Spring Awakening Reviews

"A dynamic, energetic awakening"  Reviewer - Nigel Rideout (published in The Courier)

BLOC Music Theatre has taken on a huge challenge by mounting the very complex rock version of “Spring Awakening” which comes to Ballarat, for its Regional premiere, in the wake of a slew of awards since it opened on Broadway in 2006. I applaud them for taking up the mantle which they meet with considerable energy and enthusiasm throughout the 20 musical numbers.

Since I saw the first production of the play in London in 1963, it has remained a firm favourite with me as a director. Entering the Helen MacPherson Smith Theatre I was filled with foreboding as rock music and musical theatre don’t appear to be a suitable mix on paper. I’ve always objected to the adaptation of great plays as a lazy way of avoiding the creation of original stories.

However, there is much to admire in this rock version, with music by the pop singer-songwriter, Duncan Sheik and the book and lyrics by Steven Slater, who remain faithful to the original story and period setting. To fit in the music though, much of the intricate psychology of the characters is lost. It is an exciting idea to experiment with this text especially amongst the mostly traditional fare available and a welcome addition to the musical theatre scene since “Rent” burst on to the New York stage back in 1996, bringing with it much needed new and younger audiences.

Wedekind felt compelled to write it as a result of the appalling rate of suicide amongst boys in German schools at the time, caused by exam pressure being exerted on them by their staid, remote and prudish Victorian parents, whose status in society was much affected by their children’s success. Has anything changed in some parts of the world?

The central trio, the anxious misfit Moritz (Robbie Bennett) the good student Melchior (Zoy Frangos) and Melchior’s curious girlfriend Wendla (Laura Thomas) do not emerge as fully human figures, so we follow them to their individual doom with entirely dry eyes. Also the difficulty, for this talented cast, of playing 14-15 year olds coping with the confusions and questions of puberty, is hard to realise.

However, the adults, reduced to two only, played by Peter Freund and Tracey Bourne, capture the essence of the original exactly and Freund’s masterful array of characters is a joy to watch.

The band is excellent, led by Stacey-Louise Camileri with dynamic choreography by Eamonn George and Vanessa Sheehan. The piece is directed by Emil Freund with an intelligent design by Darren Garraway, allowing the audience to imagine the two separate worlds of the adults separated from their children.

"Spring Awakening"  Reviewer - Christian Cavallo (published on TheatrePeople) 

Spring Awakening is a contemporary musical adaptation of the controversial 1891 German play Spring's Awakening, by Frank Wedekind. Set in late 19th century Germany, it tells the story of a group of teenagers whose bodies are awakening to a new sense of awareness. The show deals with heavy themes such as abortion, rape, child abuse, suicide, and sexual awakening.

Spring Awakening is one of my favourite new musicals, and this is the third Australian production that I have now seen on stage. The book and score are well juxtaposed and writer Stephen Slater and composer Duncan Sheik have created a musical where the narrative is set in the late 19th century, whilst the music is clearly written for today’s modern audience with rock, alternative, and folk influences cleverly intertwined. Due to the infusion of a 19th-century narrative and 21st-century score, many conventions need to be employed when delivering this piece. It is very important to clearly define the ‘story world’ and the ‘song world,’ if I may call them this. The songs break away from the setting of the story world and allow the teenagers the ability to really deliver their inner turmoils and angst in a way that is relatable to the modern audience.

Director Emil Freund had the tricky job of portraying this show and staging the action with these conventions in mind. His direction and vision for the show remained consistent throughout and his staging of the show was innovative and moved away from any traditional ways in which this show has previously been staged. Most notably, the show was set in the round, with audience around three sides of the stage.

For the entire show, the actors played 21st-century teenagers set artistically in a 19th-century period, with only the exception of the adult characters who were portrayed as caricatures. I was looking for a certain formality and respect between the characters in the way they held themselves and related to their peers and elders. This wasn’t the case, and the characters related in very much a 'present-day way,' which I felt rendered many of the performances as naïve.

The teenage ensemble also spoke with Australian accents. This becomes problematic because the script is written using 19th-century English dialogue, and the songs are written in a way that the modern teenager would speak, breaking free from the 19th-century English into a modern 21st-century teenager’s vocabulary. For example, you will notice that there is no slang or swearing in the dialogue, but then the songs incorporate phrases such as “the bitch of living” [And "Totally F*cked" -- Ed.]. I didn’t feel there was enough distinction between the two communication styles. I also don’t feel that the form of 19th-century language is effectively conveyed in an Australian accent. Sydney Theatre Company, and the recent Young Australian Broadway Chorus also chose to use Australian accents, so this seems to be the trend with Australian productions so far. I don’t feel that localising a production through the use of accents is the right solution to making a show relevant to its audience. The music already does this in Spring Awakening.

The young ensemble of teenage actors delivered consistently good performances. I was glad to note that the Ballarat community has a number of up and coming performers. Keagan Vaskess as Ilse was the performer I most gravitated to. She had a lovely voice and great stage presence. Zoy Frangos and Laura Thomas played romantic interests Melchior and Wendla. Thomas had a lovely sweetness about her, and Frangos had a charming boyishness. They played out their scenes well, and I’d like to commend them and Freund for setting the sex scene tastefully, sensitively, and as a mutually-desired occurring. Robbie Bennett played the role of Morits as a timid and young man, plagued by his fears and somewhat depressive. He was convincing and played the role very well.

Gareth Prossher played Hanschen with conviction. It is easy to portray this as a camp role when this character’s journey involves the seduction of another male student. I was glad to see that the character was played simply as a boy who was comfortable in his homosexuality, rather than needing to rely on being camp to feel comfortable with these scenes. Hanschen’s subject of interest, Ernst, was played by Dylan Licastro. Licastro was timid, shy, and suitably naïve. The ensemble was strong and supported the story aptly.

Tracey Bourne and Peter Freund played the adult characters. They used a mix of heightened acting and vaudevillian influences to convey a range of parents and teachers throughout the show. I didn’t warm to these characters, as I’m sure was the desired audience response. The teachers came across as quite ‘evil,' and the parents unsympathetic and oppressive.

The set incorporated a modernised 19th-century design with a mixture of brick, iron and vine leaves on the main stage with a staircase as a centrepiece. Aesthetically, the design was well thought out and artistically wove the concept of the two worlds in together nicely with several levels throughout. There were elements of the set that blocked view of certain actors dependant on where you sat in the audience, and I felt that the main stage and its levels could have been used more, particularly the staircase; although it may have been intended that this was only used in the build up to the sex scene.

Costumes were suitable to the period, but the detail lacked in some respects. The costuming was indicative of a 19th-century period, however little things like gloves and petticoats for the girls were missing. It could have been that the vision was to be less stringent on setting the period as completely 19th-century, but this would link back to my thoughts regarding dialogue of the set period where I think this needs to be more strongly defined. I did think the boys’ uniforms looked good, and the adults appropriately wore one costume with added garments to distinguish different characters.

Lighting and sound were a little shaky on opening night. Many sound cues were missed and at times there was an ill balance between the cast and orchestra. Although the lighting design was appropriate and consistent, there were several cues that were also missed, and some lights that flashed constantly through the performance, which was bothering at times. I’m hoping that these issues will dissipate as the season progresses.

I do commend BLOC for bringing both this show and boutique theatre to the region. I hope that this continues and congratulations to all involved. Whilst I did think on the whole the production could have been conceptually stronger and more defined in certain areas, there were also elements of the staging that were done quite well. I hope that this production has many successes and that boutique theatre in the region goes from strength to strength.