Stage Review - Spring Awakening (5th Avenue)

Stage Review - Spring Awakening
Presented By: 5th Avenue Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: June 07 - June 30, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, June 14, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

Maya Angelou once said that we “can’t really know where (we’re) going until we know where (we’ve) been.” We’re each made up of our pasts, our personal ones and those of the generations before us, and it’s important to understand and accept each of them before we can move ahead to a better humanity. It’s also important to understand this history so that we don’t repeat it, or so that we at least understand the consequences of past decisions made. This includes how we treat ourselves, our humanity, and in the case of the Tony Award winning musical Spring Awakening, based on the 1891 play of the same name, our sexuality. Spring Awakening, which is currently on stage at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle through June 30, is set in 19th Century Germany, in a society where teenage boys and girls are kept apart and matters of sex and sexuality are not discussed. In this society, the “stork” still brings babies and teenagers are taught to suppress their impulses. It’s God, school, parents, and the authoritarian rulers who are in charge and not to be questioned, lest there be a punishment that we would believe not to be commensurate with the offense, these punishments likely to be physical.

Spring Awakening, yes, is about this suppression and the consequences that affect both the parents of the children, schools and other authorities, and the teenagers themselves, but it’s also about the challenging of these rules and institutions, and acceptance of who we all are as humans. The 2006 musical version of the story has music written and composed by Duncan Sheik and a book by Steven Sater, who also wrote the show’s lyrics. It took a number of twists and turns before it debuted on Broadway, but once it did, it was a resounding success, subsequently spawning a number of regional productions including the one at the 5th Avenue, directed by Jay Santos, with choreography by Katy Tabb, and music direction by R.J. Tancioco. The production features Caitlin Sarwono as Wendla, a girl coming of age in a world where the real story of the birds and the bees is withheld from her, despite her literally asking her mother for the details, Ricky Spaulding as Melchior, the outlier in a community of conformists, the one challenging the status quo, and Alexander Killian as Moritz, Melchior’s classmate who, despite his best efforts, is being targeted by his teachers and school administration to prevent him from moving on to his next level of education.

The kids are all aware that they’re not getting the entire story. This is the subject of the opening number “Mama Who Bore Me”, first sung softly by Caitlin’s Wendla accompanied by some nice symbolism in one of her coming of age moments, and then by the girls’ ensemble, with wonderful and full harmony. They demand to be told where babies come from but are met by obfuscation at every turn. On the other side of the teenage card are the boys, first being taught Virgil in Latin class, which dissolves into a discussion of the sorts of dreams that keep boys up every night, their frustration boiling up into “The Bitch of Living”. The boys and girls, separated, left in the dark, and with no outlet for their emotions or their desires, retain the status quo until Melchior meets up with Wendla, and the two imagine what it would be like to give in to their feelings. Meanwhile in Moritz’s world, he’s having to live with the consequences forced on him, without his knowledge, of the administrations’ attitude, a result of his not being the model student, regardless of his intentions. Out of everyone, though, Melchior is the true disruptor, from his challenging of authority to his attempt at filling in the gaps of sexual education with his friends and classmates, his actions affect everyone’s fate in the story. Some of you who are familiar with the story know of these actions and fates, but for those that don’t, Spring Awakening is a raw, sometimes dark, and always vulnerable story of this group of teenagers coming to terms with their impending adulthood, while existing and, in some cases, trying to break free from their oppression. The frustration builds throughout Act 1, and even into Act 2 until the song “Totally Fucked”, which is quite frankly the moment when it all changes, for the actors, the characters, and indeed the audience. It’s this moment, and this song that turns the story on its head and as an audience member, it’s clear that there’s some momentum at work to break through these chains.

The presentation of the 5th Avenue’s Spring Awakening is best described as raw, and I can’t think of a better design to match this musical that requires both the actors and audience to open themselves up in such an exposed and vulnerable way. There’s a certain amount of immersion here as well, and it begins even before the curtain rises. Matthew Smucker’s scenic design encompasses all of the 5th Avenue stage, even the theatre’s wings are exposed, there’s nothing hidden here. Backdropped by leafless trees and flanked by boulders, the setting feels like winter on the verge of Spring, and it sounds that way as well, with part of Justin Stasiw’s sound design evident through the din of a forest about to explode with life, a low rumbling, the sound of wood cracking, the entire theatre feels like it’s about to metamorphosize. It’s a wonderful foreshadowing of what is to come, a celebration of the breaking free from winter’s grasp, literally and of course figuratively. On the stage itself, there’s not a lot that changes as the show progresses. The actors rarely leave the stage, boys and girls are largely separated of course, but when the story isn’t centered on them, each group flanks the stage in chairs that are then also used as props in creative ways throughout. The real star of the creative team here, though, is Ben Zamora, and his work with the lighting design for Spring Awakening. Angled from front to back, and suspended above the stage is a white monolithic panel with a tree branch poking through. The way this panel is used here is pure magic, his use of the panel to project violence on is excellent, as is the way he uses light to present the bleakness of the world being presented on stage, and the fight to break free from it. Rounding out the creative team is Danielle Nieves and another excellent costume design. Danielle’s design clearly reflects the societal structure, with the boys dressed in similar, blue school uniforms, and the girls in floral patterned dresses. The most variance comes in the costuming of the adult characters (the adult women all played by Dedra D. Woods and the males played by Michael Sharon), ranging from almost militaristic to big and flowing, depending on the use. Costumes here play a nice part in the symbolic depiction of these coming of age teenagers as well, including the aforementioned red ribbon worn by Caitlin Sarwono’s Wendla. Creatively, there’s not a mark missed.

In fact, there’s very little, if anything, that misses here. And that includes this cast, led by a group of leads that are expressive, energetic, and emotional. The quality of this production from an acting perspective begins right at the top with Ricky Spaulding’s portrayal of Melchior. It’s been a busy season for Ricky, having led the cast of Sherwood at Village Theatre as Robin Hood and later as Willis in Keiko Green’s The Bed Trick at Seattle Shakespeare. This role requires a lot out of Ricky, and is a fantastic vehicle for him to show his versatility and talent, and he doesn’t let that opportunity go. The role is intense, it’s evocative, and it’s extremely vulnerable, but Ricky goes all in on it, and vocally his performance is just stupendous. Challenging the status quo in “All That’s Known”, to his tender moments with Caitlin and her Wendla in “The Word of Your Body”, to his downright rebelliousness and resolve in “Totally Fucked”, there’s so much variety vocally, it takes someone as talented as Ricky is to pull if off. But as good as he is in each of those numbers, it’s in “Left Behind”, a song positioned in story during an extraordinarily tough time, when Ricky rises above and makes this show his. Displaying an amazing range, he’s so emotional and heartfelt in this song, to see and hear “Left Behind” leaves one literally to weep for him. The object of Melchior’s affection is, of course, Wendla, and the two of them coming together drives a significant portion of the show’s plot and is from what many of the consequences in the musical result. Caitlin Sarwono is soft and tender in this role, innocent for sure, but knowing in her heart that there is something more than she’s been told out there. She opens the show with an incredible solo version of “Mama Who Bore Me”, and is a wonderfully counterpart to Ricky in “The Word of Your Body”, their performance of Katy Tabb’s choreography comfortably and tenderly symmetrical and smooth. The pair have a chemistry that seems to jump off the stage, which brings the audience into the story as if its falling in love right along side of Melchior and Wendla. The non-musical scene that stands out, which combines not just the acting component of the presentation, but also aspects of sound and light design is in Act 1 when Wendla approaches Melchior, lamenting that in her life she really hasn’t felt anything and asking him to help her. That specific scene is perhaps the most raw of the entire show, and it’s performed so well, the audience is left literally breathless. The interlaced storyline that has just as much impact as that of the fateful lovers is that which involves Moritz, played by Alexander Killian. Moritz isn’t the best student, and his attitude has gotten the attention of the powers that be at his school, so much that they are determined to make it as hard for him to pass as possible. The result is the story of a boy disappointing his father in the worst possible way and the consequences thrust upon him as a result. What Alexander does so well here is in capturing the angst, the nervousness that underscores the pressure he is under to succeed. His Moritz is as frustrated with the status quo as Melchior, but is woe to do anything about it, all of which comes out in his powerful and passionate performance in “The Bitch of Living”, and later as well in “And Then There Were None”.

The cast that Jay Santos has assembled here is not just talented, but are aligned very well with the roles they are playing. Beyond the leads, the other boys are played by CJ Lorentz (Otto), James Schilling (Hanschen), Sage Suzerris (Ernst), and Isaiah “Roze” Hsu (Georg). This group adds so much to the story, each of them with turns to feature in the ensemble numbers, as do the actors playing the girls, Ciara Alyse Harris (Martha), Lauren Drake (Ilse), Anteia Delaney (Anna), and Anabel Chacón (Thea). The audience does get a decent background on each of the individuals’ personalities, but their biggest contributions are together, informing the plot lines of Melchior/Wendla and Moritz with more layered context. Rounding out the cast are Dedra D. Woods and Michael Sharon, playing all of the female and male adult characters respectively. The pair play parents, doctors, teachers and school administrators, clergy, music instructors just to name a few. Dedra and Michael play these characters with a good deal of versatility, most of the roles they play are strong and contribute to the general and systemic repression of the youth. The roles require them to be physical as well, and they’re stunningly good at this aspect as well. And on the ensemble side, kudos to the 5th Avenue Theatre for giving actors with no previous professional experience an opportunity to shine, as members of the company and as understudies for some of the supporting roles. In this show, Sophie Bee Kashman and Andrew Knickerbocker (Pit Singers, understudies), Anabel Chacón (Thea), Megan May Chang (understudy), Lucas Delamarter (understudy), Isaiah “Roze” Hsu (Georg), are making their professional debuts. Congratulations to them and what a wonderful future we have in store for the Seattle theatre community.

The one callout I will make, something that might be uncomfortable to watch for some, is the amount of simulated sex and sexual activities. Some may feel that it borders on excessive, but for my part it’s something that helps build context, especially in the beginning when the musical makes the point that we are, at our base, animals with impulses and desires. But there’s no innuendo here, it’s out there for the audience to take in, and this could be something that might make this production of Spring Awakening not suitable for younger audiences.

Spring Awakening is a coming of age story set in a time and place that on one hand seems so long ago, and yet at the same time resembles certain corners of the world today. It’s about challenging the status quo, about breaking free from an oppression in which messaging and movement is controlled, to the extent that we’re not allowed to exhibit our own humanity. Ricky Spaulding leads a cast under the direction of Jay Santos, with a performance that is raw, vulnerable, and classically magnificent in all aspects. It’s a production that clicks from top to bottom, and while Spring Awakening may not be the feel-good show of the year, it’s replete with excellence.

Spring Awakening runs on stage at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle through June 30. For more information about the show and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.5thavenue.org/.

Photo credit: Tracy Martin and Mark Kitaoka