Spring Awakening Review
Recently, I had the privilege of going to see a local production of the 2006 Duncan Sheik musical "Spring Awakening," and I thought the performance was extremely well done.
"Spring Awakening" for anyone who isn't familiar with the show, is a very dark musical. Not dark in a bad way, it's just very heavy to watch. It packs in a bunch of society's issues into one show and tries to show the dangers of these things. The issues it covers varies from the importance of sex education, to pressure from society to meet certain standards, to parental abuse, to just teenage angst. That's what makes the musical hard to watch at times, but still amazing at the same time. It carries such a powerful message about open communication and the importance of speaking up when something is wrong. I won't give any spoilers, but the show follows a few different story-lines. The main plot is regarding a young girl named Wendla (originally played by Lea Michele), who struggles with her mother keeping her from knowing much about the world. Her mother wants her to stay innocent, and doesn't feel that she's ready to know about a lot of things (as many parents in their society believe). This leads Wendla to make some decisions that she most likely wouldn't have made, had she known what she was doing. A secondary plot is the story of Moritz Stiefel, the best friend of Melchior (Wendla's lover) who is constantly trying not to crumble under the pressure put on him by his parents. He struggles in school and all his father does is put him down because of it. Another story follows two girls who are abused at home. One just suffers through the abuse and keeps it a secret out of fear. The other girl runs away from home to live in an artists' colony. She's trying to find herself and figure out where she wants her life to go. She's going through a period of confusion and feels somewhat alone and lost.
I saw the show at RAPA (a local theater group for those of you who aren't familiar with the area), and honestly, going into it, I wasn't too optimistic about the show I was about to see. I'm a huge fan of the musical and I absolutely love the original cast. It was hard for me to picture anyone else trying to fill the shoes of Lea Michele, Jonathon Groff, John Gallagher and the rest of the amazing cast members. Once I got there though, I was pleasantly surprised. The lead roles Emily Putnam (Wendla) and Jimmy Boorum (Melchior) were great. Putnam has an absolutely beautiful voice, and I was very pleased with the performance she put on. She perfectly captured the role of a naive, innocent girl whose innocence ends up getting the best of her. "Whispering" was absolutely beautiful. She did a great job! I was also impressed with the acting of Jimmy Boorum. His singing was mediocre, but I liked the way he played his character. He did a great job showcasing what many young adults experience. He's frustrated by the naivety of his peers, and he's eager to get out and experience the real world. He's tired of being sheltered by his childhood. I also really enjoyed the actor that played Moritz Stiefel. He is incredibly talented. I loved the way he sang. His vocals encompassed the angst you'd recognize from the likes of Avril Lavigne and Fall Out Boy. I never caught his name*, and wasn't able to find it online, but I wish I knew who he was. I'd love to get to see him perform again! Someone who really caught my attention was Courtney Maxwell, who played Ilse. Her voice was incredible. I wish I had gotten to hear her sing more. I did some research on her, and I guess she has a pretty impressive background in musical theater. She'll be returning to the RAPA stage in the fall for their production of "The Rocky Horror Show." I may have to attend the show just to hear her again!
The ensemble was another part of the show that I really enjoyed. Now, in this musical, I don't know if you'd really call it an "ensemble." All of the cast members had names and real parts. They all contribute something different to the story line, so they're really not just ensemble members. But in each song, one of the cast members is the lead, and everyone else backs them up. It was these moments that I really enjoyed the music the most. The harmony's in this score appear to be insanely difficult, and the cast pulled them off amazingly. Songs like "Touch Me" and "The Song of Purple Summer" were my favorite ones because of the strong ensemble presence and the beautiful harmonies.
"Spring Awakening" for anyone who isn't familiar with the show, is a very dark musical. Not dark in a bad way, it's just very heavy to watch. It packs in a bunch of society's issues into one show and tries to show the dangers of these things. The issues it covers varies from the importance of sex education, to pressure from society to meet certain standards, to parental abuse, to just teenage angst. That's what makes the musical hard to watch at times, but still amazing at the same time. It carries such a powerful message about open communication and the importance of speaking up when something is wrong. I won't give any spoilers, but the show follows a few different story-lines. The main plot is regarding a young girl named Wendla (originally played by Lea Michele), who struggles with her mother keeping her from knowing much about the world. Her mother wants her to stay innocent, and doesn't feel that she's ready to know about a lot of things (as many parents in their society believe). This leads Wendla to make some decisions that she most likely wouldn't have made, had she known what she was doing. A secondary plot is the story of Moritz Stiefel, the best friend of Melchior (Wendla's lover) who is constantly trying not to crumble under the pressure put on him by his parents. He struggles in school and all his father does is put him down because of it. Another story follows two girls who are abused at home. One just suffers through the abuse and keeps it a secret out of fear. The other girl runs away from home to live in an artists' colony. She's trying to find herself and figure out where she wants her life to go. She's going through a period of confusion and feels somewhat alone and lost. |
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The ensemble was another part of the show that I really enjoyed. Now, in this musical, I don't know if you'd really call it an "ensemble." All of the cast members had names and real parts. They all contribute something different to the story line, so they're really not just ensemble members. But in each song, one of the cast members is the lead, and everyone else backs them up. It was these moments that I really enjoyed the music the most. The harmony's in this score appear to be insanely difficult, and the cast pulled them off amazingly. Songs like "Touch Me" and "The Song of Purple Summer" were my favorite ones because of the strong ensemble presence and the beautiful harmonies.
All in all, RAPA did a great job putting on this production. I loved the intimate theater setting and the feeling of an interactive show. The stage was set in the center of the theater's cafeteria (I know it sounds weird, but I promise it wasn't) and there was about 40-50 chairs on each side of the stage. In between numbers, cast members who weren't involved in the show at the moment sat in the front row of each side of the audience. Some of the numbers had cast members enter from either side of the room and sing while walking through the audience. As an audience member, I liked that there wasn't any feeling of separation between you and the cast. You really felt that you were a part of the show and that you were included in the production which was really cool and different from other shows I've been to. I definitely look forward to returning to RAPA to see more of their productions. They did a great job! Bravo!
Any musical recommendations you think I should go see? Leave them in the comments below and I'll check them out!
*I found his name! His name is John Connors!
Any musical recommendations you think I should go see? Leave them in the comments below and I'll check them out!
*I found his name! His name is John Connors!
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