Spring Awakening

Growing up with musicals starting and ending with a production number of some sort, when something does not do either, you sit up and take notice. Spring Awakening is one of those shows that demand your attention, both in how it is staged and the shows structure. You know a show has touched you when you are thinking about it 3 hours later.

The show opens with the teenage character Wendla (Christy Altomare) standing on a chair in her undergarments (it is set in the 1890's gents, so get your mind outta the gutter) singing "Mama Who Bore Me". The song, and the choreography, tell you that she does not know much about the changes going on inside of her or about sex. The next scene heightens that, when her mother tells her that a stork has brought her sister a 2nd child and Wendala asks her mother (Angela Reed, deptly portraying all of the Adult Women) to tell her where babies REALLY come from, and she cannot. All of the girls come out and reprise "Mama Who Bore Me" but this time all of the angst and frustration is poured into it. My eye was caught by one young actress and her passion, that I noticed in future scenes when she was not there with the other girls. The actress playing Ilse (Steffi D) has a very strong magnetism and does a great job in this role.

Seriously, I could go on and on and tell you the plot and all of that, but....that's what Wikipedia and the internet is for! This show dealt with sexual awareness, masturbation, wet dreams, suicide, abuse, parental sexual abuse, abortion, homosexuality....I mean, is it any wonder that my brain is spinning?? And instead of ending with a bang, it ended with a whisper. Haunting you, challenging you to forget what you saw.

The cast was good, but surprisingly, I felt the supporting cast was stronger than the leads. Along with Steffi D and Angela Reed, Blake Bashoff as Moritz stood out and the moment when Henry Stram as The Adult Men broke down, my heart just about broke open. I also LOVED Sarah Hunt as Martha. Maybe it was because she towered over the other girls, or watching her wipe her eyes when she was sitting on the side after "The Dark I Know Well" but I LOVED HER!

The stage was AWESOME, with different pictures and set pieces on the wall lit up to show the different rooms that the scene was taking place in. The set pieces themselves were minimal, but perfect. The lighting was brilliant and I see why it won a TONY award. I just hate that sometimes the tech theatre geek in me wanted to figure out things and let part of my brain detach to do so.

Totally awesome, so worth the money and the time and still haunting me. SPRING AWAKENING is a must see if it comes near you!

Only reason I say just about is because