Review: Spring Awakening at Hershey Theatre

Sometimes something that once seemed absolutely scandalous loses its bite over time. Ulysses is arguably one of the best modernist works of literature ever written, but the sexual proclivities of the pervy and underwear obsessed Leopold Bloom seem fairly milquetoast when placed next to Gossip Girl. When it was originally written in 1890, Frank Wedekind's Frühlings Erwachen — or Spring Awakening — was positively incendiary. The repressed sexuality of adolescents simply wasn't talked about in Germany at the time, which is why many credit Wedekind with writing the first play in the modern history of theatre. Almost a century and a quarter later, the musical adaptation of the show by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik still packs a mighty punch, and between now and Sunday you can see the touring production of the Tony Award-winning smash hit at the Hershey Theatre.

Know going in that Spring Awakening is not a show for those with delicate sensibilities. There’s bare breasts, numerous instances of simulated masturbation, simulated sex, overt references to incest and child abuse, sexual violence, a passionate gay kiss, a botched abortion, teen suicide and a rousing song called “Totally F****d.” If Spring Awakening were a TV show, the Parents Television Council would start a march on Washington and kindly suggest you watch “Don’t Forget The Lyrics” instead. If any of the aforementioned things mortally offend you, enjoy Cats when it comes to the Hershey Theatre in July.

The thing about Spring Awakening though, is that while the play includes all of those things, you leave the theatre talking about the story, not about the shock elements. One of my major complaints about musical theatre is that story and character development often take a back seat to song and dance. Not so with Spring Awakening. While some of the formal veneer has been stripped away, Wedekind’s tale about the struggles adolescents have in dealing with sex still shines through. Though in some ways, our culture is far more liberated than that of fin de siècle Germany, that doesn’t mean we’ve completely come to terms with what sex is and what it should be.

The story surrounds a group of German Teenagers, all of whom are being forced to confront their sexuality for the first time. The enlightened Melchior (Jake Epstein) and the beautiful but naive Wendla (Christy Altomare) find themselves struggling with passions that their society has taught them are evil and should be ignored. Meanwhile the dopey, bedheaded Mortiz (Taylor Trensch) is fighting a losing battle with his fantasies and his father’s academic expectations. It’s a tragic story, and all does not end well.

Sheik, of Barely Breathing fame, won a Tony for his score which manages to hit some tremendous high notes. Musically, one could legitimately complain that the show ends with something of a whimper, but that’s the cost of turning a tragic play into a musical. The songs that I remember most a day later are Act I’s The Dark I Know Well and My Junk and Act II’s aforementioned Totally F****d. The entire cast sang the songs admirably, but to me it was Trensch who best captured the rock aesthetic of the show and took over the stage.

Altomare and Epstein were both solid, but Trensch absolutely captures the frustration, rage and hopelessness that is part of being a teenager. Generally, I am not one for musical theatre, but I would see Spring Awakening again. If you’d like to see the show, tickets are still available for most of the remaining shows. I recommend checking it out, just not with your parents.