johnny in his worsening drug addiction. He will play April 5 through 24.
This will be Mr. Armstrong’s third tour of duty in “American Idiot,” after a string of performances last fall and again this winter, as he has deployed his star power to bring in bigger audiences and help the show’s investors earn back their money. The musical cost between $8 million and $10 million to mount on Broadway, and it has earned far more money — sometimes upwards of 50 percent more a week — when Mr. Armstrong has performed. So far the show has grossed more than $34 million, and has been seen by 440,000 people.
A spokeswoman for “American Idiot” said the producers were not sure if the show would ultimately recoup its investment on Broadway before closing; only 30 percent of shows do. The musical is set to begin a national tour in fall 2011.
Last week, following Mr. Armstrong’s departure from his latest stint as St. Jimmy, “American Idiot” saw a mammoth drop in its box office grosses, falling from $1.3 million to $395,275. While many musicals and plays saw a drop-off in ticket sales last week — partly because the previous week included a holiday and school vacations — “American Idiot” declined the most by far.
“American Idiot” quickly built a devoted following, especially among Green Day fans, and last spring it was nominated for three Tony Awards, including best musical. The show ended up winning two, for set design and lighting design. The director Michael Mayer, a Tony winner for another rock musical, “Spring Awakening,” also won the 2010 Drama Desk Award for outstanding director of a musical for “American Idiot.”
Besides Mr. Armstrong, the musical had other cast turnover last week: The star of “American Idiot,” the Tony Award winner John Gallagher Jr., left to do the upcoming Broadway play “Jerusalem”; he has been replaced by another cast member, Van Hughes. Michael Esper, who played another lead character, departed for Tony Kushner’s new play at the Public Theater; he has been replaced by the singer Justin Guarini (“American Idol”). Libby Winters moved up to replace Christina Sajous as The Extraordinary Girl, while Davey Havok — the lead singer of the rock band AFI — succeeded Mr. Armstrong.
Mr. Havok signed on for a special limited engagement of two weeks, concluding March 13. The musical’s spokeswoman said it was not yet known who would play St. Jimmy from March 15 to April 3.