Steppin' Out: SPRING AWAKENING

PLAYBILL

(Photo from: broadway.com)
Eugene O'Neill Theatre

(Photo from: broadway.com)

This play is set in a provincial German town in the 1890s .

Jonathan Groff, who plays Melchior created the role of Melchior Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre. He has toured with The Sound of Music, Fame, Bat Boy, and Honk!

Lea Michele, who plays Wendla has been a part of Spring Awakening for the past 6 years. She has also appeared in Fiddler on the Roof, Ragtime, Les Miserables, and played the lead role in The Diary of Anne Frank.

The reviews have been great. The alternative/rock music score - amazingly fresh and hip. Some even touted this as the next "RENT". Besides, it was kinda intriguing to watch a Broadway show based on a 19th century play that has been banned for 71 years.

Braced for a different kind of experience, my friend and I decided to check out Broadway's SPRING AWAKENING.

The author, Frank Wedekind was born in Hanover, Germany in 1864. During his lifetime, his plays were repeatedly banned and only performed in censored versions. Spring Awakening (1891) was his first major play and was considered scandalous, for he dared to deal with issues of sex, homosexuality, masturbation, puberty problems, suicidal issues, violence and even death. His work broke through all the cliches of the theatre of his time, and today he is considered one of the founders of modern drama.