Gritty, heartfelt punk-rock opera this ain't. It doesn't matter how many Mohican hair-dos and ripped jeans you have, without a truly rebellious soul, you're never going to do justice to the bitter, snarking power of Green Day's 2004 album American Idiot.

It's very possible that the original Broadway version of Green Day and Michael Mayer's musical packed a much bigger punch, with banks of TV screens hypnotizing the audience with scenes of 9/11 and George W Bush proclaiming, 'you're either with us, or you're with the terrorists'.

But last night, the single TV screen rang hollow as a group of 90s grunge-clad 'teenagers' leapt into a bouncy, Fame-inspired routine, while singing, 'Don't want to be an American idiot, one nation controlled by the media.'

It was just wrong.

At the heart of this musical is Jonny, or the Jesus of Suburbia as Green Day's lyrics call him: a disaffected youth, growing up with nothing to do but trash his local 7-11 and get high. Infuriated by the faux-patriotic rhetoric of post-9/11 America, he and his friends decide to escape to the city in the hope of finding something more; a world they feel they belong to. Sadly for Johnny, drugs and a broken heart are all he finds.

It's a sad, raw story, but Matt Thorpe, while no doubt a talented performer, does just that. He performs; he plays at being a punk, over-egging his strut and snarl like a cartoon rebel. And it doesn't work – there's no pathos, making his five minute, silent heroin trip more daft than dark.

There are, thankfully, moments of salvation. Lucas Rush as Johnny's dark alter ego, St Jimmy is spectacular. He proves you can put punk into a musical without the antithetical chorus-line overtones and he brought the whole thing alive whenever he was on stage.

Also worth mentioning is Karina Hind, who last night played Extraordinary Girl. Although the iridescent wings were an odd choice for her part in a morphine-induced dream sequence, she brought credibility to the whole thing and her voice contained the kind of genuine power and edge you want when you hear Green Day lyrics.

The cast and crew have clearly worked hard on this production. It's not sloppy and the set is clever, making full use of the stage. But as a tale of rebellion and frustration, it simply disappoints.