While In New York, Brent and I took in a couple of Broadway shows. Following is a mini-review of "Spring Awakening"...
On stage and in song, "Spring Awakening" is Broadway's new "Rent." With a tremendous rock score, a compelling story, innovative staging, and a stellar young cast, the Tony Award winning musical is simply superb. It is poignant and funny, it is dramatic and conflicted.
And "conflicted" is the major plot point here. The story concerns a group of teenagers, confused about their first stirrings of sexual desire, and the tragedies that result when parents and other authoritative figures keep the teenagers mired in a morass of sexual ignorance, all in the name of morals.
The musical is based on a banned 1891 play by Frank Wedekind - a play, with strong references to abortion, homosexuality, and masturbation. It didn't see the light of the British stage until 1974. This new adaptation still takes place in a small 1890s German town, but despite the time and place of long ago its portrayal of innocent adolescent sexuality as it collides with the repressive "morals" of the elder generation might well resonate with audiences in the America of conservative rule in 2007. (The next time you see a majority opinion on a social issue from Justices Scalia, Roberts, or Alito, read it and then tell me it isn't straight out of 1890.)
The night we saw the show, the two male leads were taking a breather. Their understudies, however, did a superb job. In fact, had we not known of the substitutions we would have thought they were the originally casted actors. But the leads aside, this was truly an ensemble show, each actor contributing a vital role to the story. Special props to Christine Estabrook and Stephen Spinella who shined in their multiple roles as the many adult authority figures.
Duncan Sheik's score and Steven Sater's lyrics are amazing. With songs like "The Bitch of Living" and "Totally Fucked," it is easy to understand why Broadway bestowed their Tony on these two gentlemen. For me though, the brilliance of their work and the perfection of the cast came shining through in the final number, "The Song of Purple Summer." Following a turbulent angst-filled two hours, the uplifting finale is a plea for tolerance, love, and understanding. And it was the perfect ending.
If you find yourself in New York, I highly (HIGHLY!) suggest you catch this show. "Spring Awakening" is playing at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on 49th Street.
Tomorrow...my thoughts on "Avenue Q."
