'Spring Awakening' Adapts Quite Nicely to College

Theater Overview

Spring Awakening
Ethel M. Barber Theater
at Northwestern University
Thru Feb. 26
Recommended

I tend not to review--or especially rate--non-professional theater productions. Even given my very limited sphere of influence, it seems silly for me to essentially grade students (or community theater participants), particularly in cases when giving my honest assessment would appear to be critical of performers still primarily in a learning mode.

Thus, I'm not labeling this a review, didn't award a rating on my @@@@@ scale and wasn't even intending to write it. This despite the truth that I found Northwestern's production of Spring Awakening to be rather strong and well worth recommending, especially to those who haven't seen this musical--one of the very best theatrical creations of the past decade--elsewhere.

But in reviewing at my review from last May of a non-Equity touring production of the same show, I was reminded of my saying that I was looking forward to seeing Spring Awakening as it moved away from its splendid Broadway origins and somewhat devolving national tours to high energy--and perhaps, appropriately, a bit scruffy--renditions at small local theaters and upon college stages.

A couple months back, the show was done at a local level by Griffin Theater, but I wasn't all that ready to see it again and the review by the Tribune's Chris Jones wasn't insistent that I must.

For a variety of reasons--proximity to my home, a cheap ticket through HotTix, the track record of Northwestern's Theatre Program in spawning Broadway talent and curiosity as to how Duncan Sheik's (music) and Steven Sater's (lyrics) rock musical based on a 1892 German play (by Frank Wedekind) about repressed teens would work at the collegiate level--NU's production intrigued me enough that I couldn't resist taking a look.

As Spring Awakening is truly a dramatic work set to music, much of its glory can only be experienced on a first viewing (or after one's recollection has sufficiently diminished). So in seeing it for the 4th time in 5 years, I wasn't surprised by the story, intense onstage occurrences (including of an overtly sexual and tragic nature), teen angst driven choreography or the edgy lyrics. Thus it wasn't only because of the college cast that this production couldn't match the first one I saw, on Broadway in early 2007.

But without wanting to edge into a "review," I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the singing throughout all the main roles, and appreciated how director Geoff Button handled the "adult roles" in an unusual way (a single man and woman typically embody a variety of adult characters, but here they did so entirely offstage).

So albeit short on specifics and devoid of Seth Saith rating, you can consider this a recommendation. If you've never seen Spring Awakening, this rendition will provide a rather solid representation, and if you've liked the show in an earlier production, there's no reason you won't here. It may not be the very best version imaginable, but in giving it the old college try, the cast and crew at Northwestern succeed admirably.

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You can check HotTix here or the box office here.

'Spring Awakening' Still Holds Up, But Is Ready For a Downward Progression -- Theater Review

Photo by Andy Snow - SpringAwakening.com

Theater Review

Spring Awakening
a recent musical presented by Broadway in Chicago
Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, Chicago
Thru May 8
@@@@

I think it's somewhat unfortunate that national touring productions of Next To Normal and Spring Awakening are both playing in Chicago during the same week. (This is the second & final week for NTN and the only one for SA.)

For while it's always great to see the downtown theaters abuzz with activity, my suspicion is that these two musicals--both among the very best of the last five years--may cancel each other out in terms of ticket buyers with time to see just one show. Although each show is completely unique and extremely worthwhile its own right, they are both mold-breaking musicals that are heavy on drama, feature an original rock-infused score and aren't based on extremely famous source material (though Spring Awakening is derived from an 1891 German play).

Both have also offered discounted tickets on HotTix so it's easy to imagine some may wind up choosing one over the other. If you're in this boat this weekend, I'd recommend you go to see Next To Normal (which I reviewed here). It's definitely the better production, even though I believe Spring Awakening is the better musical.

More so than Next To Normal did when I saw it for the first time last week, Spring Awakening blew me away when I saw it on Broadway in January 2007, just weeks after its opening. It was one of the freshest pieces of theater I've ever seen and its rock score--sometimes quite hard rocking--by Duncan Sheik was truly exhilarating on a number of songs. The choreography by Bill T. Jones, even in a relatively small setting, was likewise outstanding as the show dared to explore sexual repression and awakening among Bavarian teenagers.

Although the show began its first national tour in 2008, for whatever silly reason it didn't arrive in Chicago until August 2009. I saw it then and again enjoyed it, though not as much as with the original cast. And although its current visit to Chicago wasn't included in my Broadway in Chicago subscription, I like the show enough to opt to see it once again--likely for the last time--on the level of a national tour.

And I'm glad I did. The source material is great enough that I was sufficiently entertained and satisfied. I recommend it to anyone, even if it means seeing two musicals this weekend.

Photo by Andy Snow

But whereas Next To Normal now playing in Chicago features a Broadway-level cast including the Tony-winning star Alice Ripley--though I guess she's missed some performances--this version of Spring Awakening features a non-Equity (the actor's union) cast and thus virtually no one with Broadway pedigrees.

This isn't to say the performers weren't talented; I found almost all--including Coby Getzug (at left) as Moritz--to be more than adequate. But they were clearly a step, or two, down from what I'd seen on Broadway.

And probably not any better than a cast of Chicago-based actors & actresses would be. Given the relative sparseness of the staging (even on Broadway), this is a show perfectly suited for a local troupe to present, say at the Theatre Building, or even for a non-prudish college theater department to present.

I don't know if it's licensed down to that level yet--although the numerous empty seats on opening night in Chicago suggest that the touring version may be running low on financial gas--but it should be.

This is an awesome show that would thrive on the excitement and energy of great young performers, anywhere, and the size of a venue like the exquisitely beautiful Oriental Theatre was actually a detraction. Not only was the acting and singing not quite sensational, even the band wasn't quite on, with an under-amped guitar dampening the power of early Act I rocker, "The Bitch of Living."

To be fair, Act II's phenomenal "Totally Fucked" brought the house down and reminded me of the exhilaration upon first seeing Spring Awakening. So although it may be hard to tell, this is a much more positive than negative review. If you've never seen the show, you really should, and now's as good a time as any.

But I'm looking forward to seeing the show rocking out--and heck, breaking windows--in a Chicago storefront theater in the hopefully not-too-distant future. It's time for Spring Awakening to revitalize itself on a local level.

(This is a clip from the Broadway version I saw, starring Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele.)