By Scott Timpano
This is usually the time of year where a past success “makes its return to Broadway.” The new Duncan Sheik/Steven Sater musical Spring Awakening is a welcome addition to the usual winter suspects. An off-broadway success, “Spring Awakening” now calls the Eugene O’Neill Theatre home. The story is revamped and modernized version of Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play.
Grammy nominated Sheik and Sater composed an original score to give the 1891 play a welcome face lift. You may recall Sheik from his brief 90’s hit “Barely Breathing”. Much like the theme of the play, Sheik too has come of age with his latest collaboration with Sater. According to the show’s site, “Spring Awakening explodes on the stage and pours out over the audience like hormones raging through a sixteen year-old body. It is a story of uncontrollable emotions and undeniable passions, of first love and lasting regrets. But most remarkably, it is a musical that answers the questions teenagers have been asking forever.” The remarkable part of Spring Awakening is its ability to transcend the subject matter to a more universal appeal. The emotion is so palpable on stage it’s easy to lose track of the ages of the actors on stage. Early reviews have been positive and some are considering Spring Awakening to be this season’s Broadway sleeper. Tickets are going quickly.
