43
'Spring Awakening' pushes hot buttons
CLEVELAND — “Spring Awakening” is often compared to “Rent.”
Both Broadway musicals have a great rock 'n' roll score, are based on much older material (“Spring” on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play and “Rent” on Puccini’s 1830 opera “La Boheme”), and feature young and energetic casts.
But they are two very different stories. While sex plays a role in "Rent," "Spring," winner of the 2007 Tony Award for Best Musical, is all about it. "Spring made its regional debut Tuesday when a touring production opened at the Palace Theatre.
The adaptation by playwright Steven Sater with music by Duncan Sheik follows a band of high-school age students in late 19th-century Germany. The adolescents are in the throes of puberty amid a very repressive society. But pit raging hormones against sexual repression, and guess which one wins?
There are some unforgettably ludicrous and funny production numbers, including one where a young man is, ahem, busy with himself while the young ladies frolic around him. And the sex scenes at the end of Act I and the beginning of Act II involve a bit of nudity.
In short, the show is definitely not for children.
Sex aside, the strongest draw for "Spring," however might be the music. A composer for a new show must connect with the audience on first listen, and Duncan Sheik's songs do just that.
It's also important that a small band be able to reproduce the sound live night after night. A combo with an upright bass, cello, guitar, keys and drums sits at stage rear and bangs out the edgy tunes with vibrant awareness. The best of the bunch ("The [expletive] of Living," "My Junk," "Totally [expletive]") are quickly strummed with a jangly electric guitar.
Dressed in knickers and long plain dresses, the youthful cast employs a dance style that screams rage. The boys' tense, explosive downkicks demonstrate their frustration, while the girls' herky-jerky and disjointed moves also show that they are bucking a rigid value system.
The story itself is sobering, and makes a strong statement about the perils of keeping children ignorant to sexual education. Teen pregnancy, sexual and physical abuse, even suicide are at the core of "Spring." Wedekind was a shunned trailblazer when he wrote this play in 1891, and the musical makes you want to go back and read it, if only to see what the original vision was.
In truth, "Spring's" focus on sex is balanced and kept perfectly in context by the naivete and innocence of the 19th century; it would be excessive and gratuitous if it weren't. As such, it retains Wedekind's intent. And adolescence is a time that everyone can relate to.
But when "Spring" gets down to brass tacks, it doesn't pull punches.
On opening night, Perry Sherman played Melchior, the protagonist who is figuratively crucified in the second act, with the right shade of innocent rebelliousness. The standout cast also included Christy Altomare as Wendla, his girlfriend; and Blake Bashoff as the conflicted Moritz.
X"Spring Awakening" will run through March 15. For showtimes and ticket information, go to Playhousesquare.org.