I think Good Riddance is a great song, I just don’t love it as the encore to American Idiot the musical. The still silence at the end of the show (before it was added) had a profound effect on me and my love for the show. I’m so grateful I chanced to see an early performance before it was added.
In general, and with very few exceptions, I'm not a fan of the cast singing after the main show is over. I understand that it can be a huge audience pleaser; that doesn't mean I have to like it, lol. American Idiot is unique, I think, in that the extra song is not from the show. But to me, "megamixes" and post-show finale medleys (including, yes, the one in Hello, Dolly) are the spawn of satan to me.
The one exception I can think of is the ending of She Loves Me, where the use of the "Thank you / please come again" song is very cleverly done, and cleverly appropriate - and most importantly - not over the top. The show's creators had the good sense NOT to follow that with a full company medley of Ice Cream and other big songs, lol. Ick.
Seeing Moulin Rouge, another case of excess. Yes, I get why they felt the needed to add that big company ending sequence. Yes, it would have been a very courageous thing to not do that - and maybe the ending of the show proper would have seemed just way too dark to do that. But the post-show stuff went on way way too long, even as solidly performed as it was. It was the only time in the entire show where I wasn't engaged with the material.
And yes, "Good Riddance" is a fine song - but in the context of the show, especially with the full cast playing guitars, etc, it comes off to me as merely a cute stunt. I'm not sure that was the intention. |
