Masturbation, molestation, insemination, incarceration and termination • what a Spring Awakening.
Long day at work after the flight back in from Dili via Darwin and after work, already yawning I headed off to my second instalment of my Sydney Theatre Company subscription for 2k10 with tonight’s preview performance of the Broadway hit Spring Awakening.
I really didn’t know much about the musical except that it is based on a 1891 play of the same name by a German playwright (Frank Wedekind I later find out) and that it won a shitload of Tony’s. But I am always a sucker for a musical so this was always going to be high on my order of preferences for this season.
The STC production is actually the first ‘non-replica production’ which was kind of cool and I enjoyed the staging of it (although Ruen didn’t like the occasional use of handheld microphone which didn’t always have the best sound quality – but I could live with that).
Essentially it tells the story of two school classes of 15 year olds. One at a girls school and one at a boys school – and occasionally their intersections. All of the characters are embarking on a bit of self discovery, but our central characters here are innocent Wendla (gorgeously portrayed by Clare Bowen) and Melchior (the cute Andrew Hazzard) who are discovering each other. Melchoir’s best friend Moritz (Akos Armont – my personal favourite performance for his totally punk sensibility) is tormented by his burgeoning sexuality and despite Melchoir’s attempts to counsel his friend this torment is a large part of the story. Another favourite character is the abused Martha (played with great gusto by opera singer Erica Lovell).
Of course all the gay boys in Sydney were there to see the inevitable boy-on-boy action between confident Hansen (the surprisingly buff Jamie Ward) and the naive Ernst (sweet Scott Morris). The kiss itself got a few tut-tuts from the old ladies behind me – but the song where the boys admit their attraction (while a little out of context) got a huge applause from the audience as a whole (and admittedly this was no faked/superficial kiss).
As with most musicals this has its low moments – but the topics covered are decidedly non-1891. There are some very dark moments in the piece – but someone you find a way to enjoy even those moments. I, unlike most in the audience though, didn’t feel right clapping at the end of a song where a character discloses her molestation.
Overall the cast is great – most of whom were reportedly found through open auditions – and this just the kind of thing to life my spirits after a weekend of volunteering and a full day at work with not much sleep overnight.
If you get a chance to go along and see this – definitely do. It is just the right kind of fun for dealing with some pretty serious topics.
Downloading the Broadway cast soundtrack now.
