The Homestretch for SPRING AWAKENING

[Smartful Dodger]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 10:13am

After suffering through THE VERTICAL HOUR on Thursday night, I was astonished by what is essentially a locked, if not perfect SPRING AWAKENING. I'm told they added one element yesterday and that there's an additional rehearsal on Monday, but the show is essentially ready and will welcome the first official reviewers on Wednesday.

The thing that struck me most about the show is that it arrives at a time when our culture has become insanely "prissy," where talk of sex is taboo and we struggle to protect our kids from the dangers of growing up too quickly. More than 100 years after Wedekind wrote the play in Germany, this new SPRING AWAKENING shines a very bright light on the reality that we are all living, feeling creatures and that the instinctive and very real biological changes we experience during adolescence cannot be stopped, no matter how hard our parents want to protect us and despite how forecfully one ideological perspective tries to censor who we are.

Others have commented here on the inconsistencies of the performances. I saw none. It's an incredibly tight ensemble of likeable, sympathetic characters. Jonathan Groff, Lea Michelle, John Gallagher, and Lauren Pritchard inhabit their characters to the core. And, Stephen Spinella and Christine Estabrook bring to life an ensemble of adult characters that are unique and easily identfiable, all without being tedious cariactures of the "enemies" in the kids' lives.

Some have commented on the challenges of mixing a classical cadence in dialogue with contemporary language. It works. In fact, it's an essential conceit of the show. The handheld microphones are meant to accentuate the fact that the characters "step out of themselves" to comment on a situation, create an outlet for their inner voices through song. It's smart. Note: the performers are also fitted with head mikes.

And, the "blah, blah, blah" refrains in "Totally F*CKed" are as funny as the "yadda, yadda, yaddas" of a certain SEINFELD classic. The brilliance of the song -- and so many of the others in the show -- is that it's spontaneous, honest. As I hinted previously, these are not songs that characters necessarily sing to one another or that move the plot along. They are windows into inner feelings -- joys, pains, disappointments, hopes -- that underscore the narrative.

With that, marketing this show is going to be a huge challenge. Like the detailed and illustrated essay that Melchior writes for his friend Moritz (the clandestine sharing of things that others dare not speak of), I think the producers have got to post clips of some of the musical performances to YouTube. I don't see this playing on any of the morning shows, but I could see pieces of it on THE COLBERT REPORT. It might work on ELLEN, but she's in Los Angeles. If it wins the Pulitzer, for which it has a serious shot, I believe, then it may get some coverage in some of the weekly news magazines. Until then, this has got to be promoted virally.

Indeed, the Bitch of Living. And, of creating genuine ART that actually makes it to Broadway.

Updated On: 12/2/06 at 10:13 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 11:33am

"PULITZER"??

What are you talking about?
Do you know the criteria for that award?

[McFrenzied]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:05pm

Dodger,
Do you know what was added?
I too think Spring Awakening would be a contender for the Pulitzer. Hey, they gave it to RENT, didn't they? And that book was infinitely weaker than Spring Awakening's. The Pulitzer committee (made up of theatre critics) chose not to give out the award last year because there wasn't deserving fare. Here is a bold, profound and relevant work which should absolutely be considered at least.
Do you know what was added??

[rickydrummer]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:16pm

The one big change I noticed between when I saw the show early in previews and later is that they used to have the cast come out for "Purple Summer" in their period costumes, and now they have them come out in modern dress. A simple change, but it makes all the difference. Still a bit conflicted on the choice though.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:17pm

I just want to add that in all honesty I that Skylar Astin (not sure how to spell it) has the best voice in the cast.

[McFrenzied]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:23pm

Thanks,Ricky, that's new to me, but Dodger said they added something yesterday, Friday. When did you see it last ?

[xM3L24x]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:51pm

I don't want to start a new thread just for this, but I may see this for my 16th birthday with some friends. I've watched the videos on the site and I think I might like it. Do you think this would be a good show to see?

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:54pm

Absolutely

[theaterfan194]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:57pm

i saw it last night... and the only change i noticed was her hair

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 1:27pm

Question: I want to buy the play for a friend, but I searched on Amazon and I'm confused. There's one called "Spring's Awakening" and then "Spring Awakening". Which one is this one?

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 1:38pm

Both are Wedekind's play, just different translations of it.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 1:49pm

Whose hair are you talking about?

[Smartful Dodger]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 7:10pm

I spoke briefly with Steven Sater before the performance and he explained that they'd added someting that day and that it would be fully rehearsed on Monday. I got the impression that it wasn't something merely "cosmetic," such as a hair style as has been suggested, but something in the performance. I guess we'll know for sure on Wednesday.

And, yes, CPD, I know the criteria for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. While precious few musicals have won it since it was first awarded in 1918, I think SPRING AWAKENING has a chance given the source material and the way it's been imagined in this production. Of everything else I've seen thus far this season (I've seen about 80% of what's opened), it's definitely a strong entry. We'll have to see what the spring openings bring. Some promise there.

For what it's worth, I went into the theatre with no expectations, an observer, and came out a fan!
Updated On: 12/2/06 at 07:10 PM

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 8:34pm

That's wonderful news indeed! Please, feel free to spread the good word with your friends and loved ones. Your continued support for SPRING AWAKENING is greatly appreciated.

Best.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 11:32pm

This is not bashing, because I liked a lot of Spring Awakening, especially the music and most of the cast.
But, the Pulitzer prize in Drama is given (when given)to a work preferably about an American theme. And this rule is hardly, if ever broken.
And again I liked SPRING AWAKENING but it is nowhere near Pulitzer worthy. Even it's greatest champions like Charles Isherwood of The New York Times had reservations with the writing and most complaints have been about the lyrics and construction of the book.
I hope this show finds an audience and is enjoyed by many but I highly doubt it will even be considered for that prize.
When RENT won it was a different time and the emotional value of the circumstances played a big part.


Updated On: 12/3/06 at 11:32 PM

[Smartful Dodger]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 8:55am

If "teenagers, sexual awakening, pregnancy, and suicide" aren't American themes, then I'm a space alien.

And, I believe the criticisms Isherwood expressed in his review, as I've gone back to read it and others, seem to have been addressed in the re-working of the book in the transfer from the Atlantic. It's very tight.

[Aqualline2]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:48am

I'm glad to hear support for this show considering how much I love it. I REALLY want to see it and hope it survives long enough so that I can go see it.

[mightydog]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 10:13am

Curtain Pull Downer,
You are correct to some extent about the Pulitzer criteria. However, exceptions have been made as was the case with "I Am My Own Wife". A desdcription of the play taken from its website states, ""I Am My Own Wife" tells of author Doug Wright's fascination with the life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a German transvestite caught up in the great European dramas of the 20th century. Unlike many contemporaries, von Mahlsdorf survived the Nazi regime and its replacement in East Germany, the Soviet-dominated Communist dictatorship." Ameircan themes???

Also it is Charles Isherwood not Christopher.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 10:27am

oops. looks like I ain't gettin' no Pulitzer either.

[McFrenzied]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 10:32am

The main criteria is that it must be written by an American playwright, and Steven Sater certainly qualifies.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 11:27am

The main criteria is it must be worthy of the prize and remember Brantley is like the head of the comittee, i still doubt it will be considered.

[rickydrummer]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 1:06pm

About the costume change:

I saw panel discussion about the show at NYU with a lot of the creative team (Michael Mayer, Steven Sater, Susan Hilferty, Christine Jones, the fight director) and some cast members. During the talk, Susan (costume designer) mentioned there would be an interesting costume change implemented the following night, Wednesday.

I decided on a whim to go on Wednesday to try to spot the change, so that was the last time I went.

It's relatively minor, yes, but it makes a world of difference within the context of the show if you think about it.

If anyone has more details about other changes during previews, I'm really interested in knowing more.

Also, can anyone say anything about the song cut from the off-Broadway run, "There Once Was a Pirate"?

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 1:47pm

What was the costume change?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 1:52pm

Pulitzer?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[McFrenzied]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 1:56pm

Curtaindowner: has Brantley been announced as one of the 2007 Jurors, or is that an assumption on your part that the NY Times' chief critic would automatically be included?? FYI, the Pulitzer Prize jurors for 2006 were: Linda Winer (Newsday), Kimberly W. Benston from Haverford College, Jones (Chicago Tribune), Anna Deavere Smith, New York University, Anne Marie Welsh(The San Diego Union-Tribune).

Ricky: "There Once Was a Pirate" is a beautiful song, and was used to open the second act instead of "The Guilty Ones", but it didn't move the play forward. I think the song was a reference to the fact that they used to play Pirates together, but it didn't refer back to any of the plot points in the play. With the new song, we get a deepening of the relationship between Melchoir and Wendla, and it's also made clearer that Melchoir did not rape her. Having the priest speak over them during their carnal moment also ties back to the themes of the play more so than when he spoke over the Pirate song. I'm glad it's being included in the CD, though!