James recently directed Sweeney Todd - the Demon Barber of Fleet Street running Summer of ‘24 and receiving wonderful reviews at Chance Theater in Anaheim, and the Orange County Premiere of Green Day’s American Idiot which received 15 OC Theatre Guild Award Nominations, winning 6, including Outstanding Direction of a Musical. Other directing credits at Chance Theater include the OC Premiere of the Pasek and Paul musical Edges (OC Theater Guild nominations for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Musical Production), A Charlie Brown Christmas (re-mounted for two additional seasons due to the success of the original run), A Wrinkle In Time, Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas, and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. He has been commissioned to write and direct a number of storytelling concerts for Pacific Symphony, creating an original story and book to accompany a repertoire of music for both their Family and Educational Series. These productions include Beethoven: Trials to Triumph, A Dream of Tchaikovsky, Intergalactic Adventures, Music from the Movies and More, and The Curious Case of the Vanishing Violin, all presented at Segerstrom Concert Hall. Other directing credits include the World Premiere of Comedy of ERROR at American Coast Theater Company and Two Rooms at California State University Long Beach.
Directing
Green Day’s American Idiot
"James Michael McHale directs a powerhouse production, channeling rage into ironically refined art."
— Stage Raw
"American Idiot delivers the proper punk snarl...efficiently and animatedly directed by James Michael McHale, the scenes flow seamlessly, there's nothing dull in the staging...In short, this one is worth your time and money."
— The Orange County Register
"Directed by James Michael McHale with galvanizing intensity...[a] pulsating portrait of misspent youth that invokes all the standard genre conventions. Bring on the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, please! — only to transcend them through the power of its music and the artistry of its execution. The show is as invigorating and ultimately as moving as anything I’ve seen on stage this season."
— The Show Report
"This American Idiot is a veritable feast for the eyes…You’d have to be an American Idiot not to put the Chance’s latest on your must-see list this summer."
— Stage Scene LA
“American Idiot is a high-energy show from start to finish…You can’t call Green Day’s American Idiot an upbeat musical because it is frank about heavy topics like addiction and trauma. However, because it is such an adrenaline rush of a show, you don’t come out of the theater feeling depressed. You want to keep rocking."
— The Orange Curtain Review
"It is ALWAYS riveting to watch and listen to - the very essence of a rare and remarkable theatrical experience… 'American Idiot’ is a very good ‘fit’ for a more intimate venue like ‘The Chance’ and Director McHale makes the most of this intimacy…Better yet is that McHale has changed the show up just enough to keep it fresh and pertinent for today’s audiences while staying faithful to the show’s cardinal intent.”
— Bucking Trends
American Idiot | Official Trailer
