Spring Awakening is a fantastic musical and this company have tried very hard to do itjustice. This script is based on the play 1891 by Frank Wedekind. As it revolves around teenagers developing their sexuality and contains other controversial issues such as suicide, child abuse and abortion, it was seen as a very provocative piece of writing at the time.
I have seen many different productions of this musical and was pleasantly surprised by the Act Up Theatre Company USA’s version. The choreography and ability to work with so many performers on the stage was superb at points and in terms of dance and physical theatre, this production was performed at an extremely high quality.
The show was let down by the technical side. As the band were loud and the singers did not have the strongest voices, the microphones could have been a bit louder to make the singing audible over the music; other performers had difficulty finding their light.
Technicalities aside, the energy from the cast was electric and they worked really well together. The differing costumes from traditional versions stood out and worked well. The actors also performed ‘I Believe’ very well. Everyone who knows Spring Awakening will know how critical this song is for the musical. I imagine it can be quite difficult not to underact this scene while notverging on pornography and retaining the emotion. If the sound and lighting can be sorted then I see no reason why this performance should not sell out.
