Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening is a modern musical adapted from the 1895 novel The Awakening of Spring by Frank Wedekind. It is currently playing on Broadway, and on an international tour. For the purpose of this review, I will be focusing on the choreography by Bill T. Jones

With music by Duncan Sheik (Tony Award), book and lyrics by Steven Sater(Tony Award), direction by Michael Mayer (Tony Award), and musical direction by Kimberly Gribsby, Spring Awakening carries themes of morality, sexuality, and rock and roll, while playing the journey from youth to adulthood. These three core themes are what Jones appeared to use as the core of his choreography for this musical.

Before commenting on the material itself, major choreography achievement is most noticed in the collaboration between Mayer and Jones-one is extremely uncertain where choreography ends, and direction begins. There is an extreme amount of cohesion in the vision for the musical between the two. Because of this, the movement and marriage to the plot are cyclical, and bake a delicious cake- a result only accomplished when there is a balance of all ingredients. What may have added to this wonderful baked good was Jones’s influence on the general staging and set as a whole. Yes, Meyer held the primary vision for Spring Awakening, but Jones kept Meyer’s vision, and helped create a world neither in 1895 nor the 21^st century. Specific choices made helped to create this effect: the “band” (percussion, cello, violin, electric/acoustic guitar, bass, harpsichord and piano) was placed on the stage, as was a portion of audience seating. The set was closed off, making one feel literally in the same room as the action rather than as a fourth-wall observer. The costumes were accurate 1895 German-schoolchild representations, but the amplification of the actors came from handheld microphones that were stored inside the costumes when not in use. Set pieces were a mixture of German antiquity, and modern design. Striking was the light design, which utilized virtually no front light. Almost all light sources came from directly overhead or from everyday sources like lamps, Christmas-lights, hanging bulbs etc…which added to the “oneness” of the experience.

Once Jones and Meyers had successfully co-created a world, the actual choreography was delicious icing.

With the subject matter of the Spring Awakening being so progressive for a mainstream musical, Jones created essences of morality that the characters were able to step into and out of, depending on the situation or song. When the characters were trapped in their secular world, they always faced each other, and interacted as normal pedestrians would without the handheld microphones. Conversely, when the characters were onto paths of discovery, dissent, or what have you, they always faced flat front to the audience, interacting as such, and using their personal microphones. This was definitely a successful device for Jones, because it helped the viewers along as well as the actors in the character’s rolls.

Moving to the sexuality theme, Jones created a series of gestural motifs that were very much in the characters positive space, and always performed without partnering. Examples of these included circling the breast area, rubbing the face, skimming the surface of limbs, brushing something imaginary off of the self, and tapping the eyes. These gestures were utilized in every musical sequence, and fluctuated often depending on the intent of the situation. Always though, these gestures emerged with the theme of sexuality. In a striking song, “Totally Fucked”, the characters were lined up along the front of the stage, performing the gestures as quickly and intensely as possible. Sweat flew.

Spring Awakening could have not been complete without rock and roll- and here was maybe the wisest choice made by Jones. With the band being on the stage, and consequently part of the energy, the importance of the music to the development of the plot was heightened. The conductor danced and sang along (and occasionally performed the gesture choreography) from his position on the stage, as well as the musicians. Every once and a while, one of the actors would take over an instrumental part, usually the piano. This gave the conductor a chance to play another instrument, mill around the band area and listen, adjust tempo, or just move along to the action. In addition, the characters never left the stage, and when not in use, they too were seated onstage- as were the understudies who were encouraged to “rock along”. With the consistent presence of all of the characters (who were anything but still in their seats) and the musicians, the marriage of the music, to the plot, to the action, to the audience, to the characters, to the space, to the energy, to the lighting, to the set, and dare I say to the universe, was 99.9% perfect. 

I don’t believe in perfection, but Spring Awakening was the tastiest cake I have experience in a long time.