Philadelphia revival of SPRING AWAKENING set in a 50’s diner because shut up.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 11:58pm

http://www.playbill.com/multimedia/gallery/4153/New-Look-Spring-Awakening-With-Jim-Hogan-Breanna-Pursell-and-Nate-Golden-Rocks-Philly

Can we get the Arena Stage Music Man rage over here?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:01am

Do they use one of the ketchup bottles to give Wendla her abortion?

[phan24]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:06am

Does Moritz J.O. to make the diner's mayo?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:09am

Hot.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:10am

I think it looks interesting. In a good way.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:17am

I just need to praise this thread title. It cracks me up to even think about it.

[NotAnotherSN]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:29am

I auditioned for this. They didn't make the setting of the show clear before auditions... I was sort of expecting a fairly straight-forward approach, but this company is known to take things in their own direction, although this is only their second year.

Updated On: 7/12/12 at 12:29 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:44am

Is Moritz like the Ralph Malph character? Hanschen's obviously the Fonzie.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 12:55am

Mrs. C obviously doesn't care about her kids too much in this version.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 1:09am

Man, this makes me hungry.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 1:49am

Wtf?.... What's next? Little Mermaid on a skyscraper?

[wicked1492]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 1:58am

This is exactly what that dusty old relic of a show needed. I was really getting tired of seeing it produced the way the writers intended it to be performed.

[onedaymore]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:18am

1) The guy who plays Moritz looks just as confused as I am right now
2) Why does Melchior look like a 40 year-old business man? Isn't the point of it being called "Spring Awakening" because they're young? lol....

Overall, the whole fifties thing looks kinda cool. Even though 50's stuff is overplayed, I think this kind of setting makes it more relatable because it is more modern than the original show, idk.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:19am

But isn't the point of Spring Awakening that the modern music is supposed to make the story seem relevant and modern?

Mind you, I haven't seen the production (though I actually know a few people in it), but it seems to me that the 50s setting makes no sense if that is the reason for it.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:20am

2) Why does Melchior look like a 40 year-old business man? Isn't the point of it being called "Spring Awakening" because they're young? lol....

Okay, was that Melchior? I couldn't tell who was supposed to be who...

[onedaymore]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:22am

"Okay, was that Melchior? I couldn't tell who was supposed to be who..."
After looking really hard at the captions, I think it is. At first, I thought that one picture was the adult man preying on Wendla, lol.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:25am

^ hahaha I was hoping I was wrong in thinking that was him! I thought that one picture was new staging added for The Dark I Know Well, but I guess the older guy is Melchior!

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:31am

Who said setting Spring Awakening in a 1950's diner was a good idea?

[RENT's_Awakening]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:31am

The older guy is Adult Males. Jim Hogan, red-head who I have been in a few shows with, is Melchior. He's 21.

My cousin is also playing Ernst in this. He never mentioned a reason for the change of setting...

[latitudex1]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:57am

From the little I've gleaned, the 50s in America were probably about as sexually and morally repressive as 19th Century Germany. So, from that standpoint, it shouldn't effect the themes of the show too much.

For why they made the change it in the first place, well we'd probably have to see the production to find out.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 3:26am

Just because they're similar doesn't mean they are freely interchangeable.

The only reason I can think of for this choice is to highlight that similarity. But as others have pointed out... why? When so many other works already set in the 50s focus heavily on the repression? What new things does this add?

It is hard to fairly judge when I haven't seen it.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 4:15am

I know the girl playing Ilse, we did shows together awhile back - she was our Mary Lennox in Secret Garden and Chava in Fiddler On The Roof, and I saw her play Julie Jordan in Carousel - she's a very talented girl.

I think the setting change is interesting, but I am not totally sold on it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 6:00am

I can't believe you're all saying this!!! You haven't seen it yet!!!

Use your imagination people!!! Suspend your disbelief!!!

You do this time and time again!!!!

(Or does such a pious rebuttal as this one only work for Exorcist threads?)

Updated On: 7/12/12 at 06:00 AM

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 7:42am

I know the director's, cousin's, sister-in-law's, Aunt's, boyfriend who I worked with in a toilet paper commercial years ago and even he doesn't know why the director made the choices he has.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 7:55am

Hmmmm....doubt I'll see this and not sure I'd want to. I found those pix to be a little disturbing.

I think the 50's catholic school thing could work better than the diner setting -- mostly because so much of the story is so personal, it seems odd to play it out in such a public place.