Review: Wyandotte's 'Spring Awakening' Is Top Notch

Reviewed by Jacob Thorington

On Friday the 13th, I had the pleasure of attending opening night of In 1892, Frank Wedekind published Frühlings Erwachen in Germany. His play was incredibly controversial due to its themes of child abuse, homosexuality, suicide, rape and abortion. Wedekind's work was banned in Germany for quite some time due to its controversial themes.

The musical Spring Awakening opened in 2006. The music was produced by Duncan Sheik, who is known for his 1990's hit Barely Breathing. I was incredibly excited to watch this musical. I have had some interest in it for quite some time, but sadly, I missed the U.S. national tour in 2010. A few weeks before Spring Awakening opened locally, I had the pleasure of reading the play on my Kindle.

AKT's production was top-notch! I was incredibly impressed with every aspect of the performance. The music was wonderful, the costumes were beautiful, and the characters were true to both the musical, and the drama.

The musical opens with Wendla Bergmann having a conversation with her mother. Essentially, Wendla asks her mother where babies come from. Her mother is reluctant to tell her the truth, so she tells her daughter that a woman becomes pregnant when she "loves her husband with all of her heart." Sadly, Frau Bergmann made a mistake by not telling Wendla the truth about the birds and the bees. This scene is of importance because it shows how parents sometimes lie to their children in order to protect them. Sadly, protecting your children and hiding them from the truth can be quite dangerous, as Melchior and Wendla's encounter in the hayloft proves to be.

Moritz Stiefel confides to Melchior Gabor that he has been having sexual dreams. Melchior tells Moritz that this is normal for young men their age. Melchior writes an essay for Moritz describing human sexuality in great detail (with detailed pictures, as well!) The exchange between the two young men is quite humorous. As I watched the musical, I was reminded of how confusing puberty was. Thankfully, I was taught the basics of sexual education throughout my schooling. I couldn't imagine growing up in a time where sexual education was not taught in schools, and if it was taught by parents, it was often taught incorrectly in order to shelter the youth from reality.

The disheveled Moritz eventually finds out that he will not be promoted to the next grade. He is shocked by this because he passed his examinations, but Herr Sonnenstich and Frau Knuppeldick decided that he should not be promoted because the school's high standards could not allow 61 students. Moritz's father is incredibly disappointed in him. His father is thankful that Moritz's grandfather did not live to see his son fail. Mortiz wishes to flee to America, and he asks Melchior's mother for financial assistance, but she politely refuses. Melchior's mother wishes she could give Moritz money to flee to America, but she cannot afford it. Instead, she writes his parents asking them not to be too harsh on their son. After these dark times, Moritz begins to contemplate suicide.

Shortly after the scene with Moritz, the musical shifts to a hayloft where Wendla meets Melchior. Melchior tells Wendla to go away, but she refuses his suggestion. Wendla tells Melchior that she discovered his journal under the tree a few days ago. Melchior is upset by this. After quite some time, Melchior and Wendla begin to kiss. At first, Wendla is reluctant to kiss Melchior and become close with him. Wendla doesn't quite understand what is happening between her and Melchior, but they eventually make love in the hayloft.

At dusk, Moritz wanders around town until he encounters an old childhood friend, Ilse. Ilse tells Moritz about her new life living in an artist colony, which is filled with wild drunken nights and sexual escapades with all sorts of artists. Despite Ilse's sexual maturity, she speaks with Moritz about their childhood play dates. Ilse invites Moritz back to her house so they could relive their childhood memories and potentially make some new memories. Moritz refuses to join Ilse, and she leaves severely upset. After Ilse is gone, Moritz realizes he is in love with Ilse, and searches for her. Sadly, she is long gone. Shortly after this realization, Moritz kills himself with a pistol.

Wendla becomes severely ill. The doctor tells Wendla that she is suffering from anemia, but he tells her mother that she is actually pregnant. Wendla's mother is incredibly upset with Wendla, and is shocked that her daughter would have sex. Wendla just tells her mother that she couldn't be pregnant because she didn't love any man with her whole heart. At this point, her mother realizes the grave mistake she made by not telling Wendla the truth about sexuality. Wendla is looking forward to becoming a mother, but sadly, her mother has other plans in store. Her mother decided to take her to an underground doctor who attempts to perform an abortion on Wendla. Sadly, the abortion isn't successful and Wendla dies.

This is not where the musical ends, but it is as far as this review will go. I highly suggest seeing AKT's rendition of Spring Awakening. Although Wedekind's original dates back to 1892, the themes are still relevant today. Additionally, the music is quite trendy.

I've seen many AKT shows in the past, and there is no doubt in my mind that this one is by far the best. I am incredibly impressed with how resourceful AKT is. It takes an incredibly focused group of individuals to continuously put on excellent shows like AKT always does. I am anxiously awaiting to see what AKT will do in the future. I plan on seeing Spring Awakening at least once more. It was honestly that good.

Spring Awakening is being performed at the . Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door. Showtimes are 8 p.m. April 20-21 and 27-28, and 2 p.m. April 15 and 22. For more on the show, .

Jacob Thorington is a 2009 graduate of . The 20-year-old is a junior at Wayne State University, studying secondary social studies.