ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

THEATRE/GREEN DAY'S "IDIOT" BOOKS BROADWAY: Producers Tom Hulce announced yesterday that following the hit, acclaimed engagement of Green Day's "American Idiot" at Berkeley Rep, the production will begin previews on Broadway March 24 and open on April 20 at the St. James Theatre. The Broadway cast will be announced shortly. Based on the Reprise Records Grammy Award-winning album of the same name, "American Idiot" features the music of Green Day and the lyrics of its lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong. The show is directed by Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening"), who also collaborated with Armstrong on the book, and choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Steven Hoggett ("Blackwatch"). According to production notes, "American Idiot" follows working-class characters from the suburbs to the city to the Middle East, as they seek redemption in a world filled with frustration — an exhilarating journey borne along by Green Day's electrifying songs. This high-octane show includes every song from the album, as well as several new songs from "21st Century Breakdown".

THEATRE/ STELLAR CASTING FOR "FENCES": 2 time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington will star in the first Broadway revival of August Wilson's "Fences," the 1987 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning family drama. Oscar nominee and Tony winner Viola Davis will co-star. Producers also confirmed that Kenny Leon will direct the play about a Pittsburgh trash collector's tense relationship with his star athlete son. Additional casting will be announced. Opening at the Cort Theatre will be April 26, after previews that start April 14. This is a limited 14-week engagement.

THEATRE/4 SHOWS SHUTTER THIS SUNDAY: 4 shows, including 1 long-runner, close this coming Sunday on Broadway. The Tony-winning madcap Alfred Hitchcock-inspired caper "The 39 Steps" closes at the Helen Hayes Theatre. The show boasts a cast of 4 who portray over 150 characters as they re-create the 1935 film on stage thanks to theatrical ingenuity. "Burn The Floor," the limited run ballroom dance extravaganza, closes at the Longacre Theatre. Finally, 2 new shows exit early. The Broadway revival of "Ragtime" closes at the Neil Simon Theatre, and "In The Next Room....Of, The Vibrator Play" closes at the Lyceum Theatre. Both shows had raves reviews, but could not overcome poor ticket sales.