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Spring Awakening (musical)

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This article is about the musical. For other uses, see Spring Awakening (musical) (disambiguation).
Spring Awakening
Original Broadway Recording
MusicDuncan Sheik
LyricsSteven Sater
BookSteven Sater
BasisFrank Wedekind's play
Spring Awakening
Productions2006 Broadway
2008 U.S. National Tour
2008 Sweden
2009 West End
Numerous international productions
2010 U.S. National Tour
AwardsTony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Book
Tony Award for Best Score
Drama Desk Outstanding Musical
Drama Desk Outstanding Music
Drama Desk Outstanding Lyrics
Outer Critics Outstanding Musical
Outer Critics Outstanding Score
Grammy Award Musical Show Album

Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1891 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. It features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Set in late-19th century Germany, it concerns teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality. The original play was banned in Germany for a while due to its portrayal of masturbation, abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score. Spring Awakening received eleven 2007 Tony Award nominations, winning eight, including Tonys for best musical, direction, book, score and featured actor. The show also won four Drama Desk Awards, while its London production won four Olivier Awards.

Background and original production

Spring Awakening, before appearing on Broadway, had a number of workshops, concerts and rewrites over a seven-year period, including workshops at La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, California, and the Roundabout Theatre Company, and a concert at Lincoln Center in February 2005, under the auspices of actor/producer Tom Hulce.[1] It finally premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company on May 19, 2006 and ran through August 5, 2006.

The musical then opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006 and closed on January 18, 2009, after 888 performances and 29 previews. Directed by Michael Mayer with choreography by Bill T. Jones, the costume designer is Susan Hilferty, set designer Christine Jones and lighting designer Kevin Adams. It received nearly unanimous favorable reviews.[2][3]

Decca Broadway released the original cast recording on December 12, 2006, which won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2008.[4] The guitar Sheik used to compose songs for Spring Awakening is on display at the New York Library For The Performing Arts.[5]

Synopsis

Act I

Wendla Bergmann, an adolescent in late-nineteenth century Germany, laments that her mother gave her “no way to handle things” and has not taught her the lessons she needs to learn (“Mama Who Bore Me”). She tells her mother that it is time she learned where babies come from, considering that she is about to be an aunt for the second time. Her mother cannot bring herself to explain the facts about conception clearly to Wendla despite knowing her daughter is reaching puberty. Instead, she simply tells Wendla that to conceive a child a woman must love her husband with all of her heart. The other young girls in town appear to be similarly innocent and are upset about the lack of knowledge presented to them ("Mama Who Bore Me" (Reprise)).

At school, some teenage boys are studying Virgil in Latin class. When Moritz Stiefel, a very nervous and intense young man, sleepily misquotes a line, the teacher chastises him harshly. Moritz’s classmate, the rebellious and highly intelligent Melchior Gabor, tries to defend him, but the teacher will have none of it, and hits Melchior with a stick. Melchior reflects on the shallow narrow-mindedness of school and society and expresses his intent to change things ("All That’s Known").

Moritz describes a dream that has been keeping him up at night, and Melchior realizes that Moritz has been having erotic dreams which Moritz believes are signs of insanity. To comfort the panicked Moritz, Melchior, who has learned sexual information from books, tells Moritz that all of the boys at their age get the dreams. The burned-out boys tell about their own frustrating thoughts and desires ("The Bitch of Living"). Moritz, who is not comfortable talking about the subject with Melchior, requests that he give him the information in the form of an essay, complete with illustrations.

Some girls are gathered together after school and tease each other as they fantasize about marrying the boys in the town. At the top of the list is the radical, intelligent, and good-looking Melchior. Meanwhile, Hanschen masturbates as he looks at an erotic postcard, and the piano student Georg indulges in some lively fantasies about his well-endowed female piano teacher ("My Junk"). Moritz has eagerly digested the essay that Melchior prepared for him, but complains that his new knowledge has only made his dreams even more vivid and torturous. Melchior tries to calm and comfort his friend, but Moritz runs off in frustration. All of the boys and girls express their desires for physical intimacy ("Touch Me").

Searching for flowers for her mother, Wendla stumbles upon Melchior, who is reflecting on "the origin of shame" in his journal. The two share a moment while sitting together in front of a tree (they were childhood friends, but grew apart as they got older). Each of them considers what it would be like to give in to their physical desires, but they do not do so ("The Word of Your Body"). Meanwhile, at school, Moritz sneaks a look at his test results and is thrilled to learn that he has passed his midterm examinations, but the teacher and schoolmaster cannot pass everyone, so they decide to fail Moritz anyway, deeming his passing grade is not up to the school's impossibly lofty standards.

Martha, one of the teenage girls, accidentally admits to her friends that her father abuses her physically (including sexual abuse) and that her mother is either oblivious or uncaring. The other girls are horrified to hear this, but Martha makes them promise not to tell anyone, lest she end up like Ilse, a friend from childhood who now wanders homeless and aimless because her parents kicked her out of the house ("The Dark I Know Well"). Later, Wendla finds Melchior again at his spot in the woods and tells him that about Martha's abuse. Melchior is appalled to hear this, but Wendla convinces him to hit her with a switch, so that she can try to understand her friend’s pain. At first Melchior is determined to do nothing of the sort, but reluctantly complies. He gets carried away in the beating, taking his own frustrations out on Wendla and throws her to the ground. He then runs off, disgusted with himself, as she weeps curled up on the ground. Alone, Wendla finds that Melchior has left his journal on the ground. She picks it up and takes it with her.

Moritz is told he has failed his final examination, and his father reacts with disdain and contempt when Moritz tells him that he will not progress in school; rather than attempting to understand his son's pain, Moritz' father is only concerned with how the others in town will react when the see 'the man with the son who failed'. Moritz writes to Melchior’s mother, his only adult friend, for money to flee to America; she tenderly but firmly denies his request and promises to write his parents to discourage them from being too hard on him ("And Then There Were None"). Devastated by the refusal and feeling he has few choices left, Moritz begins to contemplate suicide.

In a stuffy hayloft during a storm, Melchior cries out in his frustration at being caught between childhood and adulthood (“The Mirror-Blue Night”). Wendla finds him once again, telling him she wants to return his journal, and each awkwardly apologizes for what happened the last time they met. Before long, they begin to kiss; Wendla resists his advances at first. Although she doesn't really understand what's going on between them, Wendla is reluctant, sensing that what they are doing is something very powerful, and very unlike anything that she has known before. They begin to make love in the hayloft ("I Believe").

Act II

Wendla and Melchior are finishing their moment of intimacy in the hayloft; they reflect on and discuss what has just happened (“The Guilty Ones”).

Moritz, having been thrown out of his home, wanders the town at dusk, carrying a pistol (“Don’t Do Sadness”). He happens upon free-spirited Ilse, who has found refuge at an artists' colony; she invites him to join her in sharing some childhood memories and perhaps something more, but Moritz refuses (“Blue Wind”). Upset at his refusal, she leaves very hurt. Changing his mind, he calls after her, but it is too late; she is gone. Rejected once again, Moritz feels that he has lost everything and the world he sees is dark and cold. Believing that he has nowhere to turn, Moritz shoots himself.

At Moritz’s funeral, each of his friends drops a flower into his grave, and Melchior chastises Moritz’s father for being so cruel to his friend, as the other students look at Moritz’s father with disgust for pushing Moritz too hard when he was alive (“Left Behind”). Back at school, the schoolmaster and teacher feel the need to call attention away from Moritz, whose death was a direct result of their actions, in order to absolve themselves of their own guilt. They search through Moritz's belongings and find the essay on sex which Melchior wrote for him. They lay the blame of Moritz's death on Melchior, and although Melchior knows that he is not to blame, he knows there is nothing he can do to fight them, and he is expelled (“Totally Fucked”). Elsewhere that night, Hanschen meets up with his shy and delicate classmate Ernst. In a comedy-relief scene, Hanschen shares his pragmatic outlook on life with his classmate before seducing him. "Me? I'm like a pussycat. I just skim off the cream," is Hanschen's way of telling Ernst that he is special because he knows how to work the system of the world to his advantage. It is Ernst’s first sexual experience, and he tells Hanschen that he loves him as the two share a passionate kiss (“The Word of Your Body (Reprise)”).

Wendla has become ill, and her mother takes her to visit a doctor. He gives her some medication and assures them both that Wendla is suffering from anemia and will be fine, but he takes Wendla’s mother aside and tells her that Wendla is pregnant. When her mother confronts her with this information, Wendla is completely shocked, not understanding how this could have happened. She realizes that her mother lied to her about how babies are made and expected her to know the consequences of her actions with Melchior despite not learning about it properly. Although she berates her mother for leaving her ignorant, her mother rejects the guilt and insists Wendla tell her who the father is. Wendla reluctantly surrenders a passionate note Melchior sent her after they consummated their relationship. Wendla reflects somberly on her current condition and the circumstances that led her to this difficult position, but ends with optimism about her future child (“Whispering”). Meanwhile, Melchior’s parents argue about their son’s fate; his mother does not believe that the essay he wrote for Moritz is sufficient reason to send him away to reform school. When Melchior’s father tells his wife about Wendla’s pregnancy, however, she agrees that they must send Melchior away, which they do without telling him that Wendla is pregnant.

At the reform school, Melchior gets into a fight with some boys who grab a letter he has just received from Wendla and use it in a masturbation game. As one of the boys reads from the letter, Melchior finally learns about Wendla and their child, and he escapes from the institution to find her. He does not know that Wendla’s mother has already taken her to an underground practitioner to have an abortion. When Melchior reaches town, he sends a message to Wendla’s friends to have her meet him at the cemetery at midnight. There, he stumbles across Moritz’s grave, and swears to himself that he and Wendla will raise their child in a compassionate and open environment. When Wendla is late to the meeting, Melchior begins to feel a little uneasy. Looking around, Melchior sees a grave he hadn't noticed before. He reads the name on the stone - Wendla Bergman - and realizes that Wendla died from the forced abortion. Overwhelmed by shock and grief, he takes out a razor with the intention of killing himself. Moritz’s and Wendla’s spirits rise from their graves to offer him their strength. They persuade him to journey on, and he resolves to live and to carry their memories with him forever. "Not gone, not gone," Wendla assures him in song (“Those You’ve Known”).

Led by Ilse, everyone assembles onstage to sing “The Song of Purple Summer” about life and hope.

Characters

The Children

  • Melchior, headstrong, handsome, and charismatic. He knows much more than the others because of what he reads in books.
  • Moritz, Melchior's insecure best friend whose dreams of women haunt him to the point that he is too afraid to fall asleep.
  • Wendla, a childhood friend of the boys; she falls for Melchior.
  • Ilse, another childhood friend who runs away from a sexually abusive home to become a Bohemian; (symbolically) Moritz's last offer of hope.
  • Hanschen, a very humorous, almost arrogant classmate of the boys. An effortless perfectionist who easily seduces Ernst.
  • Georg, another classmate who lusts after his older, busty piano teacher.
  • Martha, one of Wendla's friends who is abused sexually by her father.
  • Ernst, a naive classmate of the boys who falls deeply for Hanschen's seduction.
  • Otto, another classmate who dreamt of his mother, as Melchior humorously reveals to Moritz in an effort to help him relax.
  • Thea, one of Wendla's friends, a girl who tries to brush her feelings of sexual desire under the carpet to please adults.
  • Anna, one of Wendla's friends, who cannot wrap her head around Martha's trials.

The Adults

  • Fanny, Melchior's mother. Very open to the idea of her son understanding his body and desires and tries to provide counsel to her son's friend Moritz
  • Herr Gabor, Melchior's father. He allows Fanny to dictate the way their son lives his life, but ultimately is the one to send him away.
  • Herr Stiefel, Moritz's father. He has high standards for his son and is furious when Moritz fails. Many of the children believe when he weeps at his son's funeral, it is for not the loss of his child but his own selfish ego of how he will face others in town after Moritz' death.
  • The Teachers, who favour Melchior in the beginning and who dislike Moritz. They see him as a bad egg who will contaminate the others. They do not let him continue at school despite succeeding on his exams, an act which ultimately leads to Moritz' suicide.
  • Fraulein Grossenbustenhalter, Georg's piano teacher who he dreams of. She humorously becomes the object of his fantasy during the song "My Junk."
  • Fraulein Bergmann, Wendla's mother. She doesn't want her daughter to grow up and tries to keep her young and innocent by refusing to give her lessons about her changing body, yet after discovering her daughter is pregnant, refuses to accept any responsibility for her part in her daughter's situation.
  • Hanschen's father, who appears briefly during "My Junk."

Musical numbers

Casting

The original casts of the major productions of Spring Awakening.

Character Original Broadway Cast [6] Original National Tour Cast Original London

Cast[7]

Melchior Jonathan Groff Kyle Riabko Aneurin Barnard
Wendla Lea Michele Christy Altomare Charlotte Wakefield
Moritz John Gallagher, Jr. Blake Bashoff Iwan Rheon
Adult Men Stephen Spinella Henry Stram Richard Cordery
Adult Women Christine Estabrook Angela Reed Sian Thomas
Ilse Lauren Pritchard Steffi D Lucy May Barker
Hanschen Jonathan B. Wright Andy Mientus Jamie Blackley
Georg Skylar Astin Matt Shingledecker Jos Slovick
Martha Lilli Cooper Sarah Hunt Hayley Gallivan
Ernst Gideon Glick Ben Moss Harry McEntire
Otto Brian Charles Johnson Anthony Lee Medina Edd Judge
Anna Phoebe Strole Gabrielle Garza Natasha Barnes
Thea Remy Zaken Kimiko Glenn Evelyn Hoskins
Notable Broadway Replacements
Notable National Tour Replacements

Subsequent productions

United States tour and original London production

Spring Awakening at London's Novello Theatre, spring 2009

A U.S. National tour (with one stop in Toronto, Canada) opened on August 15, 2008 at The Balboa Theatre in San Diego, California. The current cast tour ended on May 23, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. The cast and stops have been officially announced for a non-equity US tour that began at Shryock Auditorium on October 14, 2010 in Carbondale, Illinois.[8]

The London production began January 23, 2009 at the Lyric Hammersmith, transferred to the Novello Theatre on March 21, 2009, and closed on May 30, 2009.[9][10] The London production won 4 awards at the Laurence Olivier Awards 2010 including best musical and best sound. Aneurin Barnard won an award for best actor in a musical/entertainment. Iwan Rheon won an award for best supporting role in a musical/entertainment.

International productions

2008 productions

The European premiere took place on August 30, 2008, at Värmlandsoperan in Karlstad, Sweden. The production is directed by Per Eltvik and choreographed by Åsa Thegerström. The Swedish text is by Fredrik Fischer and Linnea Sjunnesson. It stars Joán Alderman (Melchior), Mari Haugen Smistad (Wendla) and Ole Aleksander Bang (Moritz). This production closed in March 2009.[citation needed]

2009 productions

The Finnish production opened in Helsinki on 5 February 2009 and closed in November 2009.[11] The first Hungarian-language (first non-replica) production premiered on February 7, 2009 in Budapest at the Nyugati Teátrum as a co-production of the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre and the Nyugati Teátrum, with the title "Tavaszébredés". This production ran until May 26, 2009.[12] A new production opened on November 21, 2009 at the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre, with all the roles played by the students of the Pesti Broadway Stúdio, the acting school of the theatre. This is also a non-replica production but differs from the previous Hungarian version, and is staged as a modern school class performing the musical.[13]

International productions in 2009 included the second Swedish-language production, which opened in Helsingborg, Sweden on March 20, 2009.[14] The German-language premiere opened in Vienna, Austria in a limited run at the Ronacher Theatre on March 21, 2009, and closed on May 30, 2009.[15] A live cast recording was released. An English-language production opened in Valletta, Malta at the St. James Cavalier Theatre on April 17, 2009, directed by Wesley Ellul and choreographed by Fiona Barthet. This will be produced by the MADC.[16][17] The Japanese-language production opened in Tokyo at the Shiki Theatre Jiyu May 2, 2009.[18] The Brazilian production in Rio de Janeiro ran with the title "O Despertar da Primavera" from August 21, 2009 to January 31, 2010. Transferred to São Paulo where ran from March 13, 2010 until May 2, 2010 ; re-open on July 10 and closed on August 15. A cast recording was released in January.[19] The Philippine production opened in Manila in the Carlos P. Roumolo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, on September 25 until the October 17, 2009. It will be in English and is directed by Chari Arespachochaga.[20] The Czech-language premiere opened in Brno, Czech republic at the City Theatre Brno on November 21, 2009 [21] The South Korean production opened in Seoul in 2009.[22][23]

2010 productions

In January 2010, the Norwegian production opened in Oslo.[24] Sydney Theatre Company staged the first Australian non-replica production, which opened on 4 February 2010 and closed on 7 March. Actress Cate Blanchett was the co-artistic director.[25] The Argentine production with the Spanish title "Despertar de Primavera - Un Musical Diferente" opened in Buenos Aires on March 19, 2010. This is the second production made in South America, after the Brazilian production.[26] A Hebrew production opened in Tel Aviv, Israel in April 2010. The Scottish premiere involving students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama took place during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on 4 August 2010, and closed on 30 August. The Irish premiere was performed at The Helix, Dublin in September 2010, produced by NYMT [9] (National Youth Musical Theatre) Ireland. The South Australian premiere of Spring Awakening will go on stage in December 2010, produced by Film and Theatre Company Gin & Vodka Productions and Co-Directed by Joshua Penley and Vince Fusco - Performed at Adelaide University's Little Theatre.[citation needed]

Future productions

The Victorian premiere of Spring Awakening is set to open on the January 27, 2011 at the National Theatre in Melbourne. Produced by The Young Australian Broadway Chorus and Directed by Robert Coates. The regional Australian premiere is scheduled for February 9, 2011, at Helen Macpherson-Smith Theatre in Ballarat, Victoria. Produced by BLOC music theatre the production is Directed by Emil Freund with Music Direction by Stacey-Louise Camilleri and Assistant Direction and Choreography by Eamonn George.

The first UK national tour of Spring Awakening is due to take place in May and June 2011, produced by Sell a Door Theatre Company. The tour will visit Exeter Northcott Theatre, Pleasance Edinburgh, MacRoberts Arts Centre Stirling, Lowry Manchester, Norwich Playhouse & Greenwich Theatre, London.[27]

A Welsh language production is scheduled to tour Wales from the beginning of March 2011 visiting 8 different locations, with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (Welsh National Theatre).[28]

Amateur rights

The copyright for amateur performances of Spring Awakening has been released.[citation needed]

In other media

  • In the new television series 90210, the first few episodes contain the school, and some of the characters as they prepare, and eventually perform in Spring Awakening. Parts of some songs and scenes are performed through the episodes, such as "Mama Who Bore Me" and "The Bitch of Living." Annie {after replacing Adrianna} and Ty played the principal roles. In reality, the amateur production rights were unavailable [29]

On Project Runway the "Headline Dress" had a picture of Moritz on it.

Apple's Keynote presentation application uses the lyrics of 'The Bitch of Living' on its icon.

Awards and honors

Proposed film adaptations

Lyricist-librettist Steven Sater told Playbill.com that a film version of Spring Awakening could begin production in Europe as early as fall 2010. He also said that he and Sheik wrote a new song for the film adaptation.[39]

Warner Bros. has announced consideration of making a movie adaptation of Spring Awakening. McG (Whose production company purchased the rights to adapt the musical) is announced as being attached to direct.[40]

References

  1. ^ Estvanik, Nicole "The Outside Man" Theatre Communications Group, retrieved January 15, 2010
  2. ^ "Spring Awakening Review Roundup" BroadwayWorld.com
  3. ^ Pincus-Roth, Zachary.Spring Awakening Advance Approaches $2 Million" playbill.com, December 12, 2006
  4. ^ Information about 2008 Grammy Awards
  5. ^ www.broadway.tv "Broadway’s Hidden Treasures Revealed"
  6. ^ "Spring Awakening" ibdb.com, Retrieved on July 24, 2010.
  7. ^ Cast: Spring Awakening Stars, Atherton Back on Q
  8. ^ Hetrick, Adam."Spring Awakening National Tour Ends Run in Orlando May 23" playbill.com, May 23, 2010
  9. ^ Shenton, Mark."Spring Awakening Will Make U.K. Premiere in 2009 at Lyric Hammersmith" playbill.com, May 19, 2008
  10. ^ Hetrick, Adam and Shenton, Mark." 'Spring Awakening' to Close in London", playbill.com
  11. ^ [1] springawakening.fi
  12. ^ [2] operett.hu
  13. ^ Tavaszébredés - stúdióvaltozat operett.hu
  14. ^ [3] www.malmoopera.se
  15. ^ [4] musicalvienna.at
  16. ^ [5] madc.biz
  17. ^ "Official Website", springawakeningmalta.com
  18. ^ Spring Awakening Tokyo shiki.gr.jp
  19. ^ O Despertar da Primavera despertarprimavera.com.br
  20. ^ [6] atlantisproductionsinc.com
  21. ^ [7] http://www.mdb.cz
  22. ^ [8] springawakening.co.kr
  23. ^ Spring Awakening Korea springawakening.co.kr
  24. ^ Oslo, Norway production
  25. ^ Blanchett's Australian production
  26. ^ Despertar de Primaveradespertardeprimavera.com/v2/
  27. ^ "'Spring Awakening' Embarks on First UK Tour in May" whatsonstage.com
  28. ^ "Whats On" theatr.com
  29. ^ http://mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000357 States that the amateur production rights are "currently restricted"
  30. ^ 2006-2007 Tony Nominations Announced; Spring Awakening Garners 11 Noms
  31. ^ 52nd Annual Drama Desk Award Nominations
  32. ^ Outer Critics Circle Awards for 2006/2007
  33. ^ 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards Winners
  34. ^ Gans, Andrew."Spring Awakening Wins 2008 Best Musical Show Album Grammy; Krieger and Dale Also Win", playbill.com, February 10, 2008
  35. ^ 2007 Drama League Award Winners Announced
  36. ^ Drama Critics Past Winners
  37. ^ Lucille Lortel Awards Past Recipients
  38. ^ Whatsonstage Awards
  39. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Steven Sater Working on Chitty Remake, Musical With Bacharach, Spring Awakening Film and More" Playbill. March 11, 2010
  40. ^ Article about Warner Bros. consideration of film version. Hollywoodreporter.com
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