Spring Awakening...the new class

Finally caught the complete "new class" in Spring Awakening tonight. My last visit to the show was over the summer when Kyle Riabko, Alexandra Socha, and Blake Bashoff were still heading things up. Tonight was my 7th visit to the show, and while I always enjoy myself, the show has fallen off a notch or two.

I must say, however, that I did enjoy Hunter Parrish a great deal. It's a gutsy performance, and his acting is fantastic. His singing is all right, but he struggles mightily with the higher notes. Sadly, with him singing it, Left Behind does not have nearly the same impact it did in the past. He does much better with the lower stuff, however. Nevertheless, I liked his performance a lot, despite the less than stellar vocals. Incidentally, his performance is about the polar opposite of Riabko's. Riabko's singing was GREAT, but his acting was awful. Parrish's singing is merely serviceable, and in some numbers poor, but his acting is wonderful.

I've seen Alexandra Socha a number of times in this role, and always enjoyed her. I suspect, however, that she may have been ill this evening, because her voice was terrible tonight. She has never had the knock 'em out, powerhouse vocals that Michele did, but she definitely sounded ill tonight. Again, I am not criticizing her, because I've seen her in the past and LOVED her.

I wanted to like Gerard as Moritz, I really did, but I couldn't. It's a huge step down from Gallagher and Bashoff. Gerard's performance is some kind of hybrid of both Gallagher and Bashoff and doesn't really work all that well, I thought.

Despite still looking ridiculous with that horrible haircut, Emma Hunton continues to deliver one of the best acted scenes of the entire evening, during the interlude between Don't Do Sadness and Blue Wind.

As for the others, well, I found myself REALLY missing Lilli Cooper, Brian Charles Johnson, and Skylar Astin (him especially) tonight. All three of their replacements are enormous steps down from their predecessors. It's frustrating, because I'm sure there are talented young actors out there that could keep this show at the high level it once was at.

Christine Estabrook, probably trying to keep herself interested, is hamming it up even more now than she ever did before.

Overall, the show just did not have the energy and excitement I remember it having. It still packs an emotional punch, but it's just not quite the same as I remember it.

I agree with mostly everything you've said, adam.

I hope they kick the energy up a few notches for the last few months of the run. When I saw it last (in August) it was good but not as great as it was when I saw it immediately after it opened.

The cast is not as good but Parrish is, in my opinion, as strong as Groff who was excellent in the vocal department and just 'good' in the acting department. Parrish is the opposite, doing fine vocally but knocking it out of the park in his big acting moments.

And I really disliked Socha.

The cast, to me, seemed markably less energetic than the OBC. Which detracts a lot from the show. And a lot of them seemed to be doing carbon copies of their predecessors. And falling terribly flat.


The show is so phenomenal though that a mediocre cast couldn't even really do too much harm.

Despite still looking ridiculous with that horrible haircut, Emma Hunton continues to deliver one of the best acted scenes of the entire evening, during the interlude between Don't Do Sadness and Blue Wind."

Really?! I thought she was horrible. She looked a mess - no offense to her, it's more the costumers' fault, but I thought she horribly overacted. She didn't seem the rebel, artsty type nor did she seem to have any honest line readings.

Sunday Night - 8th Show of the Week....
My voice would not be at its best either.

Try seeing the show on a Wednesday or Thursday - everyone sounds much better!

Well, I usually end up at Sunday evening performances of this show, and this is the first time it's ever felt this lacking in energy, and the first time many of the voices were less than stellar.

I saw it for the first time on Saturday night and I enjoyed it. Naturally, I did not have anything to compare it with but it does suck when you have this teenage girls talking throughout the WHOLE show!! Even when the characters are talking. (or atleast, the first act because for the 2nd, I moved myself up to the balcony)

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Your thread title reminded me of Saved by the Bell.

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Yes, I enjoyed Lauren Pritchard's Ilse a great deal. I think Hunton is a better actress, but I definitely miss the smokey, sultry vocals of Lauren Pritchard. Hunton's voice is very, very good, but I think it's just too polished for that role, if that makes any sense.

I don't know if I'm spoiled by the freshness and energy of the original cast but I was completely underwhelmed by the current cast with a few exceptions. I think since the characters are so underwritten it's really necessary to have a strong personality and charisma that makes them worth watching. I didn't think most of the cast really draws your attention to them. I also think a few of them are trying to hard and have affected exaggerated movements or line readings.

I thought Gerard and Alexandra were really underwhelming.

I know what you mean about Hunton's voice sounding too polished. She definitely sounds good, but Pritchard's vocals fit the free-spirtied, bohemian attitudes of Ilse much better. I do think Hunton is a better actress, though. Her scenes, especially the "Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind" interlude and "Left Behind", were very moving.

i'll have to say i really enjoyed seeing hunter parrish. i only saw kyle before but hunter did much better than kyle. i will have to say tho, i am not a fan of socha. i could barely hear her singing. and i think gerard blew blake out of the park to be honest. the girl playing thea was pretty dull, so i prefer remy zaken to her. otherwise, i loved the new cast. it felt like a new energy. i had frances for the adult woman that day and also felt she was better than estabrook.

I saw both Kate Burton and the other woman who was there for about a month (don't even remember her name). Anyway, they were both absolutely atrocious. Christine was much better her first time around in the show and then she came back and decided to yuck it up in ALL of her scenes. Ruined the role for me. I absolutely love Frances in the role and had the pleasure of seeing her three times. She's my favorite.