Spring Awakening
Book/Lyrics by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
Directed by Jonathan Berry
at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont (map)
thru Jan 8 | tickets: $38 | more info
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Timeless teen angst done right
Griffin Theatre presents
Spring Awakening
Review by Lauren Whalen
An adaptation of a German “children’s tragedy” that firmly straddles the line between past and present, composed by a 1990’s one-hit wonder and featuring archaic spoken language juxtaposed with modern rock sung into handheld microphones – Spring Awakening is just as messy as it sounds. Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s musical workshopped for seven years before sweeping the 2006-07 Tony Awards, launching the careers of Jonathan Groff, John Gallagher Jr. and Lea Michele. Much like teenage life itself, the show’s unpredictability often gives way to intense beauty. Despite many hiccups, Griffin Theatre Company’s production of Spring Awakening – the first grown in Chicago – ultimately illuminates the show’s strength: timeless teen angst with a catchy soundtrack.
Spring Awakening chronicles the intertwined lives of three tormented teenagers in 1890’s Germany, where schoolmasters are strict, abuse is accepted and sex education begins and ends with the mythical stork. Wendla (Aja Wiltshire) struggles to piece together desires she can’t quite understand and her mother doesn’t dare explain. Meanwhile the brilliant but troubled Melchior (Josh Salt) flaunts authority with his atheism and explores his attraction to his childhood friend Wendla. And Melchior’s buddy Moritz (Matthew Fletcher) is distracted by erotic dreams that threaten his performance in school and ultimately his sanity.
As a show, Spring Awakening doesn’t always work. The microphone device is inconsistent. The second act – particularly an unnecessary reform school scene – lags considerably. And though Frank Wedekind’s original play ends on a sad but hopeful note, Spring Awakening the musical tries too hard for a happy ending with a random song: the melody is lovely but the lyrics sound like Sheik had no idea how to wrap things up and in desperation revisited his seventh-grade journal.
However, the Griffin improves upon several factors of the original production, which came through Chicago on its first national tour in 2009. Theater Wit’s intimate space is ideal for a show about teenagers, whose every emotion and action is hugely significant in their own minds. Marianna Csaszar’s industrial set design, involving pipes, chains and multiple levels, is minimal but striking and director Jonathan Berry’s staging on the three-quarter thrust is mostly effective (though a few moments are difficult to see). Lee Keenan’s brilliant lights thrill and spook, especially during the haunting “The Dark I Know Well.” Izumi Inaba’s costumes mix period garb with punk touches like colored hair streaks and most notably neon high top sneakers, creating contrast that’s fun to watch. And Nicole Pellegrino’s choreography incorporates writhing, stomping and jumping to perfectly channel young frustration and physicality, in particular during the pop-perfect ode to crushes “My Junk” and the explosive “Totally F*cked.”
Though mostly out of their teens, Spring Awakening’s cast obviously hasn’t forgotten how it feels. Sadly, the show’s weakest link could have been its strongest performance. If done right, the character of Moritz spotlights dramatic range and rocking vocal solos while serving as a cautionary tale of too much pressure and not enough love. (John Gallagher Jr. did Moritz so right, he won a Tony.) Matthew Fletcher unfortunately isn’t up to the challenge: though he’s perfectly believable as the bumbling underachiever, his interpretation of Moritz’s descent into madness falls flat as he shouts his way through the songs. Thankfully, the other two leads are strong: Salt’s Melchior combines teen-dream looks and mannerisms with the genuine existential frustration common to adolescence, and his singing voice is tuneful and nuanced. As Wendla, Aja Wiltshire has the probing deer-in-headlights gaze of a girl on the verge of a womanhood she’s hurtling toward whether she likes it or not. Salt and Wiltshire’s duet “The Word of Your Body” is gorgeously resonant of the first sparks of sexual tension. Standout supporting players include Lindsay Leopold as a runaway whose wild tales of bohemia don’t mask her tremulous uncertainty, and Adam Fane, whose sweet-faced interpretation of a bisexual playboy is closer to Wedekind’s original text (and a welcome change from the Broadway production, which painted this same character as a sleazy predator).
Like its predecessor Rent, Spring Awakening inspires polarity in theatergoers. In short, one loves it or hates it. For that reason I would strongly advise potential audience members to give the soundtrack a listen. If its raw melodies and sharp lyrics compel and intrigue, get thee to Theater Wit. Griffin Theatre Company’s Spring Awakening isn’t perfect, but like those early stumbling forays into romance, it’s definitely worth it.
Rating: ★★★½
Spring Awakening continues through January 8th at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont (map), with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $38, and are available by phone (773-975-8150) or online here (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at GriffinTheatre.com. (Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes, which includes one intermission)
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