OEUVRE Magazine

Review by Dennis Kempton

Frank Wedekind’s satire on German society, Frühlings Erwachen, written in 1891, was a scandal because it dealt with kids in puberty having sex, discovering their own bodies, and  some boys kissing each other and because lots of people would like to think these things never did or still do happen.  It also frankly confronted child abuse, rape, abortion, and sado-masochism–subjects that should never be discussed in polite society, of course.

Although I’m no fan of Duncan Sheik and think that the music could have been more razor sharp with someone else, we should be grateful the play was given this pop culture makeover in the form of Spring Awakening.  The  musical won eight Tonys in 2007 and has become part of the generational repertoire.  It is now, for Duluth, the opening salvo in Renegade Theater Company’s 2012 season.  Directed by Andy Bennett (with a significant directorial portfolio under his belt so far with Renegade) the show is also under the musical direction of Adam Sippola and choreographed by Amber Burns in the black box of Teatro Zuccone.

It would be simplistic to say that Spring Awakening is a rock musical about sex and teens.  There are relationships at several levels at play here requiring an adroit cast working double duty as actors and performers who must (and must) funnel the material through their bodies and voices into the audience in order to make the erotic and existential impact required by the script.  That said, it is presented, in this iteration, as a message piece that retains an element of savvy coolness that at once pulls in the jaded with its musical numbers and, at the same time, slips in under the lyrics to drive home points that are unfamiliar to what this musical is most definitely not:  your mother’s sappy idea of a musical.

The story, essentially, follows three angst-ridden adolescents.  Wendla (Jessica Ilaug) opens the show demanding of her mother (Victoria Main) the facts about the facts of life.  She’s an aunt again and is starting to think there’s more to making babies than the arrival of a stork.  Her mother, uncomfortable with the subject, begs off until another time.  The first musical number, “Mama Who Bore Me,” bemoaning, from the girls’ perspective, their innocence and the lack of knowledge blamed on their parents, sets the vocal tone for the rest of the show.  Ilaug does a capable job of opening up the show and the reprise soon after is handed off to the girls ensemble and to stand out Johanna Dittus playing Ilse.

We move then to Melchior Gabor (Erin Miller) and Moritz Stiefel (Tyler Goebel) in the midst of Latin class presided over by Zachary Stofer as Herr Sonnenstich where a challenge to authority sets up the other part of the architecture of the show’s plot.  Miller’s lead of “The Bitch of Living” as the boy ensemble breaks out of period drama and into song is a hit vocally and with tight choreography.  The one failing of many a local musical, at least in this reviewer’s eyes, is the inability for the performers to lose themselves in the movement and words of the songs they are performing, for whatever reason, be it nervousness, lack of confidence in their abilities, or the sheer unwillingness to let go.  There’s none of that here, early on with this number or later on.  Miller and Goebel’s leading roles in the boys’ ensemble sets a compelling tone after these introductory scenes setting up the story to come.  Melchior is the proverbial popular boy, with the inside scoop on getting and pleasing women.  His friend Moritz is a jumble of intense insecurities and missed opportunities.  Both actors handle the action and lyrics defining their friendship and their individual battles with society and with their own feelings with an ease and familiarity that coaxes that audience into their worlds on stage.   Down to his hair, Goebel’s portrayal of Moritz is high strung and well-executed.

There are some stand-out musical numbers defining the first act.  ”The Word of Your Body” between the budding lovers Melchior and Wendla is heart-pulling in its foreshadowing lyrics, “Oh, I’m gonna be wounded…Oh, I’m gonna be your wound…Oh, I’m gonna bruise you…Oh, you’re gonna be my bruise.”  Miller and Ilaug are tender with each other on stage and both are more than capable of delivering the emotional impact of their lyrics.  In the following scene, Burns and Stofer deliver a stunning dance with nearly dizzying choreography framed by Dittus’ vocals on the soulful and upsetting “The Dark I Know Well” where the girls’ ensemble reveal lives of abuse set to explosive music.  Burns deserves much credit for her masterful handling of the subject matter through interpretive movement on stage.  The effect is truly evocative.  The first act closes out with “I Believe” between Melchior and Wendla during a remarkably vivid and raw scene of true sexual awakening.

The second act is punctuated by tragedy for Melchior, Wendla, and Moritz and the actors continue, with consistency, to hit the high marks of performance with the depth of their characters’ fates.  Goebel’s “Don’t Do Sad” is a latent punch to the gut when one realizes what is to come in the scenes after and Miller’s “Left Behind” is an emotional rending as he deals with a friend’s tragic demise before switching gears and kicking it up vocally with the boys’ ensemble in a rousing, nearly comically relieving “Totally Fucked.”

Stofer and Main take on several roles in helping flesh out the angst-ridden lives of the teens portrayed in the play’s action.  Stofer is capable of bombast and elegance all within two hours of being on stage, making his impact subtle despite his outsized talents.  Main’s presence on stage is, at best, serviceable.   The supporting ensemble, Loretta Miller (Martha), Taylor Vezina (Thea), Kier Zimmerman (Anna) and Amber Burns (Gerte) don’t get to shine as much on stage script-wise as the boys’ ensemble (Dylan Olmsted as Hanschen, Christian Isaac as Ernst, Alex Goebel as Georg, and Matthew Smith as Otto) but the show shines with their vocals and moves.  The live 8 piece band right on stage, conducted by Erin McConnell, is a star performer in its own right without drowning out the voices or action on stage.

The technical values of the show’s design cannot go without comment.  The lighting design by Andy Bennett sets off the action with precision and mood, washing the actors in brilliant greens, reds, blues, and amber colors.  Lasers add a modern, technicolor feel, helping create a pleasing anachronistic effect to the period story.  The costume design by Sasha Howell is simple and effective for the period and the set design by Evan Kelly is sharp and sparse, keeping the focus where it belongs.

Spring Awakening packs a punch vocally and along its coming of age tragic storyline.  With a mix of modern pop/rock lifting up, for this generation, the timeless struggles of adolescence, it is, for Renegade Theater Company, a successful marriage of material, venue, and theme.  This reviewer maintains that Renegade stages the most relevant and successfully executed musicals in town, with all local talent–hands down.  This season opener, an important show for everyone to see, illustrates not only that fact, but the heartbreaking reality that the issues presented in 1891 are still as upsettingly relevant today, no matter what period of music we throw on the confusion, sorrow, and pain of growing up.

SPRING AWAKENING.  Music by Duncan Sheik.  Book and lyrics by Steven Sater.  Directed by Andy Bennett for Renegade Theater Company at Teatro Zuccone, 222 East Superior Street, Duluth.  With Jessical Ilaug, Loretta Miller, Taylor Vezina, Kier Zimmerman, Johanna Dittus, Amber Burns, Erin Miller, Tyler Goebel, Dylan Olmsted, Christian Isaac, Alex Goebel, Matthew Smith, Victoria Main, and Zachary Stofer.  Accompanied by Erin McConnell on piano, Jeremy Ehlert on guitar, Amy Eichers on violin, Aubrey Hagen on cello, Katie Harvey on cello, Eric Peterson on drums, Cory Coffman on drums, and Mark Glen on bass.  Musical direction by Adam Sippola.  The show runs Thursdays through Saturdays through February 25.  Curtain time is 8 p.m.  This review was based on the Friday, February 10 performance.