Again for the First Time
"Spring Awakening" at Xavier University
There’s something very powerful about the first time you discover a piece of art - whether it’s a painting, or a song, or a musical. And after fifteen years, I have started noticing a particular kind of longing — the wish to unknow something I love deeply so that I could sit down fresh, without memory or expectation, and let it find me the way it did the first time.
Spring Awakening is my favorite musical. It has been since 2010, when I saw the national tour at the Aronoff Center. I have seen this show many times since. I still love it, the music, the book, the sadness I feel for these characters, and the joy that comes from the final song. But nothing has ever been as magical as when I first saw it from the balcony – and immediately bought a ticket to see it again the next day from the front row.
Spring Awakening is a rock musical set in 19th century Germany, following a group of adolescents navigating sexuality, identity, abuse, and mental illness in a world where the adults around them refuse to speak honestly about any of it. Based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play, with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, it won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical in 2007. It is funny and devastating and achingly beautiful. It is also, at its core, about what happens to young people when the adults in their lives stay silent. As someone who spent many years counseling young people, this show is a testimony to the reality of my work.
This is Xavier University Theatre’s 100th production since launching their Theatre degree program in 2013. Director Stephen Skiles, who helms the program, and directed Xavier’s previous production of this show in 2015, returns to it again. His direction is deliberate and unhurried — and also honors the original Broadway production’s intentionality. Skiles is not in a rush. As a result, every moment lands. Lines I have heard a dozen times land more clearly than they ever have.
For example: the scene in which Thea discloses her abuse. That moment – and the song that follows — are handled with such directorial care that I felt all of the unflinching horror. It is not softened. It is not rushed past. It is allowed to be exactly what it is. Later, the staging of Moritz’s suicide and the timing of the blackout that follows is among the most effective uses of that particular lighting cue I have witnessed in years of theatergoing.
This production feels not only well-rehearsed but well-researched. These students understand what they are doing and why it matters. Sean Moss is mesmerizing as a confident, assured Melchior. Leo Jenkins is heartbreaking and completely believable as Moritz. Taylor Mattingly brings a convincing naivety to Wendla that never loses its underlying strength. Jamie Swisshelm is darkly haunting as Ilse, with a golden voice. Brookelyn Duncan demonstrates remarkable versatility in her work as the Adult Women. And keep an eye on Luke Heetderks’ choices in the role of Ernst — specific, considered, and quietly memorable.
There’s an intimacy created by staging the show backwards – with the audience on the stage of the Gallagher theater, the back of the playing space exposed to the empty house. This choice, along with so many others, enhances the emotion and focuses the story.
I think Duncan Sheik has composted one of the best scores in modern musical theatre canon, and under the music direction of Dr. Scot Buzza, the songs sound lovely. The vocal blend on “The Song of Purple Summer” gave me goosebumps.
This is a very good production of my favorite show. I had been wishing that I could see Spring Awakening again for the first time. Tonight, in many ways, I think I did.
Spring Awakening plays through April 18th at Xavier University. It will likely sell-out — get more info and your tickets at this link. Bring a sweater; it was chilly, even for me.
Kirk Sheppard writes about Cincinnati theatre—but mostly about being human. Check out kirksheppard.com for more information.