Spring Awakening

(Spring Awakening at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.)

Fri, Sept 21, 8pm -- Another NYC blog catch-up... want to make sure that I put some notes here about Spring Awakening! I tend to be very interested whenever someone tries to do a musical on Broadway in a new and very different way, and have really liked the "not-mainstream" entry in each Broadway season - shows like LaChiusa's Wild Party, Kushner/Tesori's Caroline or Change, and Guettel's The Light in the Piazza (the music anyway) come to mind - sometimes I like those shows more than the big hit of the season. So of course I was very interested in Spring Awakening, especially with a name like Bill T. Jones involved. Plus I have the CD and had come to really like the music, too. (I would have loved to have seen Grey Gardens, another of the off-beat shows from the last season, but it was already closed.) I was warned in advance by other friends that the show wasn't what it was all cracked up to be, but I went in with an open mind anyway.

Simply put, I loved the show. The cast is extremely talented, and watching strong performances is always a fun. But Spring Awakening wasn't just about the performances for me - I felt the material was very honest and emotionally real. The show is an adaptation of an 1891 play by Frank Wedekind about German teenagers waking up to their sexuality, but having those feelings be forcefully repressed into "acceptable society" by the adults around them - maybe we aren't as religiously repressed today, but the whole concept of youth awakening to a reality that is repressed or discouraged by adult society is very much a timeless concept. This musical version has book scenes written in a strange sort of pseudo-period language, and musical numbers curst forth with a contemporary emo-rock style when it is time for introspection. The songs are staged complete with hand held microphones and rock-star emoting from the performers - all of which may sound wierd, but because of the slick direction by Michael Mayer and choreography/musical staging by Bill T. Jones, it all actually works. The period setting mashing with the very contemporary feeling of the music gives the story a kind of rebelliousness, and ties it into contemporary times.

That being said, it should be said too that the show isn't actually as radical and punkish as everyone is claiming it is (look at the show poster: John Gallagher Jr with his hair standing straight up, grabbing a mic stand and screaming into it). It does actually play in a very traditionally theatrical way: there's a story and there are songs, nothing too revolutionary about that. The material might be considered risky, with a very frank discussion of sex and rather explicit depictions of sex (simulated masturbation, and in another scene, boob and butt revealed in a sex scene).

Going into the theater, I was at first disappointed when two understudy slips fell out of my program: both male leads, Jonathan Groff as Melchoir and John Gallagher Jr as Moritz (who won a Tony for this role!!), were out that night - argh! But ultimately it didn't matter since the understudies, Matt Doyle and Gerard Canonico respectively, were plenty talented and performed the show just fine, to no discernable difference for me. In fact, the whole damn cast was so energetic and talented that I couldn't help but be won over by their exuberant performances. The women in particular stand out: Lea Michelle as Wendla, with a gorgeous voice and strong acting to match, and Lauren Pritchard, as Isla, has a totally hypnotic voice, too. Also really liked Jonathan B. Wright's performance as Haschen, with a hilarious deadpan delivery.

So, basically: good show, great performances. Enjoyed it immensely. A word of caution though: the orchestra section in the Eugene O'Neill theatre is not very well sloped, so sitting in row L I was constantly shifting around heads to get a view of the actors on stage. I suggest either sitting up at the very front, or farther back where there is a bit more of a rake. Or, just go up to the Mezzanine since it's a small theater. The cheap on-stage seats would only work, in my opinion, if you've seen the show already and are going for a repeate visit - and the show is certainly worth a repeat visit.