This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Spring Awakening
Original Broadway Recording
Music	Duncan Sheik
Lyrics	Steven Sater
Book	Steven Sater
Based upon	Frank Wedekind's play Spring Awakening
Productions	2006 Off-Broadway 2006 Broadway 2008 North American Tour Major international productions
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Book Tony Award for Best Score Drama Desk Outstanding Musical Drama Desk Outstanding Music Drama Desk Outstanding Lyrics Outer Critics Outstanding Musical Outer Critics Outstanding Score Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album

Spring Awakening is a Tony Award-winning rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater. The musical is based on the controversial 1891 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. The original play was banned in Germany due to its extremely controversial content, which included masturbation, abortion, rape and suicide. During the musical, characters sometimes break the fourth wall to express their frustrations, motivations, and desires directly to the audience. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Duncan Scott Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American Grammy-nominated and Tony-winning singer-songwriter and composer. ... Steven Sater is an American poet and playwright. ... Steven Sater is an American poet and playwright. ... Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 - March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. ... Springs Awakening (German: Frühlings Erwachen) is Frank Wedekinds first play. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... // 1940s 1949 Kiss Me, Kate - Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. ... The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is the Tony awarded to the librettist(s) of the musical. ... The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. ... Created in 1955, the Drama Desk Award was created to recognize Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows in addition to Broadway shows. ... Begun during the 1949-1950 theater season, the Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album has been awarded since 1959. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... The Black Crook (1866), considered by some historians to be the first musical[1] Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ... Duncan Scott Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American Grammy-nominated and Tony-winning singer-songwriter and composer. ... Steven Sater is an American poet and playwright. ... Springs Awakening (German: Frühlings Erwachen) is Frank Wedekinds first play. ... Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 - March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. ... Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ... The fourth wall is the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theater, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. ...

After a number of workshops, concerts and rewrites over a seven-year period, Spring Awakening premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company on May 19, 2006 and closed August 17, 2006. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... Atlantic Theater Company is an acting school and working company based on the theory of Practical Aesthetics developed by David Mamet and William H. Macy. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The show opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006 and received critical acclaim.[1] Spring Awakening received eleven 2007 Tony Award nominations, winning eight, including Tonys for best musical, direction, book, score and featured actor. The show also won four Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical and the 2008 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.^[1] The production is directed by Michael Mayer and choreographed by Bill T. Jones. Decca Broadway released the original cast recording on December 12, 2006, with the recording later winning the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album on February 10, 2008. The guitar Sheik used to compose songs for Spring Awakening is on display at the New York Library For The Performing Arts. ^[2] For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... The Eugene ONeill Theater is a Broadway theatre. ... is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... Created in 1955, the Drama Desk Award was created to recognize Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows in addition to Broadway shows. ... Michael Mayer (b. ... For others with similar names, see Bill Jones (disambiguation). ... Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929. ... A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. ... is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Roles and original Broadway cast

• Melchior – Jonathan Groff
• Wendla – Lea Michele
• Moritz – John Gallagher Jr. (replaced by Blake Bashoff)
• Adult men – Stephen Spinella
• Adult women – Christine Estabrook
• Ilsa – Lauren Pritchard
• Georg/Dieter – Skylar Astin
• Martha – Lilli Cooper
• Ernst/Reinhold – Gideon Glick
• Otto/Ulbrecht – Brian Charles Johnson
• Anna – Phoebe Strole
• Hanschen/Rupert – Jonathan B. Wright
• Thea – Remy Zaken

Jonathan Groff is an American stage performer and TV actor. ... Lea Michele (born on July 29, 1986 in New York City) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performance as Wendla in Spring Awakening. ... John Gallagher Jr. ... Blake Warren Bashoff (born May 30, American television and motion picture actor. ... Stephen Spinella is an American actor born 11 October 1956 in Naples, Italy. ... As Martha Huber on the TV dramedy, Desperate Housewives Christine Estabrook (born September 13, 1952) is an American television and film actress. ... This biography does not cite any references or sources. ... Remy Zaken (born May 9, 1989) is an American actress. ...

Synopsis

Act I

Wendla Bergmann, an adolescent girl in late-19th century Germany, laments that her mother gave her "no way to handle things" and has not taught her the lessons she needs to learn ("Mama Who Bore Me"). She tells her mother that it is time she know where babies come from, considering that she is about to be an aunt for the second time, but her mother cannot bring herself to explain the facts about conception clearly to Wendla. Instead, she simply tells Wendla that to conceive a child a woman must love her husband with all her heart. The other young girls in town appear to be similarly innocent and are upset about the lack of knowledge presented to them ("Mama Who Bore Me" (reprise)). 1 Teen redirects here. ... “Baby” redirects here. ...

At school, some teenage boys are studying Virgil in Latin class. When Moritz Stiefel, a very nervous and intense young man, sleepily misquotes a line, the teacher chastises him harshly. Moritz's classmate, the rebellious and intelligent Melchior Gabor, tries to defend him, but the teacher will have none of it, and hits Melchior with a stick. Melchior reflects on the shallow narrow-mindedness of school and society and expresses his intent to change things ("All That's Known"). Moritz describes a dream that has been keeping him up at night, and Melchior realizes that Moritz has been having dreams of an erotic nature. To comfort the panicked Moritz, Melchior, who has learned sexual information from books, tells Moritz that all the boys their age get the dreams. All the boys tell about their own frustrating thoughts and desires ("The Bitch Of Living"). Moritz, who is not comfortable talking about the subject with Melchior, insists that he give him the information in the form of an essay, complete with illustrations. For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Essay (disambiguation). ...

Some girls are gathered together after school and tease each other as they fantasize about marrying the boys in the town. At the top of the list is the radical, intelligent, and good-looking Melchior. Meanwhile, Hanschen masturbates as he looks at an erotic postcard, and the piano student Georg indulges in some lively fantasies about his well-endowed female piano teacher ("My Junk"). Moritz has eagerly digested the essay that Melchior prepared for him, but complains that his new knowledge has only made his dreams even more vivid and torturous. Melchior tries to calm and comfort his friend, but Moritz runs off in frustration. All of the boys and girls express their desire for physical intimacy ("Touch Me"). Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... For the computer diagnostic tool, see POST card. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... Definition Intimacy is complex in that its meaning varies from relationship to relationship, and within a given relationship over time. ...

Wendla stumbles upon Melchior while walking through the woods. The two share a moment while sitting together in front of a tree. Each of them considers what it would be like to give in to their physical desires, but they do not do so ("The Word Of Your Body"). Meanwhile, at school, Moritz is thrilled to learn that he has passed his midterm examinations, but the teacher and schoolmaster can't pass everyone, so they decide to fail Moritz no matter what. To examine somebody or something is to inspect it closely, hence an examination is a detailed inspection or analysis of an object or person. ...

Martha, one of the teenage girls, accidentally admits to her friends that her father abuses her physically (including sexual abuse) and that her mother is either oblivious or uncaring. The other girls are horrified to hear this, but Martha makes them promise not to tell anyone, lest she end up like Ilse, a friend from childhood who is now homeless because her parents kicked her out of their house ("The Dark I Know Well"). Later, Wendla finds Melchior again at his spot in the woods and tells him that one of her friends regularly gets abused by her father. Melchior is appalled to hear this, but Wendla convinces him to hit her with a switch, so that she can understand her friend's pain. Melchior reluctantly complies but gets carried away and throws her to the ground. He then runs off, disgusted with himself. Alone, Wendla finds that Melchior has left his journal on the ground. She picks it up and takes it with her. Bad Touch redirects here. ...

Moritz has failed his final examination, and his father reacts with disdain and contempt when Moritz tells him that he will not progress in school. Moritz writes to Melchior's mother, his only adult friend, for money to flee to America; she tenderly but firmly denies his request but promises to write his parents to discourage them from being too hard on him ("And Then There Were None"). In a stuffy hayloft during a storm, Melchior considers his own frustration at being caught between childhood and adulthood ("The Mirror-Blue Night"). Wendla finds him once again, telling him she wants to return his journal, and each awkwardly apologizes for what happened the last time they met. Before long, they begin to kiss; Wendla resists his advances at first. Though she seems uncertain about how far she wants to take their physical relationship, they begin to have sex ("I Believe"). For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... It has been suggested that Duration of sexual intercourse be merged into this article or section. ...

Act II

Wendla and Melchior are finishing their moment of intimacy in the hayloft; they reflect on and discuss what has just happened ("The Guilty Ones"). Meanwhile, Moritz, having been thrown out of his home, wanders the town at dusk, carrying a pistol ("Don't Do Sadness"). He happens upon free-spirited Ilse, also homeless, who invites him to join her in sharing some old childhood memories, and perhaps something more, but Moritz refuses ("Blue Wind"). After she has left, he calls after her, but it is too late; she is gone. Believing that he has nowhere to turn, Moritz shoots and kills himself. A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ...

At Moritz's funeral, each of his friends drops a flower into his grave, and Melchior chastises Moritz's father for being so cruel to his friend, as the other students look at Moritz's father with disgust for pushing Moritz too hard when he was alive ("Left Behind"). Back at school, the schoolmaster and teacher inform Melchior that Moritz's parents found the sex essay he had written for him. They lay the blame on Melchior for his friend's suicide, and although Melchior knows that he is not to blame, he knows there is nothing he can do to fight them, and he is expelled ("Totally Fucked"). Elsewhere that night, Hanschen meets up with his shy and delicate classmate Ernst. In a comedy-relief scene, Hanschen shares his pragmatic outlook on life with his classmate before seducing him. It is Ernst's first sexual experience, and he tells Hanschen that he loves him as the two share a passionate kiss ("The Word Of Your Body" (reprise)). For other uses, see Funeral (disambiguation). ... Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. ...

Wendla has become ill, and her mother takes her to visit a doctor. He gives her some medication and assures them both that Wendla is suffering from anemia and will be fine, but he takes Wendla's mother aside and tells her that Wendla is pregnant. When her mother confronts her with this information, Wendla is completely shocked, not understanding how this could have happened. She realizes that her mother lied to her about how babies are made. Though she berates her mother for leaving her ignorant, her mother rejects the guilt and insists Wendla tell her who the father is. Wendla reluctantly surrenders a passionate note Melchior sent her after they consummated their relationship. Wendla reflects somberly on her current condition and the circumstances that led her to this difficult position but ends with optimism about her future child ("Whispering"). Meanwhile, Melchior's parents argue about their son's fate; his mother does not believe that the essay he wrote for Moritz is sufficient reason to send him away to reform school. When Melchior's father tells his wife about Wendla's pregnancy, however, she agrees that they must send Melchior away, which they do without telling him that Wendla is pregnant. This article discusses the medical condition. ... A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ... A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers. ...

At the reform school, Melchior gets into a fight with some boys who grab a letter he has just received from Wendla and use it in a masturbation game. As one of the boys reads from the letter, Melchior finally learns about Wendla and their child, and he escapes from the institution to find her. He does not know that Wendla's mother has already taken her to an underground practitioner to have an abortion. When Melchior reaches town, he sends a message to Wendla's friends to have her meet him at the cemetery at midnight. There, he stumbles across Moritz's grave, and swears to himself that he and Wendla will raise their child in a compassionate and open environment. Spotting a freshly dug grave, Melchior discovers that Wendla has died from 'anemia.' Overcome with grief, he takes out a razor with the intention of killing himself. Moritz's and Wendla's spirits rise from their graves to offer him their strength. They persuade him to journey on, and he resolves to live and to carry their memories with him forever ("Those You've Known"). Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... Collection of Modern Safety Razors - Gillette Fusion Power, Gillette M3Power, Mach3 Turbo Champion, Schick Quattro Chrome, Schick Quattro Power, Gillette Mach3, Gillette Sensor, Schick Xtreme3, Schick Xtreme SubZero, and Schick Xtreme3 Disposables A razor is an edge tool primarily used in shaving. ...

Led by Ilse, everyone assembles onstage to sing "The Song of Purple Summer" about life and hope.

Musical Numbers

Differences between the play and the musical

In addition to being shorter, having scenes in a different order, and being phrased differently, the book of the musical has some characterization and plot differences from the Wedekind play.

In the play, there is another young male character, Robert, and the character Anna does not exist.

In the play, most of the children dislike Moritz. Except for Melchior and Hanschen, the boys hope that Moritz will get in trouble for breaking into the school records. Thea says that Moritz is always doing something weird. The other boys also insensitively gossip about the method Moritz used to kill himself. In the musical, all the children like Moritz; the other boys are happy for him when he passes his midterms, and all the children look sad at his funeral. Also, in the play Moritz's father doesn't cry at his funeral, but in the musical he breaks down sobbing.

In the play, Hanschen is portrayed as nicer than most of the boys, and his scene with Ernst is loving. In the musical, there are several references to his peers finding him creepy and his scene with Ernst is manipulative.

In the play, when Hanschen is talking to his postcard, he tells it that he's going to flush it down the toilet so he can have control over his masturbation. In the musical, he is masturbating as he imagines killing the girl in the postcard.

In the play, Martha is physically abused by her father. In the musical, Martha and Ilse are physically and sexually abused by their fathers.

In the play, Melchior rapes Wendla. In the musical, she says no but then puts his hand on her breast, indicating consent, and then seems to enjoy having sex. While this can still be considered rape because Wendla isn't educated about sex, it is more ambiguous than in the play.

In the play, Moritz slightly regrets not going with Ilse because she is promiscuous and he wanted to have sex before he committed suicide. In the musical, it's implied that he greatly wants to go with her but is unable to agree for some reason. After she leaves, he expresses his regret by saying "For the love of God, all I had to do was say yes! Ilse! ILSE!...I'll tell them all, the angels...[that] I sang and played pirates."

In the play, the ghost of Moritz tries to convince Melchior to kill himself, but is stopped by the Masked Man. In the musical, Melchior decides to kill himself when he sees the newly-erected grave of Wendla, but then the ghosts of Moritz and Wendla convince him not to.

Other productions

A U.S. National Tour (with one stop in Toronto, Canada) is scheduled to open in August, 2008. Tour dates have been announced through August 2009 beginning on the West Coast in 2008, and moving to the East Coast by June 2009.

Productions have been announced for 2009 openings in the UK, Canada, Israel (in Hebrew), Germany and Austria (in German), Spain (in Spanish), Japan (in Japanese), France (in French), The Netherlands (in Dutch), Denmark (in Danish), Finland (in Finnish), Iceland (in Icelandic), Norway (in Norwegian), South Korea (in Korean) and Sweden (in Swedish).^[3] Contrary to strong rumours, no announcement has been yet made of an Australian production.

The rights for the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish productios will be handled by Nordiska. Spring Awakening in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Reykjavík, Oslo, and Karlstad

The South Korean production will begin in summer 2009, and will be produced by Musical Heaven.

Awards and nominations

In the Heights is a musical about three days in the New York Upper Manhattan Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights. ... Michael Mayer (b. ... For others with similar names, see Bill Jones (disambiguation). ... KEVIN ADAMS (b. ...

References

External links

• Official Site of the Broadway production.
• Atlantic Theater Company website with information about the off-Broadway production.
• Playbill article about the show moving to Broadway.
• Michael Mayer (director) - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org, July 2006
• Opening Night: Spring Awakening at Broadway.com
• On the Scene: Behind the Scenes: Backstage at Spring Awakening with Jonathan Groff at Broadway.com
• Spring Awakening announces National tour and international productions