Overview
Synopsis
Based on Frank Wedekind’s groundbreaking and controversial play (once banned in Germany), Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s brilliant rock score and searingly emotional book take the story of sexual awakening, youth revolt, and self-discovery into a new century. It’s 1891, and grown-ups hold all the cards. Headstrong Melchior and naive Wendla stumble into each others’ arms, passionate and curious, while anxious Moritz struggles to live up to the stringent expectations of society. With only each other for guidance, this group of young men and women travel the fraught and rocky path of adolescence, discovering their bodies, their minds, and themselves along the way. An electric, vibrant celebration of youth and rebellion, Spring Awakening fuses issues of morality, sexuality, and rock and roll into a story that packs a powerful emotional punch.
Show Information
- Book
- Steven Sater
- Music
- Duncan Sheik
- Lyrics
- Steven Sater
- Conceived By
- Frank Wedekind
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Mature Audiences (M)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 2006
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Simple/No Set
- Time & Place
- 1891, germany
- Cast Size
- medium
- Orchestra Size
- Rock Combo
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- Music Theatre International
- Ideal For
- College/University, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Late Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Spring Awakening is based on a 1891 play of the same name by Frank Wedekind. The original play was banned in Germany due to its depiction of masturbation, abortion, rape, and suicide. There were numerous workshops, concerts, and re-writes of Spring Awakening during a seven-year period before the musical had its Off-Broadway premiere on May 19, 2006, at the Atlantic Theatre Company. Once the run at the Atlantic Theatre concluded on
to read the context for Spring Awakening and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
ACT ONE
In late nineteenth century Germany, Wendla Bergmann, a curious and naive 14-year-old girl, laments that her mother has not taught her how to navigate life (“Mama Who Bore Me”). About to become an aunt for the second time, Wendla asks her mother to explain where babies come from. When her mother cannot bring herself to explain sexual relations to Wendla, she tells her daughter that babies are conceived when a woman loves her husband with all her heart. The other young girls of the
to read the plot for Spring Awakening and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
Songs
Act One
- Mama Who Bore Me – Wendla
- Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise) – Wendla and Girls
- All That's Known – Melchior
- The Bitch of Living – Moritz, Melchior, and Boys
- My Junk – Girls and Boys
- Touch Me – Boys and Girls
- The Word of Your Body – Wendla and Melchior
- The Dark I Know Well – Martha, Ilse, and Boys
- The Word of Your Body (Reprise 1) - Otto and Georg
- And Then There Were None – Moritz and Boys
- The Mirror-Blue Night – Melchior and Boys
- I Believe – Boys and Girls
Act Two
- The Guilty Ones– Wendla, Melchior, Boys, and Girls
- Don't Do Sadness – Moritz
- Blue Wind – Ilse
- Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind (Reprise) – Moritz and Ilse
- Left Behind – Melchior, Boys, and Girls
- Totally Fucked – Melchior and Full Company (except Moritz)
- The Word of Your Body (Reprise 2) – Hanschen, Ernst, Boys, and Girls
- Whispering – Wendla
- Those You've Known – Moritz, Wendla, and Melchior
- The Song of Purple Summer – Ilse and Full Company
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A play, musical, or opera that has been adapted from a written work.
A young person in the process of developing from a child into an adult.
A genre of literature, film, and theatre that focuses on the emotional and/or moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood.
An ending speech that sums up the central point of the performance, often thanking the audience or asking for applause.
A person's system of right and wrong
A restaging of a stage production after its original run has closed.
A musical theatre work using rock music.
A play that centers around the downfall of the main character through tragic actions and events.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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