Spring Awakening

Nov 16, 2006

I got a chance to see Spring Awakening last night at an invitation-only dress rehearsal, because my sister is way better connected than I am.

The musical is based on a play written by Frank Wedekind in 1891, and it explores the sexual experiences of a set of teenagers in a German town that’s heavily religious. When the play was originally released, it was banned in a number of locations, as it contains scenes that involve masturbation, sex, homosexuality, and suicide.

Considering how long ago the play was written, it’s remarkable how well the messages reverberate in the modern day. The musical adaptation is quite faithful to the original; it maintains the original 1892 setting, and while it rearranges when some events occur, the majority of the content exists in the original.

The most striking thing about the musical is the contrast between the setting and the score, which is modern rock. The first time the cast breaks into song, the transition is really startling. The score is excellent, though, and by the middle of the first act the switches are expected and not jarring at all. I actually think the choice of score is a good one, as it helps show how the characters could fit in the modern day despite being set a hundred years in the past.

The cast for the show is great. The major characters are all incredibly good, though there are some weaknesses in the minor characters. In particular, the scene in which Ernst and Hanschen kiss seemed rather weak, but that may have been preview jitters, since this was the first time the cast had played to a full Broadway-sized crowd. The major characters didn’t seem to have any trouble, with the climactic scenes being downright heart wrenching.

Technically, there were some minor sound mishaps, such as a buzz in a microphone or volume difficulties, but it was solid overall. The lighting in particular was exceptional. The design uses a number of different effects that are elegant while being striking, such as a set of lights that drop in from above and illicit an image of stars or fireflies. The majority of the show is lit more traditionally, though, so the new effects maintain their sparkle and don’t overwhelm the audience with a “look what we can do now that we’re on Broadway!” feeling. The set is sparsely decorated, but with a couple tricks I won’t reveal that are nice touches.

All that said, I’m not sure how well Spring Awakening will play. It definitely has the potential to follow in the footsteps of a Rent or Avenue Q. On the other hand, it could end up falling by the wayside as another teen angst show. For my money, though, it’s an excellent show that’s well worth seeing.