There was something a little surreal about “Revolution(s)” playing in Chicago as officers from Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement used pepper balls and tear gas to disperse people there.
This new musical, after all, is about two generations of Chicago radical activists and features instances of racial injustice and police brutality. And its score is sourced from the catalog of Tom Morello, the firebrand guitarist best known for his work in Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.
“Just the other day I walked out of rehearsal and into a protest on Michigan Avenue,” Morello said shortly after my visit. “It’s almost like the protest manifested the show, and the show manifested the protest.”
“Revolution(s),” which is at the Goodman Theater through Nov. 16, toggles between two pairs of activists. One half of the story, set in 1989, is about an interracial couple, Emma and Leon (Jackie Burns and Al’Jaleel McGhee), who bond over their quest for justice and rob those they see as exploiters. The other takes place in 2016 and revolves around their sons, Ernie and Hampton (Jakeim Hart and Aaron James McKenzie).
The show’s roots go deep: The book writer, Zayd Ayers Dohrn, is the son of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who were leaders of the Weather Underground, a far-left radical group that claimed responsibility for a series of bombings that targeted public buildings in the 1970s. (Federal riot and bombing conspiracy charges against Ayers were dropped because of illegal prosecutorial misconduct; the couple eventually became academics.)
Ayers Dohrn, 48, started working on the project in 2020, spurred by the first Trump administration and by that summer’s protests. He had also been researching his family history for his podcast “Mother Country Radicals,” which led him to connect past and present.
“I was talking to my parents about revolutionary politics and stuff,” Ayers Dohrn said after a preview at the Goodman. “And meanwhile it felt like the world was spinning out of control; there were stories of police violence and government authoritarianism. I was also listening to a lot of Rage Against the Machine because it was matching my mood.”
He asked Morello, a longtime family friend, if he’d consider making his songs available for a musical. It probably didn’t hurt that in addition to their personal connection, both men have strong ties to Chicago: Ayers Dohrn is the director of the M.F.A. in Writing for Screen and Stage at Northwestern University, and Morello, 61, grew up in Libertyville, about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago, before moving to Los Angeles.
You might think show tunes are an unexpected option for someone who, just months ago, helped organize a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. The real surprise is that it took Morello so long: His career extends beyond the heaviness of Rage and Audioslave, whose songs are not represented in the show.
“We wanted people to hear some of the great stuff they might not know yet,” Ayers Dohrn said. So he and Morello dipped into the prolific musician’s other projects: the folk and Americana of his solo act, the Nightwatchman; the hip-hop-metal hybrid of his collaboration with Boots Riley, Street Sweeper Social Club; his foray into EDM on “The Atlas Underground” album; and “Untethered,” a song new for the show. Don’t worry, Rage fans — the show is not lacking for great riffage.
“Tom’s music is very articulate, it’s very clear in its message,” Ayers Dohrn said. “But it’s also a vibe. It’s a way of seeing the world. It’s anti-authority. It’s angry, but it’s also joyful and exuberant and defiant.”
All of those shades were reflected in the interview with the high-energy Morello, who spoke from a rehearsal room at the Goodman Theater. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Right now “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” from “The Hamilton Mixtape” and “Why We Build the Wall” from “Hadestown” are the only musical theater tracks on your “[expletive] ICE” Spotify playlist.
On the wall of rehearsal, we had these huge placards. The first one was a punk-rock filter: Anything that a fan of the Clash or Fugazi would think is corny — don’t do that. The second filter was heavy metal: We’re not putting on a musical; we’re putting on a kick-ass rock ’n’ roll show with a story. The third was hip-hop: It has to have the authenticity and the swag of the best Chicago hip-hop on the stage. The last one was the words “musical theater” kind of x-ed out. This is radical theater that we’re doing, with great songs and a great cast. The only way we’re going to get there is to follow a particular North Star.
The transmission of values is a big part of the show, along with the importance of fighting for them. Your own mother, Mary Morello, has always been an activist. How did she influence you?
My mom was a history teacher at Libertyville (public) High School, and she was a radical teacher in a conservative town. She was the protective parent of the only Black person in town — me. I grew up with a tremendous love and support of my family, but also with a different set of inherent values that I sort of assumed were global and realized were very, very specific.
My arc was not so much influenced by parents or books as it was by racism on the playground and feelings of injustice. Libertyville has a lot to say for it as a bucolic community with excellent public schools; you can ride your bike around a lot of grassy fields. But when I was 13 years old, there was a noose [that appeared] in my family’s garage. When I was 4 or 5 years old, I was called the N-word a lot.
Several of the actors play instruments onstage, and Jakeim Hart has to shred in a style similar to yours — “Guitar Hero” boss level. Was that role hard to cast?
When Zayd sent me the script originally, it was written that [Hart’s character] “plays a guitar solo like this,” with a link to one of my more flamboyant solos [laughs]. I thought, “We’ll never find an actor who can have the emotional depth, can sing his ass off and can play guitar like that.” After he got the part, he revealed to us that the poster that was on his wall when he was a kid was me.
Speaking of kids, you’ve been recording and playing live with your 14-year-old son, Roman. I’d bet that you’re passing on more than fret-board wizardry.
I certainly am doing my best to transmit that part, and he’s outstripped me in some ways. I’ve been relegated to being the rhythm guitar player in the family, which is humiliating.
Not to force-feed the kids, but, like, part of our lives as people who live in Los Angeles is for birthdays we go to the Midnight Mission to feed the hungry. At the writers’ strike, the kids were always out with me when I was performing or marching with placards. It’s not a matter of indoctrination; it’s a matter of you living your life, and they witness all that happens, from the rock ‘n’ roll to the fight against injustice.
It’s easy to feel depressed and powerless when looking at what’s happening around the country and the world. What goes through your mind when you’re thinking about that, and the future?
My state of mind is one of historical perspective. Racial injustice, police violence, authoritarianism is as American as baseball and apple pie. But so too is resistance to that. If there is one commonality across my 22 records, it is the idea that the world is not going to change itself — that’s up to you. Whenever there has been progressive, radical, revolutionary change, it has been enacted by people no different than anyone reading this article.
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