Spring Awakening

So last wednesday I popped up to Sydney for a night to see the smash hit Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" performed by the Sydney Theatre Company. Based on the play by Frank Wedekind, which was banned in many countries, due to its sexual content; Spring Awakening follows a group of teenagers living in Germany at the end of the 19th Century. It considers the difficulties that teens faced at this time due to the lack of information about sex and relationships; leadings the characters in the musical to feel isolated, shameful and betrayed.

Andrew Hazzard as Melchior in 'Totally Fucked'

In 1999, writer Steven Sater approached musician and composer Duncan Sheik to collaborate on reinventing Wedekind's play as a musical. The idea to adapt Wedekind's play was partially born out of issues at the time, such as the Columbine shootings, but was stalled after the September 11 attacks. Numerous workshops, stagings and rewrites would occur over a seven year process before arriving on Broadway. Composer Duncan Sheik found that his main problem with musicals was when characters would sing what they could just as easily say. As a result, Sheik decided that the songs would be inner monologues of the characters, allowing the audience to connect with their inner most thoughts and feelings. The show finally opened on December 10, 2006 and went on to win a total of eight tony awards. The version performed by the Sydney theatre company is the first non-replica production of the show in English. This meant that the STC had complete creative control of sets, lighting, costuming, choreography and even direction, making it a uniquely Australian show.

Melchior and the Ensemble in 'Totally Fucked'

With a cast mostly in their early 20's, the raw emotion of being a teenager was not long forgotten amongst these actors. Director Geordie Brookman searched for raw talent, rather than refined performers when casting Spring Awakening and I found that it allowed the show to have a true teen angst about it. This was particularly true for such high energy songs as The Bitch of Living and Totally Fucked; which were highlights of the night.

Andrew Hazzard and Claire Bowden

Spring Awakening mostly follows the stories of three main characters, Moritz Stiefel (played by Akos Armont), Melchior Gabor (played by Andrew Hazzard) and Wendla Bergman (played by Claire Bowden). Moritz, a boy struggling through school while also being tormented by erotic dreams turns to his good friend Melchior, an incredibly intelligent boy who is an atheist and a rebel, having read about sex from books. Wendla; who asks her mother for the truth about how children are born, only being told that a child is born "when a woman really loves her husband", enters into a relationship with Melchior unaware of the possible outcomes. Andrew Hazzard's Melchior held the right combination between intelligence and sex-crazed teen; while Claire Bowden's Wendla was innocent and yet intrigued by Melchior's views of the world. The pair, although perhaps not classically trained vocally, were well suited as it felt more like a teenager expressing their feelings and emotions, rather than a performing demonstrating their singing abilities. Akos Armont's Moritz was enegertic and angry, allowing the audience to truly feel his frustration with school, family and himself.

Akos Armont as Moritz (Centre) and the Boys in 'The Bitch of Living'

Although there was minimal dance throughout the show, the choreography was well suited to the style and feel of the show. Choreographer Kate Champion tried to use dance as an expression of emotion, rather than a literal expression of the lyrics and this worked well in building the emotional climaxes of the show. The ensemble cast was also impressive, with a mix of classically trained performers and first time performers, I was pleasantly surprised at times when a somewhat unseen character shone through in a brief solo. It was these instances that truly rounded the show nicely, as it did not rely wholly on one or two performers, but rather the whole cast made it what it was. Special mention must be given to the songs "The Dark I Know Well" and "Touch Me", in particular the former where Angela Scundi amazed me as the character of Ilse, a relatively unseen character before this song.

Edward Grey in 'Touch Me'

The most interesting part of the show for me was how the audience reacted. Being a Sydney Theatre Company show, I found that there was a surprisingly large amount of the older generations coming along, no doubt due to season tickets. Considering the content of the show, I knew straight away that they were in for a bit of a shock. With the combination of a masturbation scene, constant talk about sex and the first act ending with a sex scene and partial nudity, it didn't surprise me that many of these audience members left after the first act. What did surprise was how much the middle aged audience enjoyed it, as they clearly looked past the blatant sexual content, and considered the more meaningful issues of the hypocritical nature of this society, as young girls and boys are not taught about sex and as a result fall pregnant, yet they are still ostracised despite having no idea how that was possible. I think the social message of adult oppression overshadows any sexual content if considered properly.

The Boys in 'The Bitch of Living'

Finally the technical aspects of the show, which did not dissapoint in the slightest. The set consisted of a wooden floor, especially built for the show, that had a diagonal section at the front. At the back was a large wooden structure with a rotating middle section, that moved across the stage to create new locations. Various ladders and doors allowed the actors to move to different levels, creating a visually interesting performance. This was emphasised by the wonderful lighting design, which combined standard lights with floor lights, fly in hanging light bulbs and handheld lights. Particularly beautiful and powerful scenes were emphasised by the use of lighting, a highlight for me was the use of handheld lamps during 'Those You've Known', where the people that Melchior has lost haunt him out of the darkness with only these lights to illuminate them, a very powerful scene. However, in other scenes lighting was effective in increasing the energy, such as the use of floor lighting and flashing colours during 'Totally Fucked' and a similar use of lighting during 'The Bitch of Living'.

Akos Armont as Moritz in 'And Then There Were None'

To summarise, this was a great start to the year for me, in terms of theatre. I hope to see more shows by the Sydney Theatre Company this year, including Cate Blanchett in Uncle Vanya later this year and possibly the play August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. Also I'm hoping to finally see Jersey Boys, and to see West Side Story and Mary Poppins later in the year.

Here is an introduction to the male and female ensemble for the show:

Spring Awakening is playing at the Sydney Theatre until 7 March (possibly touring to Melbourne which is exciting)