Theater review: Spring Awakening at Winspear Opera House in Dallas

by John Garcia of John Garcia's The Column

The score, lyrics, and book alone elevate this into such a powerful, unique, emotional, and dazzling piece of musical theater art.

Cast of Spring Awakening

"But, you're f**ked if you speak your mind, And you know -- uh huh -- you will."

"I believe ... There is love in Heaven/ I believe ... All is forgiven." -- Spring Awakening

In my double life as a published theater critic for over 14 years and that of being a professional actor (since I was in junior high) I have seen so much theater. Tons of Broadway shows, loads of national tours, and countless local productions all over Texas, plus other states where I worked as an actor.

Within all those productions I have seen some amazing theater, some decent ones, and yes, even some major stink-a-roos that begged for me to reach for a gun and end it all.

In 1996 I saw on Broadway the original production of Rent with the entire original cast enact. It changed my life and view of musical theater forever. It splattered all over that stage at the Nederlander Theater my life, both artistically and personally. The magnificent score and lyrics by Jonathan Larsen was nothing like anything I had heard before. It moved me so deeply, I never had theater move me that emotionally ever before. Ever. I knew I was watching history being made before me. And I was right. Rent revolutionized the art of musical theater.

Since then I have seen other Broadway musicals that I did find absolutely brilliant, enjoyable, and loved every minute of. But none of them were like Rent. They didn't have that unique, bold artistic voice that elevated the art of musical theater.

But then came Spring Awakening. In May 2007 I sat down at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, not really knowing anything about this musical. I heard one song via its website, but that was it. When the final curtain call closed that evening, I knew once again I was watching theater history being reborn yet again.

Like Larsen's Rent, Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening was remotely near anything that I have heard before in a score. It was thrusting, pounding, sensual, erotic, melodic beauty that to me has never been composed before for the stage (besides Rent). Gut-busting rock, soothing pop and folk, all layered in strings, guitar, piano, bass, and superb percussion. Steven Sater's lyrics magically intertwines the proper dialogue of 1890, but with the teenage angst of today's teenager's voice. But more so, the lyrics are poignant character revelations and truths. They speak in crystal clear emotion that punches your soul, causing you to bleed emotionally within yourself. You totally get and understand what they are saying and feeling, both in subtext and characterization.

Here's what I wrote about the background and story of the musical when I originally reviewed the Broadway production back in 2007:

(From Spring Awakening review, published May 2007, THE COLUMN/

Talkinbroadway.com):

Spring Awakening's origins began in the mind and pen of German writer Frank Wedekind. In 1891 he wrote- then published- at his own expense the play, "The Awakening of Spring." In this controversial piece Wedekind addresses the outcome of the hypocritical and repressive sexual morality of European adolescents. The play was censored until 1912; however it did receive a production in 1906.

Fast forward to the spring of 1999 in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre, playwright Steven Sater gave a copy of Wedekind's play to composer Duncan Sheik. They both fell in love with the material, later on they would bring into the creative process Tony nominated director Michael Mayer.

They held a three week workshop of the first full draft at Robert Redford's Sundance Theater Lab in 2000. In 2001 Roundabout gives the piece two workshops. But then came September 11 and the project was postponed until February 2005. That was when they presented a concert reading of the material for Lincoln Center's "Great American Songbook" series. The concert was a complete sell out.

June 2006 would bring Spring Awakening its first full production with The Atlantic Theater Company. This was to be the first musical ever mounted at ATC. The end result was resounding raves, sold out houses, and two extensions.

Spring Awakening would make its Broadway debut in December 2006. The audience is transported to a German province circa 1891. We see a group of teens as they are on the cusps of puberty. Their bodies are changing as is their minds and curiosity of what lies underneath their scratchy, itchy, school uniforms.

Melchior is the star pupil, a handsome boy whom everyone idolizes. But he's tired of sticking to the rules and desires more of what lies outside the school's walls. His best friend Moritz has his hormones on overdrive. He cannot concentrate in Latin class or any classes for that matter. His puberty is simply out of control, especially mentally. Then there is Wendla. A raven haired beauty who asks her mother where babies come from, only to have her questions hushed and scolded not to ask about anything regarding sex. It is this difficult, emotional, and dark journey of these three that the musical takes us on.

Spring Awakening (playing at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas through April 3) would stay on Broadway to play for 859 performances. The musical would win eight Tony awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score.

Cast of Spring Awakening

The first element that makes this rock/pop musical so spectacular is the tour de force score. There is not a weak song whatsoever in the score. That is rare -- and I mean RARE -- in a Broadway score. Each and every song has impeccable composition, from the ballads that literally put a lump in your throat, to the compelling anthems that scream what we all have felt as teens. The solos, the duets, and ensemble pieces are all composed with some of the most exquisite melodies that have ever been composed for a musical. Each song has purpose, character development, plot movement, and emotional strength. That is a feat that 99.9% of composers cannot rise to in today's musical scores. Many have filler music or numbers that just gasp for air to survive on stage. Not here. Each song here is a glistening jewel.

Throughout the evening at the Winspear (as I did back at the Eugene O'Neill) my head kept rocking back and forth, foot tapping away, and my body swaying to each song. That is musical theater that I crave for. Where it moves me so much, both physically and emotionally, and Spring Awakening is just that.

The lyrics are like a flood of eminent subtext and vividly bring the audience directly into the hearts and minds of the characters. Each song contains lyrics that speak with such realism and honesty on what these teens are saying.

Take for example the opening number, the solo "Mama Who Bore Me." Wendla sings, "Some pray that, one day, Christ will come a'-callin'/ They light a candle, and hope that it glows/ And some just lie there, crying for him to come and find them/ But when he comes, they don't know how to go."

One of the darkest, most haunting ballads is "The Dark I Know Well." In this song Martha reveals the sexual abuse she is suffering by her father, while her mother does nothing to stop it. She sings: "I don't scream/ Though I know it's wrong/ I just play along/ I lie there and breathe/ Lie there and breathe." When I first heard these lyrics I gasped quietly in my seat and wiped a tear from my face. Here a sweet, innocent girl in 1890 speaks of this abuse, and it's still happening today.

Another example of Sater's finesse lyric writing is the aching ballad "Those You've Known" in the second act. He sings, "Not gone/ Not Gone/ they walk with my heart-/ And I'll never let them go/ I'll never let them go/ You Just watch me/ Just watch me/ I'm calling/ I'm calling-/ And one day all will know."

Thursday night in the third seat of the orchestra I kept wiping my tears off my face. It's music and lyrics that makes the art of musical theater the only art form that we have left that is live, real, and raw. I want -- no, demand -- for musical theater to do this for me. To make me feel, and completely understand what is being said and sung. To relate to the story and character arc of each role. In Spring Awakening that happens from the first note, to the final harmonies of the cast in the last song.

DFW audiences will be thrilled to know that 99% of the physical elements of the Broadway production remain intact with the national tour. The only change in design that I did notice was that the "pit" is no longer there. This pit was set center stage for the boys to use in the second act as part of the reformatory that Melchior was sent to.

All lighting designers truly need to see this production to discover new visions for their designs from the magnificent design created by Kevin Adams. He won the Tony Award for this design, and once you see this musical you will see why. He uses a bountiful array of various lighting instruments, light bulbs (both small and long), and the actual set to create eye-popping lighting. For the first sexual experience for Melchior and Wendla he has these lush blue bulbs float down like stars, bathing the set in romantic blues, but when the actual sexual act occurs, he creates a harsh yellow glare of reality pour onto the stage. Adams designs various lighting moments within each number. He doesn't just set one set of lights, and that's it. Every number has lighting constantly changing. For example, look at the duet of "Don't Do Sadness" and "Blue Wind." He gives Moritz bold, vivid reds, helping his characterization show the explosion of pain he feels (and foreshadowing of what is about to happen), to the lush hues he gives Isle as she sings "Blue Wind," the contrast of lighting for both creates superb emotional lighting that makes the emotion that much more realistic.

Cast of Spring Awakening

Look at the side and back walls as well. He has long neon bulbs, a huge circular disc, then on the back wall Adams has these tiny boxes, within them various colors of light explode out, either blindly or softly throughout the production. His design has lighting piercing specifically to an actor or emotion, even right down to a lyric, all giving amazing subtext that is so rare to find in lighting design nowadays. You will marvel at his phenomenal lighting design.

The entire cast of this national tour all give superior performances here. But I must confess that a few performances did take some time to warm up for me from the original Broadway cast.

I really was a bit taken aback at the acting choices that Angela Reed took as Wendla's mother in the first scene. Remember, this is 1890 and sex is just not discussed, it is repressed, kept deeply hidden. You dare not speak of it. So for Reed to go for the laughs here was odd. On Broadway Christine Estabrook immediately set the tone by her cold demeanor of not wanting to discuss it. It was perplexing that Reed went for the laughs here right off the bat.

Christy Altomare portrayed "Wendla", the role that was originated by Lea Michele (now the star of FOX's Glee). Ms. Michele was one of the cast members who was with the original production right from the first stage reading to the Broadway production. Ms. Michele has a more innocent, angelic physical look than Ms. Altomare. Also she possesses a set of vocal lungs that is unheard of. Ms. Altomore looks just a tiny older than Ms. Michele and seemed to sing softer. Thus it took some several scenes and numbers for me to warm up to her. But when she got to "The Word of your Body," she completely won me over. She slowly began to peel each layer of subtext, and revealed the beating heart of girl wanting to feel something or someone so badly. The repression of her church, her family, her schooling, everything -- she wanted to feel, no matter how painful it felt. Altomare displays this agony and frustration in graphic honesty.

But it is in the second act where she is magnificent, both as an actress and a singer. The subtext is so raw, naked, and brutally honest that it leaves you shattered. When she sings "Whispering" and "Those You've Known," she has tears streaming down her face in never-ending waves. I won't spoil it for you here, but because of what has happened to her character, but you completely understand the pain and sorrow here. I was overcome in the darkness by her performance, constantly wiping tears off my face. Ms. Altomare will leave you devastated by her commanding performance.

Jonathan Groff originated the role of "Melchior" on Broadway, earning him a Tony Award nomination. He made Spring Awakening for me. His performance was nothing I've ever seen before on a stage. For the tour it is Jake Epstein who now tackles the role of the golden child who takes a complicated path for his life. Groff had a youthful, innocent look to him that really sealed this image of the perfect son. Epstein looks just a hair older and doesn't really look as innocent, which I think hurt a little the unspoken subtext that surrounds "Melchior." Thus (like Altomare), it took several scenes for me to also warm up to Epstein's characterization and take on the role.

But once he did, Epstein gave a stunning performance. His second act work was riveting, complex, and haunting that stayed in your mind long after the show finished. His solo, "Left Behind," alone leaves you devastated there in the darkness of the theater. His trio with Wendla and Moritz of "Those You've Known" is another powerful number where Epstein strikingly displays his characterization's subtext. He delivers a splendid performance in this production.

Taylor Trensch is "Moritz," the boy who cannot grasp hold as to why his body and mind is changing so fast, and he can't understand why. He's so conflicted on his growing puberty and pain of adulthood, with no one helping him. Not his strict, vicious father, his teachers, not even his best friend. He's a tormented soul who cannot find any peace to calm these fires. Trensch has an angelic face and features that really aid in the realism within his characterization. Because of this, it gives his character a layer of compassionate childlike innocence, which makes his character arc and journey that much more realistic. Trensch provides the right, dramatic tone of screaming teenage angst and soft pathos of confusion. Take the scene when his father slaps him harshly across the face several times and spits in his face words of how his son has failed him yet again. Trensch's face stings with tears of shame and loss, his eyes pour true pain of defeat and shame on what his father has said. From the first scene to the last, Trensch's stage presence is magnetic and fills the massive Winspear theater, and then some. Trensch stole the show with his tour de force performance. You will not want to miss him in this production.

Within in this first rate cast there are also some performances that deserve special recognition:

Sarah Hunt as "Martha" actually delivers a performance that completely outshines the actress who originated the role on Broadway. Ms. Hunt has one of the darkest songs of the piece, "The Dark I Know Well," which is a devastating ballad of sexual child abuse. Hunt digs deep into the subtext and lyrics to bring forth unequivocal honesty to the number. She has tears streaming down her face as she reveals in song the truth to her friends what her father does to her. She pierces deep into your heart with her portrayal here.

Robert Hager is perfectly delectable as "Hanschen," the haughty, cold teen who seduces the shy "Ernst" (played wonderfully by Ben Fankhauser).

Now, I will admit I did miss the foreshadowing that resulted in the New York casting of "Hanschen." In the original, the actor was blonde and blue-eyed, giving him an aura of the future German "Aryan" race. This being 1890, and the boy who played "Ernst" looked slightly Jewish, it was harrowing foreshadowing of what was to come. Nonetheless Hager and Fankhauser were both outstanding in their performances here.

Matt Shingledecker as "Georg" provides a glorious, ethereal vocal solo on the company song "Touch Me." His sublime tenor voice wafts beautifully in opulent vocal riffs over the cast that resulted in great vocal magic throughout the number.

As stated before, the entire cast all deliver resplendent performances that glow with radiant brilliance and talent.

Spring Awakening is not the musical for the closed-minded, stuffy, old, stiff generations that cannot handle nudity and profanity. This is a musical that displays graphic honesty in showing how we all reacted when we were teens and dealing with sexuality, sex, love, religion, parents, and the restrictions that society imposed on us. Those are all the elements in Spring Awakening that make it such a preeminent piece of musical theater.

The score, lyrics, and book alone elevate this into such a powerful, unique, emotional, and dazzling piece of musical theater art.

In my opinion, Rent has been the only musical in the last twenty or so years to do that. Spring Awakening for me is the second one to do that in my lifetime. It has raised the art of musical theater to a whole new level of artistic and emotional beauty.

You will regret it for years if you do not haul yourself to the Winspear and catch this national tour of this phenomenal rock/pop opera. I guarantee you that you will be missing out on something so special, so emotionally powerful, that you've never experienced before.

Because in a word, Spring Awakening is a masterpiece.

GRADE: A+