OEUVRE Magazine

by Aaron Jordan for OEUVRE Magazine

Many people, when they think about musical theater, get lost in the thought of the worlds that Rodgers and Hammerstein created or the ones Andrew Lloyd Webber amazed you with. But if there is one thing that this generation of musical theater has done, it has been to change the rules. Rock Opera has really hit us hard since the mid 1990s famously with RENT.

Ten years after RENT, musician Duncan Sheik, more known as a one hit wonder with the song “Barely Breathing,” and Steven Sater took a play that had been banned in the 1890s written by Frank Wedekind and rocked the world. If you happened to watched the Tony Awards in 2007, then you might be familiar with a musical known as Spring Awakening.  That year’s Tony Awards literally were almost cleared out by this show as it took Best Musical, Direction, Book and Score, and Featured Actor along with four others.  The original Broadway cast featured Lea Michelle and Jonathan Groff. Sound familiar?  You may know them from the hit television show, “Glee.”

Duluth’s very own Renegade Theater Company is producing this formerly controversial show and now wildly popular musical as their 2012 season opener tomorrow, February 9.  The show is under the direction of Andy Bennett with musical direction by Adam Sippola. I was able to grab a few minute of Andy’s time to ask him about the show.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the show, tell us, in a nutshell, what Spring Awakening is about.

Spring Awakening is a musical adaptation of a famously banned play written in the 1890′s by Frank Wedekind. The play was banned for its frank subject matter and examination of the lives of teenagers at a time where sexual discovery was taboo. The musical takes that theme and runs with it, adding rock and pop music which serves as the inner monologues of the Boys and Girls. Whenever things in their life get too tough or exciting or emotional or happy, they have no choice but to sing. And when they do the world of 1890 Germany vanishes and is replaced by … well, by a rock concert.

With such a well-known and awarded production, what was your plan for presenting the show to audiences in Duluth?

My plan of attack for the show was to really separate those two worlds. To take the ideas in the script and enhance them and push them further. So a lot of the design work was, in essence, creating designs for two separate shows. The costumes and especially the lighting alternate between the reserved, buttoned-up world of 1890 and the neon, electric and dangerous inner thoughts and lives of the Boys and Girls.

And, thankfully, we are blessed with an insanely talented cast. We have Victoria Main and Zachary Stofer serving as all of the adult figures in the show. I think Vikki plays five people and Zach plays nine. And then we have six boys and six girls, and all of them are passionate, driven and talented beyond description. Some of them can’t vote, a lot of them can’t drink, and 75 percent of them have never worked with Renegade before. Just when I think I have a pretty firm grasp on the large talent pool in this community, I meet people like the Boys and Girls in this show and am floored all over again. We really do live in an incredible place for artists.

One thing that is always impressive besides the actors and musicians is the technical work behind the show: the lighting, costuming, and scenic design. What can you tell us about the unique tech requirements for Spring Awakening?

As for the technical details, they are pretty daunting to think about. We have 12 head-worn mic systems, monitoring systems for the 6-piece string/rock band, every single lighting instrument the Teatro and Renegade own plus color-mixing LEDs, lasers and intelligent fixtures. And all of the lights used requires the use of two separate light boards to control them. I designed the lights, and I’ll also be running the lights live every night, changing and adapting them to the specific feel of each performance. It will be a different light design every night.

Your personal thoughts on the show?

It’s an important show for this community. At the core, it’s a show about the dangers of keep your kids in the dark. How, by lying or withholding information in an effort to protect them and keep them safe, parents can ultimately do much more damage. And because of that – even though this show includes adult language and situations – we are encouraging parents to bring their teenagers. To watch the show together. Experience it together. And then talk about it together. People who come to the show are going to hopefully experience what I experience every night: How moving and goosebump-inducing it can be to watch pure energy and emotion explode on stage mere feet away from you. These kids are going to blow the doors off that theater.

THE DEETS:

SPRING AWAKENING opens Thursday, February 9 at Teatro Zuccone, 222 East Superior Street, Duluth. The show runs Thursdays through Saturdays through February 25. Curtain time: 8 p.m.