Round House Theatre: Spring Awaking

Up front I will confess I am a big fan of Duncan Sheik.  I have loved his music for over 20 years, and songs in this show are no exception.  For those who do not know what this is, it's basically a musical about coming of age and discovering one's sexuality amid an oppressive society.  It addresses frankly and at times explicitly issues of adolescent sexual intercourse, suicide, incest, child abuse, homosexuality and abortion.  That is a lot to pack into one musical, but that's not what is most stunning about this show.  The power of its subject matter is heightened exponentially by the fact that it is based on a play written by Frank Wedekind in Germany in 1891!!!  It was so scandalous and so repressed that it's first performance there didn't occur until 1906 with explicit scene omitted.  In 1917 the play was translated and an attempt to perform it was shut down by censors.  The courts issued an injuction that permitted the show to go on--for ONE performance only.  It was decades before anyone would attempt to stage "Spring's Awakening, A Children's Tragedy".  Enter Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik just over 100 years later and Voila!  It's an amazing show.

"Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden" by Wenzel Peter (1745 - 1829)

Staged at Round House simply with a stage floor carved out with concentric circles that moved in opposite directions, and a trap door set in the middle at the front of the proscenium.  The back drop was a full stage version of the painting "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden" by Wenzel Peter (1745 - 1829) from the collection of the Vatican Museum.  It can be helpful to an art degree at times!  And both of the side stages were blocked off by floor to ceiling mirrored walls, each with two 19th century style wooden doors complete with transoms.  On stage the actors used simple chairs and a desk to convey changes of scenes.  The austerity was enhanced by thin columns of light placed at intervals along the edge of the backdrop and which would change colors and come on and off to reflect the mood and the action of each scene.

A young cast with some familiar faces, each of whom had stood out in previous performances where I had encountered them and the three principles among the "children" new and dynamic.  The show was only it's 5th performance, and they brought a striking energy and synergy to each song and scene.  Two characters Man and Woman, play a range of adult roles.  I had only recently seen Tonya Beckman perform and was delighted to see her again.  She's a wonderful actor.  The role of "Man" went to Bobby Smith, who is a staple of Signature Theatre's company and also among the most talented actors in the DMV.  I must say it was refreshing to see him in a work by a company other than Signature.  Together they were like the consummate pro's guiding a younger cast, yet not, as the younger members of the cast didn't seem to need any adult supervision.

Of those members kudos to Sean Watkins as Moritz, Cristina Sastre as Wendla and Evan Daves as Melchior.  I don't want to spoil too much, lets just say, Melchior survives--it's a tragedy, remember?  Before and during intermission, the audience with more younger folk in it than I can recall was very chatty.  Directly behind me was an early twenty-something couple.  He had never heard of Duncan Sheik...children!  They seemed very nice.  When Sean took Moritz to his inevitable conclusion, they were both crying, he more than her!  I thought, for goodness sake, take a page from my example: you let the tears flow silently over your cheeks while sucking on a lozenge so you don't cry-gasp.  So much that the children need to learn.  In another moment, after the ensemble reached the end of the song "Totally Fucked", the audience burst into applause.  Now, that's something you don't see everyday...because still 60% were there on a senior discount.

As the light gently faded on the finale, I was as eager as anyone to applaud.  As soon as the lights rose on the cast, I was the first out of my seat and like a wave in a sports stadium, everyone who could, seemed to join in.  Another highly recommended production to see.