鈥淪pring Awakening鈥 can bring back painful memories.
The 2016 multiple-Tony Award winning musical 鈥 蜜柚直播 Repertory Theatre鈥檚 season closer 鈥 is all about teen angst.
Although angst may be too light a word. It鈥檚 about raging hormones, lost innocence, sex, depression, and the awful jumble of confusion that comes with being 14 and oppressed by teachers, parents and society.
鈥淪pring Awakening鈥 is an adaptation of an 1891 play by German playwright Frank Wedekind. It鈥檚 all about oppression of what鈥檚 natural 鈥 sex 鈥 and it caused a scandal. It was rarely performed.
The musical鈥檚 creators, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, kept the story in 19th-century Germany but infused it with raw, pounding rock 鈥檔鈥 roll, which seems the perfect vehicle to express teen turmoil.
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鈥淚t feels very immediate to me,鈥 says Hank Stratton, director of the 蜜柚直播 Repertory Theatre production. 鈥淭o me, it feels perfectly timed with what鈥檚 happening culturally 鈥 what鈥檚 happening to young people and women. The play was scandalous at the time it was written and it still seems controversial, which tells me it鈥檚 still relevant.鈥
And while society might not be as oppressed as it once was, Stratton knows young people can still struggle.
鈥淭eens are isolated and alone as their bodies change,鈥 he says. 鈥淎dults tell the kids what they are feeling doesn鈥檛 matter. I want them to know they are heard and we鈥檝e all gone through this.鈥
Stratton does expect some audience members to be uncomfortable, but that isn鈥檛 a bad thing.
鈥淭hese themes are as confrontational and human as they were when this story was written,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hese are important conversations to have with our young and ourselves. We have a responsibility to give our youth information, and to allow them to make mistakes. The fear of making mistakes can make them reckless.鈥
Zach Zupke, a University of 蜜柚直播 senior studying theater, has found he can relate to his character Mortiz, who feels hopeless as he is plagued with sex dreams that confuse him, struggles with schoolwork and oppressive teachers, and is depressed about parents who offer little love and support.
鈥淚 connect because I have felt hopeless,鈥 he says while taking a break from rehearsal. 鈥淚 know what it鈥檚 like to feel like I don鈥檛 know what else I can do.鈥
The play鈥檚 straightforward message appeals to both Zupke and fellow UA senior, Rachel Franke, who plays Wendla, a young teen who is completely ignorant about sex and the world, and has a mother who will not tell her about either.
鈥淚 think what鈥檚 so interesting about this play and why I love it is it鈥檚 kind of an unchanging message throughout history: the rebellious youth versus the older generation,鈥 she says. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 so cool about this play is it is so blatant. It鈥檚 not metaphoric. It鈥檚 poignant and it makes a statement and they do it so in your face. It鈥檚 not apologetic about what it鈥檚 trying to tell you. You can鈥檛 mistake what it鈥檚 telling you.鈥
The truth of the play appeals to Zupke.
鈥淭hese are real things that you go through in your adolescence,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hese are real things and real stories that we are telling. Even if it makes people uncomfortable, it is real and that鈥檚 what so beautiful about it.鈥