Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening

Western Oregon University Theatre

April 8, 2014

Western Oregon University’s production of Spring Awakening brings to life a fable of adolescent turmoil both timeless and explicitly modern.

Based on the 1891 play by German playwright Frank Wedekind, this modern musical adaption by Duncan Sheik (Music) and Steven Sater (Books & Lyrics) garnered eight Tony Awards when it premiered in 2006. The play depicts a collage of stories focused around a boys’ secondary school, but primarily follows Melchior Gabor and his romance with Wendla, teen rebels determined to follow their burgeoning desires in a repressive culture. Unfortunately, their puritanical parents and teachers have denied them the slightest knowledge of the consequences of their sexual awakening, leading to tragedy for the young lovers.

The setting is historic, but each scene of dialog alternates with a rock number that is entirely contemporary, an anachronism that insists that the problems these young people face are essentially modern, or perhaps universal. Indeed, the issues of school pressure, domestic violence, sexual shaming and misinformation, early and experimental sex—and all that such sex results in—are familiar. The real menace, as the program note highlights, is the mortal danger of denying sexual education at even the most basic level.

The play’s content was enough to ban the work when first written. Today, masturbation and homosexuality no longer shock, but don’t bring the kids. As the warning label states, the language (and on stage action) is explicit.

Overall, the production is excellent, and closing night earned an enthusiastic and well-deserved standing ovation.

Director Michael Phillips seats several audience members on stage, flanking the action, reinforcing the idea that these young people are constantly watched—and judged—by the adults around them. The scenic design by Scott Grim consists of a back drop of brick walls painted from bottom to top with admonitions against “MORAL CORRUPTION” and “CREEPING SENSUALITY.” But amidst the painted messages are the outlines of trees: Spring (and sexuality) cannot be stopped.

The lighting design, while quietly unobtrusive in most productions, stands out. The playing space is saturated with a mist that allows every cone of light to be seen. In dialogue scenes, the mist becomes a hazy film over the past. During musical numbers, the youth belt out their lyrics beneath dynamic shafts of blue and red and white. What first appear to be towers of speakers turn out to be scoop lights used to striking effect in the play’s strongest number, “Totally F****d,” a youth anthem superior to any in Rent.

Of course, in this Rock Musical, the singing is the highlight. The entire cast sings impassionedly, even if all the lyrics are not crystal clear. Lead actors Luke Armstrong (Melchior) and Amanda Norman (Wendla) carry the show, with standout performances from the tortured Mortiz (Feliciano Tencos-Garcia) and progressive Ilse (Lisa Rogers). WOU faculty Ruth Mandsager and David Janoviak play all of the adult characters, a nice bit of age appropriate casting.

The only disappointment in this production were the number of empty seats in the auditorium. At only twenty minutes from Salem, a production of this quality should have been sold out.