London gets a brand-new production of Broadway hit youth tuner 'Spring Awakening' at the Lyric Hammersmith.
A Lyric Hammersmith presentation of a musical in two acts with book and lyrics by Steven Sater, music by Duncan Sheik, based on the play by Franz Wedekind. Directed by Michael Mayer. Musical direction, Nigel Lilley. Choreography, Bill T. Jones.
Wendla - Charlotte Wakefield
Adult Women - Sian Thomas
Thea - Evelyn Hoskins
Anna - Natasha Barnes
Martha - Hayley Gallivan
Ilse - Lucy Barker
Adult Men - Richard Cordery
Otto - Edd Judge
Hanchen - Jamie Blackley
Ernst - Harry McEntire
Georg - Jos Slovick
Moritz - Iwan Rheon
Melchior - Aneurin Barnard
More than at any time since the heyday of the Broadway musical in the 1950s, young audiences suddenly find themselves excited by people singing their hearts out. That's exactly what they vote for every week on TV talent shows from "American Idol" to Britain's "The X Factor." Find a youthful formula yoked to satisfying drama and you've got a recipe for a hit -- hence the U.S. sensation "Spring Awakening." Can its success be repeated in the U.K? Judging by the powerful British cast and the canny production route, the answer is yes.
Unusually, instead of moving a production straight from Broadway to the West End, the U.S. producers have gone back to square one. Following an invitation from David Farr, a.d. of the Lyric Hammersmith (the off-West End home of shows like "Shockheaded Peter"), the original creatives were invited to remount the musical with local talent. The resulting menu may be exactly the same -- the script, score, set and lighting are not new -- but the food does taste subtly different.
The shift is in the onstage talent, and not just in the English accents. Stage-school sheen is nowhere to be seen. Some of the cast went through seven rounds of auditions, and what's most striking about the hired actors is their ages. The two adults (Richard Cordery and Sian Thomas) excepted, the average age is 17-18. Almost all of them, including the leads, are making their professional stage debut.
Having a cast so close in age to the characters yields enormous dividends. This is an urgent show about the dangers of naivete. Instead of watching more experienced actors shed years of cynicism -- and occasionally add a little too much angst -- this cast glows with innocence.
The one downside is that not all of them are experienced enough to take roles created elsewhere and make them fully their own. That's most noticeable in the dance. When they're going full tilt at Bill T. Jones bass-line-hugging choreography, the actors are energized with all the requisite rage and zest. But there are moments when Jones' highly articulate gesturing feels performed rather than embodied.
That's not a problem for the leads, all of whom -- courtesy of an impressive sound design handling the strong seven-piece band -- make robust impressions vocally and dramatically. Aneurin Barnard has the measure of Melchior's gravitas, and, as Wendla, Charlotte Wakefield has both gentle sensibility and real tenacity.
Although you could argue that the show is Wedekind by way of "Dawson's Creek," it's none the worse for that in its refreshing appeal to a broader youth culture that theater rarely reaches.
The booking pattern for the show, currently selling fast, has no doubt boosted the producers' confidence. All previews were sold out by the very first performance, prompting a two-week extension of the run through March 16. (The theater is programmed with other shows for the rest of the year.)
Understandably, there's considerable West End interest, not least from Cameron Mackintosh, whose Novello Theater will shortly become free when the Royal Shakespeare Company residency ends. But no deal has yet been made, pending the London reviews which, thus far, have largely been extremely strong. If all goes according to plan, and a youth-oriented pricing structure can be made to work, "Spring Awakening" may become what its recent rival "Rent" never was in London: a genuine hit.
Sets, Christine Jones; costumes, Susan Hilferty; lighting, Kevin Adams; sound, Brian Ronan; musical supervisor, Kimberly Grigsby, orchestrations, Sheik; vocal arrangements, AnnMarie Milazzo; additional arrangements, Simon Hale; U.K. associate director, Lucy Skilbeck; U.K. fight direction, Kate Waters; production stage manager, Helen Barratt. Reviewed Feb. 3, 2009. Opened Feb. 4. Running time: 2 HOURS, 20 MIN.
With: Chris Barton, Natalie Garner, Mona Goodwin, Jamie Muscato, Gemma O'Duffy, Richard Southgate.
Contact David Benedict at
benedictdavid@mac.com
Date in print: Thu., Feb. 5, 2009