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First off I want to say that no words can truly describe the experience Of Spring Awakening. I saw it on Saturday and it was an amazing show. There is just something that’s bugging me. I’ve been wanting to see this musical since I found out about it a year and a half ago. I first discovered it by a happy accident. I was home sick one day and flipping through the channels. I changed it to MTV where it was showing one its attempts at airing actual music videos. They general have one of their VJ’s hosting it, but they had a special episode where the cast of Spring Awakening was taking over the show. They showed a brief clip of My Junk and I was in awe. The cast was all young, some were my age and they were singing about things that I was actually going through. After I got over the initial amazement, I went to the computer to look up what I thought the name was. Sure enough I found the web sight. In it they had a music video for The Bitch Of Living which I watched, and the complete Totally F*cked song. Just the pure shamelessness of the song’s names immediately gravitated me towards the musical.
As I got my brother to enjoy this newfound obsession, we listened to the soundtrack. Since then, I have read the reviews and the complete summary of the show. I knew everything about it and I hadn’t even seen it. I was excited for the 2007 Tony’s for it was nominated for 11 awards, including Best Musical. I was waiting to see the performance and even taped it. I watched that over and over again for a few weeks. Anyway, it won and I knew I had to see this thing. When I found out at the end of the school year that it was going on tour and would be coming to a theater in LA (The Ahmanson) that I had been to before, I was ecstatic. My brother and I begged our parents to go see it. After they heard from a friend how good it was, they decided they wanted to see it too. My dad bought the tickets in August and I waited until Thanksgiving Break to see it.
We got to the theater early and waited. I get bad anxiety, and for some reason I was extremely anxious, my heart was pounding. I realized that I had extremely high expectations for the show. When I heard that the person playing Melchior was being replaced by the understudy I even got more nervous, “Would this be as good as I thought it would?” I asked myself. The cast came out and the sound department made some kind of mistake and my heart sunk, would this seem professional with the young cast. But as the show went on my doubts went away. The music to me is haunting and inspiring. It’s contemporary style, the product of the brains behind the operation, Duncan Sheik, resonates so well with the youth of today. The set and costume design as well as the choreography all add to the fluidity and movement of the play. Spring Awakening was based after a 1890s German play by the same name. Obviously, it was highly controversial and criticized for it portrayal of sexual discovery, abuse, homosexuality, rape, abortion, and various other themes, elements, and plot devices that were seen as obscenities at that time and place. Even today some of its themes are taboo. A story where teenage sexual awakening is shown in a tasteful manner is rare, but Spring Awakening achieves it. I also strongly agree with the messages the play displays. As a strong child advocate, I feel that America needs to reform it sexual education. First parents need to have open discussions with their kids. In Spring Awakening, the character of Wendla asks her mom where babies come from. Her mom tells a lie saying that a woman gets pregnant when she truly loves her husband. This results in Wendla unknowingly making love and getting pregnant. She asks her mother why she never told the truth and is replied with a slap in the face by her mother. After this she arranges for Wendla to have an abortion, Wendla dies during the operation.
Sexually repressed Germany can still be seen in America today. The themes of the musical, as well as the messages it sends should not be taken likely by the audience. Teaching abstinence only is not enough, and not teaching children about sex is just plain irresponsible, even though it still happens today. As one stats puberty, undeniable and inevitable changes occur. Urges arise that cannot be stopped. Though religious fanatics and conservative parents would rather ignore this, it does happen. Teenagers are going to have sex. Something needs to be done to prevent the consequences. Ignoring it and teaching abstinence is not going to make it go away.
With that all said, the musical did reach my expectations. I would have liked to have seen the original cast, for they are who I am familiar with, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The thing that’s bugging me is that it’s over. I saw it and that’s it. There’s nothing more to it. Since it ending it’s run on Broadway on January, I don’t know if I will ever get the chance to see it again. I feel like there is more to it, and maybe there is, I just have to find it.
The Happy Accident 