Spring Awakening to Hold July 22 Talkback | Playbill

Related Articles
News Spring Awakening to Hold July 22 Talkback Author Judith Levine will take part in a talkback for the Off-Broadway hit musical Spring Awakening after the show's July 22 matinee performance.

//assets.playbill.com/editorial/ca5fd4512223b9dc246f05c980f9ed74-levine1.jpg
Judith Levine

Author and journalist Levine wrote "Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex".

Future talkbacks will occur on July 29 (with James Lescesne) and Aug. 5 (Eve Ensler). The musical's director Michael Mayer will moderate the last.

"Wedekind called Spring Awakening 'a Children's Tragedy.'" Mayer said in a statement. "Almost 120 years later, what is clearly tragic is that the issues the play raises are only too relevant. In a culture in which religious fanaticism is on the rise, the body politic is diseased with a reactionary and dangerously repressive conservatism, and the actual earth we live on is being systematically destroyed by our collective willful ignorance and negligence, the greatest victims are our children. Issues that are raised in the play like teen suicide, incest, abuse, unwanted pregnancy and illegal abortion are the stuff of talk shows and newspaper stories every morning in America. The way in which Spring Awakening discusses these stories by intersecting a 19th Century story with a 21st Century emotional experience gives us a lot of food for thought. It is a perfect vehicle for creating a forum to explore new ways to address the many problems facing young adults today, as well as the problems facing the adults who are their parents, teachers, religious and political leaders."

Following a handful of positive reviews for Spring Awakening, the Atlantic Theater Company extended its hit musical an additional four weeks. The run of the Duncan Sheik-Steven Sater rock musical, based on the scandalous 1891 play about troubled teens, was originally announced to play to July 9. It's now on sale through Aug. 5.

* Sheik's throbbing, evocative alternative pop music accompanies the hormonal rhythms of the adolescent heart in the new musical, which opened at Off-Broadway's Atlantic June 15.

The musical, with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and direction by Michael Mayer, began performances May 19. ATC's Chelsea mainstage is a converted church building that informs the world of the play — Judeo-Christian rules, middle-class morality and academic pressures help crush the spirits of a group of teenagers in the European-set story.

The tale is drawn from Frank Wedekind's expressionistic 1891 drama about an adult world of parents, clergy and teachers who keep young people the dark — and then punish them for being adrift in the night.

Timely as today's headlines — more than 100 years after the scandalous play, kids are still committing suicide, getting pregnant, hurting each other — the work's universality is underlined by what Mayer calls a "garage band" quality to some of the musical numbers. Dressed in a period clothing, the kids pull out hand microphones to rant and express themselves. The periods blur.

The lyrics aim to be poetic, searching and sensual, Mayer told Playbill.com. He said the effect of Sater's free-flowing, non-showtuney verse is that they suggest sentiments the kids might have scrawled in the margins of their lesson books.

Choreography is by Bill T. Jones (The Seven), whose visual language begins with the image of a girl touching her body, perhaps in front of a mirror. Given the sexual content of the story, the ritualistic movements Jones assigns to the kids are often above-the-waist. It suggests an 1891 version of Madonna's "vogueing," and seems to underline the play's metaphor of physical exploration.

Two middle-aged actors — Tony winner Frank Wood (Side Man, Hollywood Arms) and Atlantic veteran Mary McCann (The Old Neighborhood) — represent the adult world. The young cast is largely unknown: Skylar Astin, Lilli Cooper, John Gallagher Jr. (Rabbit Hole), Gideon Glick, Jonathan Groff (In My Life), Brian Johnson, Lea Michele (Fiddler on the Roof), Lauren Pritchard, Phoebe Strole, Jonathan B. Wright, Remy Zaken.

According to Atlantic Theater Company, "Based on Frank Wedekind's masterpiece The Awakening of Spring, Spring Awakening is the contemporary musical adaptation of one of literature's most controversial plays. [It] boldly depicts a dozen young people and how they make their way through the thrilling, complicated, confusing and mysterious time of their sexual awakening. Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's score features songs that illuminate the urgency of adolescent self-discovery, the burning intensity of teen friendships and the innate suspicion of the uncomprehending adult world. The story centers around a brilliant young student named Melchior (Jonathan Groff), his troubled friend Moritz (John Gallagher Jr.) and Wendla (Lea Michele), a beautiful young girl on the verge of womanhood."

The creative team includes Christine Jones (sets), Susan Hilferty (costumes), Kevin Adams (lighting), Brian Ronan (sound). Vocal arrangements are by AnnMarie Milazzo. Music director is Kimberly Grigsby.

The musical is presented by Atlantic Theater Company in association with producers Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman.

The limited not-for-profit engagement of Grammy Award nominee Sheik's albums include "Duncan Sheik" (Atlantic Records, 1996), which became a certified Gold Record; "Humming" (Atlantic, 1998); "Phantom Moon" (Nonesuch Records, 2001); "Daylight" (Atlantic Records, 2002); and "White Limousine" (January, 2006).

He was Grammy Award nominated in 1997 in the category of Best Male Vocal.

Sheik composed original music for the Public Theater's 2002 Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night.

Sater's plays include Carbondale Dreams, Perfect for You, Doll, Umbrage, A Footnote to the Iliad, Asylum, Murder at the Gates, In Search of Lost Wings and a version of The Tempest with music by Laurie Anderson. He is the lyricist for Sheik's critically acclaimed album "Phantom Moon." They wrote songs for Mayer's film, "A Home at the End of the World."

Spring Awakening plays Tuesday through Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM.

All tickets are $60 and available by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or visiting Telecharge.com. For groups, call (212) 691-5919, ext. 1092.

*

At every performances there will be 18 seats on sale for $10 each. Those seats are located on stage "mingled in among the actors." Tickets may be reserved in advance by calling (646) 216-1119 or may be purchased at the box office (336 West 20th Street) two hours prior to curtain.

For more information, visit www.atlantictheater.org.

 
RELATED:
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!