American Idiot and Mundo

The great thing about theater is either you love it or hate it.

Last night, we returned to the Smith Center to see the adaptation of Green Day's rock opera, American Idiot. When we saw Wicked we sat in the balcony; this time we sat on the floor or orchestra seating. Honestly, I'm not sure which I prefer. In the balcony I had an unobstructed view of the stage, but sitting next to sound & lighting booth allowed us to see the facial expressions, those were lost when seated so far up in balcony. However, the man seated in front of me obstructed my view. I had to bob and weave throughout the show to follow the story.

The gist of the story was easy enough to gather, three young men are disgruntled with their parents and lives in suburbia. So, they set out for the city; and each one follows a different path: wallowing father, soldier and drug addict. However, I never felt a connection to the characters. I don't know if the disconnect was from the one act, the music or what seemed to be the constant gyrating and/or headbanging.

I must be getting old. Sigh. I thought the music was too loud in many of the songs and I found the strobe lights distracting. The cast and live band performs well I just didn't love the show.

I do love that the Smith Center is here. It's definitely something Las Vegas was lacking. It's a wonderful addition to downtown. Before the show, we had dinner at Mundo. This experience was far better than our first. Service was attentive. Frank had Shrimp Diablo and I had Chilean Seabass. Both were delicious - a bit spicy - and well executed. We shared Mexican Risotto but I wasn't a fan, it was too cheesy and creamy. I'm not a fan of cream cheese and that is exactly was this reminded me of, Frank liked it, though. We finished with churros for dessert. They were fine, but nothing notable. I'd probably skip dessert next time, but I'd return for the seabass alone. It was so tender, moist and flavorful.