Christy Altomare as Wendla and Jake Epstein as Melchior in "Spring Awakening," playing at the Community Center Theater Nov. 4-15, 2009.  Photo by Joan Marcus.

    The musical Spring Awakening sounds mild enough but the subject matter is hard and gritty, touching on the taboos of sexuality and both mental and physical abuse.

     The musical setting is in Germany in the late 1800s and somewhat dark due to the themes -- yet with witty rock lyrics and fast-paced choreography throughout the story.

    What makes this play so intense is that it focuses on a group of teens emerging from their childhood innocence into life’s rough realities. With surging and changing hormones, realization that their body changes from strange awkwardness and then to a wonderful sensation of sexuality is emphasized by the unique choreography seen throughout the play that touches upon metamorphosis. The butterfly emerging from it’s former protective caterpillar cocoon comes to mind. The neon stage lighting enhances beautifully the dynamic changes of conflict in the scenes and the modern minimalist props draws sharp contrast to the performance.
    The play uses both sex and abuse as a way to convey the frustration in youth trying to discover the world around them. When adults are not able to communicate honestly to the teens, it leads the teens into a quagmire of confusion and dire situations. Having to deal with it on their own, they are left to randomly experiment.
    The acting is superb by every cast member. It is not hard to imagine the cast getting into character of teens in frustration but they did it well with rock star quality and punk dance choreography form. Christy Altomare as Wendla, Jake Epstein as Melchior, Taylor Trensch as Moritz, Sarah Hunt as Martha, Steffi D as Ilse, Andy Mientus as Hanschen, Ben Fankhauser as Ernst, Kimiko Glenn as Thea, Gabrielle Garza as Anna, Anthony Lee Medina as Otto, Matt Shingledecker as Georg played their parts flawlessly.

    Outstanding was Angela Reed and John Woida performing multiple adult characters. It's a pleasure to watch the transformation of Angela Reed from prudish instructor to sexy piano teacher and as various mothers of the teens. The musical integrated the instrumental ensemble of Krystina Alabado, Justin Scott Brown, Kayla Foster, Lucas A. Wells into a tight band that made you want to jump and rock.
    A similar theme from my memories of a Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” parallels with this musical’s message. It is this period in our youth that obtaining proper answers and achieving accomplishments are so critical for our growth and development for transitioning into adulthood. When we are not able to get the proper answers or things we believe are so important to us; we are then lead astray. Life can then become confusing, insignificant and hopeless. Deep depression may even settle in as seen in Moritz’s character. The rebellious rock fits this music score and emanates the strong underlying emotions and their frustrations as in the songs “The Bitch of Living” and “Totally Fucked”.

    What I liked about the music and lyrics is that they are the thought processes of the teens' minds and not as a conversation tool typically used in most musicals. The songs are trying to help the teens make sense of the world around them such as understanding your parents in “Mama who Bore Me” sung by the innocent and sexually naïve Wendla; or about what is lacking from school in “All That’s Known” by Melchior, the astute student. The significance of the music to this play is emphasized by the band being on the stage as part of the background and then brought forward as the character’s thoughts becomes a song resulting in a rock concert. An interactive crowd is present at each "concert" by the appearance of the audience members sitting on the side bleachers on stage.

    Both physical and mental abuses are brought up in the musical and links the theme of not getting what you want but instead getting what you dread. As in the song “The Dark I Know Well” where the character, Martha, sings about being beaten and molested by her father. Mental abuse is seen in Moritz as a student who is rejected by the school board and then by his father, thus losing all chances of academic advancement and then quickly slips into despair becoming an outsider.
    There is the chance of hope that pops up in the musical just as in real life that saves most teens and allows them to move onto young adulthood. Like an angel of hope, Ilse, a Bohemic teen offers Moritz hope. Ilse’s "Blue Wind,” though a sad song, has an inner strength to find warmth and joy even when the wind blows cold.
    As mentioned previously, the acting was superb and Spring Awakening is definitely a remarkable musical that will rivet you to your core. Interestingly enough, though the musical is about teens, it is recommended for 17 and over due to the explicit language and sexual situations. Could they have toned down these aspects and still effectively communicate these messages? You will have to ask the Director Michael Mayer on that. But for me there is a much deeper meaning to this musical that Mayer brings forth and I enjoyed this musical for the story line, the acting, choreography, music, stage setting, lighting and reminding me that it is tough to be a teen in any period of history! Did I mention that the novel this musical was based on was written in 1891 by German author Frank Wedekind?

    As the Rolling Stone song goes, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need.” Maybe it is this message that this musical conveys that surviving life is being satisfied with what you need and not what you want!

     For more information on Spring Awakening, visit www.BroadwaySacramento.com and www.SpringAwakening.com.

    Tickets for Spring Awakening range in price from $18-$65 and are available by phone at (916) 557-1999, (916) 808-5181 or (800) 225-2277, or at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H Street, Sacramento, the Community Center Theater Box Office, 1301 L Street, Sacramento, or at Tickets.com.

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