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SPRING AWAKENING All they say Thought is suspect.
But there's nowhere to hide, from the ghost in my mind. It's broken
As the melodic strings waft into the audience sitting in the
Eugene O'Neill Theater, you get a sense that SPRING AWAKENING is not the
"typical" musical. Two hours later you do realize that this was much, much
more than just that...a musical. June 2006 would bring SPRING AWAKENING its first full production with The Atlantic Theater Company. This was to be the first musical ever mounted at ATC. The end result was resounding raves, sold out houses, and two extensions. SPRING AWAKENING would make its Broadway debut in December 2006. The audience is transported to a German province circa 1891. We see a group of teens as they are on the cusps of puberty. Their bodies are changing as is their minds and curiosity of what lies underneath their scratchy, itchy, school uniforms. Melchior is the star pupil, a handsome boy whom everyone idolizes. But
he's tired of sticking to the rules and desires more of what lies outside
the school's walls. His best friend Moritz has his hormones on overdrive. He
cannot concentrate in Latin class or any classes for that matter. His
puberty is simply out of control, especially mentally. Then there is Wendla.
A raven haired beauty who asks her mother where babies come from, only to
have her questions hushed and scolded not to ask about anything regarding
sex. It is this difficult, emotional, & dark journey of these three that the
musical takes us on.
Sater's book and lyrics match impeccably with Sheik's rock/pop score. In the past 10-15 years, many musicals seem to have a book containing a laundry list of problems. Or it may contain a score that just didn't explore enough in subtext and characterization. SPRING AWAKENING has one of the most enthralling, intimate, and inspiring scores ever written for the stage. Each song gives organic realism to the dark pathos within its subtext and internal dialogue of each character. Sater's lyrics explore and excavate deep into the subconscious. We comprehend and feel deeply the pain, confusion, angst, loneliness, anger, rebellion, love, or heartbreak of what is exposed within those lyrics. Take the first solo, "Mama Who Bore Me". Wendla sings, "Some pray that, one day, Christ will come a'-callin'/ They light a candle, and hope that it glows/ And some just lie there, crying for him to come and find them/ But when he comes, they don't know how to go." Another gleaming example of finesse lyric writing by Sater is in the haunting "The Dark I Know Well". This is a song in which one of the girls reveals to her friends of her father's sexual abuse. Sater's lyrics go like this: "I don't scream/ Though I know it's wrong/ I just play along/ I lie there and breathe/ Lie there and breathe." Finally read these lyrics in which Melchior sings of his loss: "Those you've known, and lost, still walk behind you./All Alone. They linger till they find you." But even the up- tempo numbers have such lyrical strength and muscular power that you yourself have said or screamed at the top of your lungs. Either out loud or inside your soul. Take for example the raw, rock flavored company number, "Totally F**ed". They sing: "Man, you're f****ed if you just freeze up/ Can't do that thing-that keeping still/But you're f****ed if you speak your mind/ And you know-uh huh-you will."
The company up-tempo numbers are crafted into such head banging, body swaying anthems that you strongly resist the urge to jump on stage and join the company singing their hearts out. Those numbers in particular are "The B**ch of Living" and the aforementioned, "Totally F****ed". Let me add one more comment about "Totally F***ed". At the Friday night performance that I attended, that number filled the theater with marvelous power and music. It was saying what we all have felt in our lives at one time or another. But also to what is happening outside those theater walls. It crescendo into a rock thumping climax, that when it finished, this is what happened. For what seem like an eternity, the audience would NOT stop cheering, screaming, and applauding after that number. It seemed like it lasted for over ten minutes! The cast had to hold still as they accepted wave after wave of ear splitting applause. It was one of those theatrical moments you remember for a lifetime. There has been some negative feedback concerning the appearance of hand
held mics & mic stands during the musical numbers. After all, they didn't
have these in 1891. When it is time for a character on stage to sing, they
either pull the hand held mic hidden in their jackets, or other cast members
cross the stage to them in choreographed movements and hand them their mics.
In other instances they simply just put a mic stand on stage for another
character. Then he or she walks up to it and places their hand held mic on
it and sing. But only the teens have these hand held mics, the adults do
not. And that is where another example of theatrical beauty of subtext lies
within this piece. Giving a star making performance is Jonathan Groff who portrays "Melchior". Just this month Groff earned a well deserved Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Groff's stage presence is electrifying and never once subsides. He is on stage for the majority of the evening and stays so focused and in the moment, your eyes never leave him. Groff gives his role such diversity that you are completely swept away within his blinding talents. Groff's minuet detail to his characterization is flawless. His arc of
that of a confused, frustrated teen that rebels against his teachers,
parents, and society is vivid, raw, and intense. His commitment to the
truth of his character's actions, beliefs, and reasoning is devoid of false
pretense or overly used & tried acting characteristics that we've seen
before in others. His is an original, honest, and mesmerizing performance. Michele has been with SPRING AWAKENING since its initial readings and
workshops. Thus you would think by now the actress would just be going
through the motions with her performance. Far from it. Michele, who strongly
resembles a young Idina Menzel, is breathtaking. A ravishing beauty that
breaks every heart each night at the Eugene O'Neill. From her first solo,
"Mama, Who Bore Me" the audience is in the palms of her delicate hands. As "Wendla",
she is a young virgin who is finding out what her body wants and feels. Her
inner most desires overpower her as she falls in love with Melchior, giving
herself to him. Michele has an exquisite soprano voice that bathes her solos
with luxuriant beauty. SPRING AWAKENING in a word, is a masterpiece. John F. Garcia, Jr. Executive Director/Producer, "THE COLUMN ONLINE"; Theatre Awards Editor & Founder of THE COLUMN ONLINE; Texas Regional Theater Critic for talkinbroadway.com Special Thanks to the Cooper Smith Agency for the photos used in this review. |
Fast
forward to the spring of 1999 in the wake of the Columbine High School
massacre, playwright Steven Sater gave a copy of Wedekind's play to composer
Duncan Sheik. They both fell in love with the material, later on they would
bring into the creative process Tony nominated director Michael Mayer.
