Spring Awakening
Musical in 2 Acts. Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater; Music by Duncan Sheik. Based on the play by Frank Wedekind.
Winner of eight 2007 Tony Awards, including Best Musical!
off-Broadway, New York -May 2006:Eugene ONeill Theatre, New York - Previews November 16, 2006: Opened December 10, 2006
Synopsis
A German province, 1891. A world where the grown-ups hold all the cards, and do not spare the rod. Where the beautiful young Wendla explores the mysteries of her newly womanly body, and wonders aloud where babies come from–till Mama tells her to shut it, and put on a proper dress.
A world where the brilliant and fearless young Melchior interrupts a mind-numbing Latin drill to defend his buddy Moritz–a boy so traumatized by puberty he can't concentrate on anything. Not that the Headmaster cares. He strikes them both and tells them to turn in their lesson.
One afternoon–in a private place in the woods–Melchior and Wendla discover one another, and soon uncover within themselves a desire unlike anything they've ever felt.
As they fumble their way into one another's arms, Moritz flounders and soon fails out of school. When even his one adult friend, Melchior's mother, ignores his plea for help, he is left so distraught, he can't hear the promise of life offered by his outcast friend Ilse.
Naturally, the Headmasters waste no time in pinning the "crime" of Moritz' suicide on Melchior. And when Mama learns her little Wendla is carrying Melchior's child, she shuffles the girl off for a backstreet abortion, and sees the boy is sent to a reformatory.
Struggling with everything left in him, Melchior breaks free, and runs to meet his beloved–at midnight in the graveyard–only to learn he will never see her again. Overwhelmed by the loss of his two friends, and the true darkness of this world, Melchior nonetheless determines that his friends will be remembered–they will walk now with him, in his heart....
Steven Sater
Musical Numbers
- Mama Who Bore Me - Wendla
- Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise) - Wendla & Girls
- All That's Known - Melchior
- The Bitch Of Living - Moritz & Boys
- My Junk - Girls & Boys
- Touch Me - Boys & Girls
- The Word Of Your Body - Wendla & Melchior
- The Dark I Know Well - Martha & Ilse & Boys
- And Then There Were None - Moritz & Boys
- The Mirror-Blue Night - Melchior & Boys
- I Believe - Boys & Girls
- Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind - Moritz / Ilse
- The Guilty Ones - Wendla, Melchior, Boys & Girls
- Left Behind - Melchior, Boys & Girls
- Totally Fucked - Melchior, Boys & Girls
- The Word Of Your Body (Reprise) - Hanschen, Ernst, Boys & Girls
- Whispering - Wendla
- Those You've Known Moritz, Wendla & Melchior
- The Song Of Purple Summer - Ilse & Boys & Girls
Cast
- Wendla
- The Adult Women
- Martha Ilse
- Anna Thea
- The Adult Men
- Otto
- Hanschen
- Ernst
- Georg
- Moritz
- Melchior
Instrumentation
Keyboard; Guitar I, II; Cello; Violin; Violia; Bass; Drums; Harmonium .
Original Cast
- Jonathan Groff - Melchior
- Lea Michele - Wendla
- John Gallagher Jr. - Moritz
- Stephen Spinella - the Adult Men
- Christine Estabrook - the Adult Women
- Sklyar Astin, Georg
- Lilli Cooper, Martha
- Gideon Glick, Ernst
- Brian Charles Johnson, Otto
- Lauren Pritchard, Ilse
- Phoebe Strole, Anna
- Jonathan B. Wright, Hanschen
- Remy Zaken, Thea
Directed by Michael Mayer
Choreographed by Bill T. Jones
Costume Design by Susan Hilferty
Scenic Design by Christine Jones
Lighting Design by Kevin Adams