Palo Alto High School graduate, Alex Nee, has entered into the world of Broadway, starring as Johnny in American Idiot The Musical. The show is selling out across the country and overseas in the United Kingdom.



SN (Samantha Newell): How did you become involved with Green Day’s American Idiot?

AN (Alex Nee): Last Fall, I played Roger in RENT at Northwestern University. The casting director for American Idiot was in Chicago casting Anything Goes, but happened to see RENT. He asked a few of us to come audition for him the next morning. When he saw me, he immediately wanted to bring me out to New York for callbacks. I ended up doing 3 rounds of callbacks, culminating in a weeklong workshop of the show. After the workshop they finally decided to cast me.
SN: Who do you play in American Idiot and what do you enjoy most about playing this character?
AN: I play the lead, Johnny. It’s an extremely demanding role and I love the challenge. He goes on a huge emotional rollercoaster during this show, searching after life’s highs, but eventually hitting rock bottom and having to drag himself out of that place. It’s fun finding those extremely dark places in myself.
SN:  At what age did you become interested in theater?
AN: I’ve been a theatergoer as long as I can remember. I first actually appeared on stage as a mute, spear-carrying page in my 3rd grade play. I quickly caught the “bug” and the next year performed in both a touring children’s show with California Theatre Center and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You at Foothill College. I was really hooked.
SN:  What do you enjoy most about theater?
AN: Theatre is so much about having a conversation with the audience. That is especially true in this play. I spend the whole show trying to connect with and change real people who are actually sitting in front of me. Every night is exciting and different and dangerous because there are 2,000 new pieces to the equation.

SN:  What was your most memorable moment in Paly theater?

AN: In the production of On the Razzle, I was playing Melchior—a clever, mischievous servant. One show, something happened with a set change that was happening behind the curtain and there was no way for the next scene to start. After about 10 seconds of dead stage time, I ran out in front of the curtain with my ukulele. I started talking to the audience, playing some songs, climbing over people’s seats to flirt with women in the middle of the audience, anything I could come up with to kill time. I ended up improvising for about 5 minutes until the set got fixed. It was thrilling. People were cracking up, because it was obviously so unscripted, live, and in the moment. That’s what theatre is all about to me.
SN: Did Paly theater influence your acting? In what ways?
AN: It gave me so many opportunities to be onstage, and challenged me by the range of material that we performed. I had to figure out how to play everything from Moliere and Shakespeare to classic musical theatre and Moises Kaufman documentary theatre. I think it really made me comfortable on stage; I came out confident and excited about theatre, and my optimism helps me as an actor.
SN: Do you have any advice for students who are trying to “make it” on Broadway or in any other plays?
AN: Dream big and really focus on making those dreams come true. It takes a lot of work and perseverance, and you have to sometimes sacrifice other things to stay on that path; for example, even to just attend some. But do it because you love the work, not because you want to be famous. You can always find a way to practice, and this in itself should be fulfilling.