Spring Awakening - Or How to Choreograph Microphones in a Broadway Musical!
Do you think Bill T. Jones knew he would be choreographing for microphones when he signed on to stage the Off-Broadway musical "Spring Awakening?" Whether he knew beforehand or not, creating a pattern of moving microphones was to be an integral part of his choreographic chores both in the off and on Broadway hit productions. The cast is responsible for flawlessly arranging and rearranging mikes, chairs, and various other props from all corners of the stage into a flowing geometric pattern devised by Jones. The boys have mikes hidden in pockets cleverly sewn inside their jackets in readiness for the next song. Originally the girls were to have them sewn into the folds of their dresses, but the weight was too heavy. Enter Jones to make sure that all the mikes were in convenient spots until, with a flourish, they are transported to the performer who is about to do his song.
It is one of the many maneuvers that make the show a veritable tour de force. No less important is the acting, singing, and dance movement that Jones has laid out for the young and distinctively talented cast. Adapted from the original 1891 German drama by Frank Wedekind it is a sort of "Rent" with a Kinsey/Freud overview, set in an age when sex was hidden "under the covers" allowing the adolescents to wonder endlessly about life, love, and bodily changes while their parents and teachers refuse to deal out any answers or enlightenment.
Each cast member seems hand picked for his or her innocent and fresh-faced physicality. They have the same precocity teens of today may have except that the story does not permit the space to experiment with sex either in a classroom situation, or to use the Internet. Since the adults are not forthcoming the young people must rely on each other for what little information they glean and hope their intense "awakening" feelings will be resolved. The stalwart unwillingness of the elders of this German society to bend to the students' quickly developing urges leads to cataclysmic results.
"Spring Awakening" is Phoebe Strole's first Broadway show. She has gone from teaching "Wee Ballerinas" classes in Greenwich Village for toddlers wanting to learn ballet to "Spring Awakening," which is set to keep her employed for a long time to come. She is also an understudy to Wendla, the leading female role. "I am the stereotypical good girl," Strole said of her role as Anna. She smiled revealing two major indentations in her cheeks, perfect dimples and twinkling eyes that give her good-girl persona an exactness no amount of make-up could create.
Strole, coming from a conventional and sturdy Texas background, graduated from the Tisch school at N.Y.U. with a major in theater. When she takes on the leading female role even for a night she will also have simulated sex, on stage with "Melchior" the male protagonist who, in the play, cannot control his emotions and takes his virginal girlfriend while the remainder of the cast looks on. The change from charming Girl Scout to a teen ravaged by sexual urges may be likened to diving off the high board into the pool after one practice jump. A big plunge! Strole laughs when asked what Mom and Dad, so excited for her to land her first Broadway show, will be feeling when she takes over the role as understudies surely do. "I guess my parents just don't want to know if and when I will play the part."
The show is almost entirely sung with Jones' movement patterns staged to emphasize the lyrics. Strole has been training her voice for just such an occasion for quite awhile. Though she is dance trained, she never truly felt the strong urge to dance professionally. It was her voice that got her this break. "I wasn't asked to sing a song from the show at the audition," she said. "That worried me a bit as everyone else did sing from the show. I sang 'American Tune' by Paul Simon, but I could sense they were impressed." Enough to hire her for the Broadway cast though she had not been part of the Atlantic Theatre production off-Broadway.
"Michael Mayer, our director, did not want super-trained experienced people," Strole said. "Rather, he chose to have raw talents. Here we are a group of untrained dancers, maybe a bit on the awkward side. The audience may think we are presenting ourselves that way on purpose, but our group is clearly not comprised of technically trained dancers."
The thought that Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" might have influenced Wedekind" seems a distinct possibility. "Romeo and Juliet" was written around 1574 so it could have easily served as inspiration for this tale of forbidden love set in Germany. The love between Melchior and Wendela and the unhappy demise of Melchior's best friend, Moritz, follows rather closely the scenario of Shakespeare's tragedy.
Strole was surprised at the thought that there might be a slight connection. "That was never mentioned during the rehearsal period," she recalled. "Michael (Mayer) asked us to think that we, the young people in the school, would eventually become the future parents to the Nazis. Counting the generations - that could be true. Quite a bone-chilling thought for us to use in developing our characters."
The cast is an ensemble of forceful, gifted, and amazing performers. Pounding their feet into the stage floor, and constantly changing chairs (and mikes), building the level of angst, they catch the suppressed teen-age turmoil, bring it out front, and meet it head on. The team of Duncan Sheik (music) and Steven Sater (book and lyrics) has provided a rock score that illuminates the teens experimenting with sexuality in both an intriguing and frightening manner. With songs like "Touch Me" and "The Bitch of Living" the show does not shy away from its message. The openly intimate sex scene ending Act I and beginning Act II is realistic, appropriate, and shocking.