It was great to be part of a young, vibrant and packed house at the Fig Tree theatre, one of Sydney’s oldest active theatres, (originally the Old Tote theatre), appreciating Zana Cohen’s stirring production of the brilliant, multi-Tony award winning 2006 Broadway musical SPRING AWAKENING, based on German playwright Frank Wedekind’s classic play.
Wedekind play, set in the late 19th century, mines territory often explored by playwrights; that fraught, angst ridden period of transition from childhood to adulthood.
SPRING AWAKENING is a passionate, angry play. It’s about young people fuming with anger that their parents haven’t given them any appropriate guidance to help them get through their adolescence. The audience falls in love with these troubled young people, like the hyper-sensitive Moritz and the soft hearted Wendla, as they fight, what looks like a losing battle, as a result of their lack of awareness.
The keynote of Cohen’s production is how strongly she conveys their anger, and their passion, with the cast’s fierce rendering of the brilliant soundtrack, marked by the cast often stomping their feet and belting out the words.
The show went for two hours with one break and the energy of this large cast never flagged. Impressive as SPRING AWAKENING is an intense piece, so much goes on…suicide, rape, abortion, homosexuality…it’s full on and demands everything and more from the cast.
It was goosebumps time when the cast made the finishing line and the lovely Courtney Hough led the rest of the cast to the front of the stage as they delivered a rousing rendition of the final number, ‘The Song of Purple Summer’, which speaks of the hope that future generations will live in much more enlightened times.
Lloyd Harvey as Melchior, Susanna Downes as Wendla and Alex Giles as Moritz- impressed in the leading roles. They were well supported by Courtney Houugh as Ilse, Kat Hoyos as Martha, Nick Pes as Hanschen, Michael Jones as Ernst, Luke Cheung as Georg, Sean Curran as Otto, Zoe McDonald as Anna, and Amy Toldano and Scarlett McGrouther playing the Ensemble.
My only reservation with the performances was that William Jordan and Robyn Lassman’s performances in the various adult roles were a little severe and could have been pulled back a bit.
This is a rock musical where every well conceived song matters and tells the story perhaps even more effectively than the dialogue. The cast were well supported by a great nine piece band, hidden from view.
Michael Watkins set with its centerpiece, the large tree of life, worked effectively, and Linda Brancato’s costume design aptly conveyed character.
This was a genuine treat. A production by Stagetek, Zanah Cohen’s revival of SPRING AWAKENING, books and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, played at the Fig Tree Theatre, Gate 4, University of New South Wales from Thursday 19th June to Saturday 21 June, 2014.