Los Angeles  - US punk rockers Green Day are turning their 2004 punk epic American Idiot into a musical.

The album was widely seen as a condemnation of US then-president George W Bush, but the musical will use the songs from the album, such as Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Wake Me Up When September Ends, to trace the lives of a circle of suburban youths.

According to the San Jose Mercury News the musical will feature a 19-member ensemble and an onstage band and will debut in September in Green Day's hometown of Berkeley, California.

The opera is one of several rock musicals in the works, with U2 working on the music for a Spider-Man stage play and Michael Jackson planning a Broadway show based on his classic album Thriller. (dpa)