Rock stars aren’t too cool for musicals

Rock stars generally scoff at musicals, but thanks to a recent trend raging through the… Rock stars generally scoff at musicals, but thanks to a recent trend raging through the industry, that attitude could be changing.

Popular musicians moving onto the stage is far from an unprecedented phenomenon. Following in the steps of their rocking forefathers of the ’70s, tons of artists are writing hit rock operas and converting them to theatrical productions.

Over the past year, music fans of all genres have seen a resurgence of rock musicians and popstars applying their writing abilities to the stages of Broadway and other theater companies.

After the success of Duncan Sheik and Michael Mayer’s “Spring Awakening,” other artists have curiously strayed into the world of the theater.

Rather than repeating his Broadway success, Mayer went across the country to Berkeley Repertory Theater to work on his latest project.

Mayer chose an edgier band to work with to match his new West Coast location. He decided to create a musical adaptation of Green Day’s 2004 politically charged comeback album, American Idiot.

The show draws from and builds on the angsty young characters that Green Day frontman Billy Joe Armstrong created for the album.

“American Idiot” set box office records at Berkeley. According to The New York Times, the theater extended the show’s run by three weeks before it even opened and again once the show was running.

Not long after “American Idiot” finishes its run in November, Berkeley Rep will feature another pop artist’s work with a production of Matthew Sweet’s 1991 album Girlfriend.

Girlfriend, Sweet’s first commercially successful album, packs a collection of sugary-sweet pop tunes about high school love affairs.

The Berkeley Theater reproduction switches up Girlfriend’s traditional love story by making both lovebirds in the sweet and innocent affair male.

Then there is the development in musical theater that I’m personally most excited about — Regina Spektor will be the latest contemporary artist to try her hand on the stage, broke this month.

With her smooth voice and New York roots, Spektor managed to bypass smaller stages and move straight onto Broadway for her theater debut.

The show “Beauty” is a musical adaptation of the one-act play that La Jolla Playhouse ran in 2003. The show’s story is loosely based on the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty.

The girly-girl within me hasn’t been this excited since Working Title Films announced that Keira Knightley would play Elizabeth Bennet in a new production of “Pride and Prejudice.”

Spektor’s pounding pianos and startling staccatos add a dramatic and romantic quality to her discography, and fans hope to see the same in “Beauty.”

Whether those trademark qualities will be watered down, amped up or totally changed is debatable since Spektor will be songwriting with Michael Koria.

“Spiderman,” another popstar-infused musical, will swing onto Broadway and will feature music and lyrics by U2’s Bono and The Edge.

The musical will be directed by Julie Taymor (“Across the Universe”), and Rolling Stone reported rumors that Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood might have scored lead roles, making it a star-studded Broadway endeavor.

Clearly, musicals aren’t just for theater kids anymore, so Broadway vets better get ready to party like rock stars.