the Informer

On Tues, Feb 23, the Bushnell Theatre in downtown Hartford opened its doors for the premiere of Michael Mayer and Duncan Sheik’s production of Frank Wedekind’s 1891 “Spring Awakening”.

Cast member Sarah Hunt (Martha), a recent high school graduate, shared some thoughts and perspective on the fairly new and much talked-about show.

The provocative and award-winning musical’s touring cast consists of some familiar faces as well as bright new actors and actresses making their debuts. The show stars Jake Epstein, also known as Craig Manning from “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” as Melchior, Taylor Trenson as Moritz, and Christy Altomare as Wendla.

The Bushnell Theatre creates a beautiful atmosphere to house this emotionally charged adaptation of Wedekind’s play.

The stage is shared by not only the actors, but some lucky audience members as well who have access to the closest seats in the house—right next to the actors.

As for the actual show, it is nothing short of memorable. Throughout the entire performance, eyes were locked to the stage as if paralyzed in place by the force and energy exuding from it.

The movement and choreography of the actors are extremely precise yet seem so incredibly candid. Every step, turn, jump, flip and facial expression illustrates the vivacity and passion of youth. Not one inch of the stage goes unutilized, literally.

Things that appear to be simple décor are climbed and swung from, making the action so interesting and alive, matching the fast-paced music that underscores it. The voices are undoubtedly well trained and disciplined. Every note was right on pitch while still conveying the angst, turmoil and confusion of adolescence.

Because the show contains some very mature themes, sexual situations and strong language, the performers risk upsetting and unsettling some of their audience but guarantee a strong reaction from every audience member.

Hunt expressed that after every show, besides being tired she generally feels, “Good! It’s nice to see how every city reacts to it. After the show you can always tell which audiences really got it or who’s having none of it and really wants you to get off stage.”

The premier audience appeared to be very receptive to the show and fortunately no one walked out in a huff as has happened in past performances. “

I’m really, really proud of our show,” Hunt continued, “and I’m pleased that I get to be a part of it each night.”

“Spring Awakening” challenges all of the conventions of what society has taught its youth to be considered “norms” from religion and sexuality to education.

Though it is set in the background of 1891 Germany, the issues it confronts no doubt resonate with people of today. It leaves no stone unturned in terms of subject matter dealing with young adults and seeks to push people’s boundaries of what they feel comfortable with.

Certainly many scenes took a good majority of the audience aback, which was noted by the sea of quick gasps immediately followed by uncomfortable snickers and chuckles.

Hunt shared that her favorite numbers in the show are “Junk” and “Totally F*****”, two very memorable songs that start out one way and progress into something fantastically vulgar and shameless. According to Epstein’s character Melchior, “Shame is nothing but a product of education.” Hunt further explained that what she takes out of the show personally varies every night.

“The good thing about this show,” she said, “no matter what you’re feeling, you have something different to take away from this show…If we’re not still in puberty then at least we remember, so these issues are palpable to all of us.”

According to Hunt, this musical, like one of its predecessors “Rent,” is “not your run-of-the-mill ‘jazz-hands’ musicals (no offense).” She elaborated that both “Spring Awakening” and Rent were very against the mainstream and against the grain when they came out.

All of these actors show an ability to represent a deep range of emotions while making it look entirely effortless, and an ease with acting in front of such large audiences and with each other, notably Epstein and Trensch.

Epstein displays an emotional range and openness with himself and his character that is absolutely outstanding, and his voice seems to match perfectly the orchestrations of Duncan Sheik.

Trensch’s performance is completely unforgettable as this young actor was never short of energy and held absolutely nothing back vocally.

“We are literally one big family,” Hunt said, “from cast to crew to band. It’s such a small cast that everyone bonds. In that respect you love like family and you fight like family.

It’s an interesting dynamic because you have friends, family and social peers all wrapped up in one.” Evidence of this was the whole cast walking closely together in last night’s slush, presumably to their hotel, talking and sharing jokes.

The show will run until Feb. 28, 2010, and tickets are currently on sale at The Bushnell Box Office, online at www.bushnell.org, or by calling (860) 987-5900.

Ticket prices range from $15 to $72 and discounts for groups of 20 or more are available by calling (860) 987-5959. Don’t miss the show while it’s in town!