As one old Berkeley Rep production (American Idiot) tiptoes towards its opening night on Broadway, Girlfriend, a new musical with a book by Todd Almond and music and lyrics by Matthew Sweet makes its debut in California tonight. Based on Sweet’s 1991 album, the “boy-meets-boy” musical is described as follows on the Berkeley Rep website:

Romance unfolds in a new musical…. Meeting in homeroom. Cruising through town. Holding hands. Cheering from the stands. That awkward first kiss. In the world premiere of Girlfriend at Berkeley Rep, boy meets boy. It’s an eternal story turned upside down, a dual-Romeo duet… that’s innocent – and Sweet.

Here are some photographs from the production, courtesy of Kevin Berne.

Directed by Lee Waters with choreography by Joe Goode, the cast features Ryder Bach and Jason Hite. The limited season runs until 9 May.