Review - Spring Awakening - Musical, London WC2
Hit West End Show Rocks Novello Theatre from March 21, 2009
Mar 28, 2009
The Tony award-winning smash hit broadway musical Spring Awakening has transferred from the Lyric Hammersmith to the Novello Theatre in London's West End. It will no doubt continue to be the hot ticket for a very long time.
Spring Awakening is based on Wedekind's Brilliant and Brutal Play
The musical of Spring Awakening is drawn from Frank Wedekind's savage 1891 masterpiece of the same name about the suppression of young erotic sexuality and its devastating consequences. With scenes of masturbation, homosexuality and suicide Wedekind's original play so shocked German audiences that it was banned for 15 years before its premiere.
A Musical with Brilliant Dancing and Exciting Songs
Steven Sater writer of the book and lyrics and composer Duncan Sheik have created a fusebox that fizzles and sizzles into a new thrilling and exciting musical form.
Pulsing youth, desperate to emerge from the chrysalis of adolescent confusions and rising sexuality, is brilliantly realised by the kinetic choreography of Bill T Jones, whose vibrant energy is a standout almost above the pounding rock beat of the music.
The Theme, Characters and Stars of Spring Awakening
Spring Awakening is about three young students: Melchior the callow youth bursting with passion and intellect played by Aneurian Barnar; the lovely young virgin Wendla (Charlotte Wakefield), and the sexually frustrated and inarticulate Moritz (Iwan Rheon). Each is struggling to break loose from the opressive authority of their parents and the restrictions of their childhood as their bodies and minds develop into adulthood.
A Musical that Rocks with Sexual Energy
It is in the first act that the repressed students of 19th-century Germany find their voices in this auto-erotic pop rock show. Initially the prim and polite group of youngsters goes through the motions of social obedience, but the raging sexual frustration and raw feelings of teenage angst cannot be contained without consequences.The chemical combustion explodes on the stage: the mask of propriety slips to revealing the raging face of timeless youth.
Sater's searing Lyrics and Sheikh's visceral music give these teenagers a voice. "Mama Who Bore Me" seethe the girls; "The Bitch of Living" cry the boys.
What is so brilliant about this show is that the raw organic emotion is expressed lyrically, musically and physically in modern terms for 21st-century audiences. Spring Awakening moves with gut-wrenching energy, in a glorious 19th-century set designed by Christine Jones, challenging in its angry protest the older generation who disallow natures wake-up call.
Spring Awakening's Most Exciting Performance
Perhaps it is Iwan Rheon's Moritz, whose touching and beguiling performance with his razor hair and desperate need to please his parents, that moves the most. When Ilse offers her love, he is paralized by his demons and cannot say yes. It is then that the syncopated beat of the music rocks the stage as he grabs the mike stand and jumps into the air like a bolt of lightning; surely one of the most exciting moments in this remarkable fresh new musical.
Director Michael Meyer has tapped the talents of his hitherto terrific but unknown stars and given them an unforgettable showcase for their future careers. Hardly surprising that critics and audience alike from Broadway to London have already used hyperbole to describe this show. Even some of the old dears`` (over-30s in teenage lingo) were seen skipping out of the theatre searching for a cab singing the big number "Bla, Bla, Bla, Bla, blablablabla Totally F***ed")
Definately a hot ticket for teenagers, young adults and those who want to rekindle the moments of their first awakening, Spring Awakening is booking at the Novello Theatre Box Office 084448285171 until October 31, 2009.
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