If it weren't for GLEE, we're sure that 'Spring Awakening' would have remained relegated to theatrical obscurity, known only to angry young men who majored in Theater and relished the thought of fin de siecle nymphs being ravished in front of shocked audiences. Banned Theater, like banned literature, holds an allure for young men who want to wallow in its seeming decadence but not have to stray into the territory of actually doing anything antisocial or criminal (beyond being shut down or slapped with a misdemeanor for public lewdness). All publicity is good publicity and dusting off 'Spring Awakening' in its original format, devoid of distracting duets and Broadway trappings, is a sure-fire way to get an audience alternately interested and outraged all while touting the cause of Art.
Make no bones about it, just because the musical version of 'Spring' won Tony Awards, does not mean it reflected the original script. Just as 'Wicked' bears scant resemblance to the novel that inspired it, the original 'Spring Awakening' had everyone's knickers in a twist when it opened in 1906. Joe Papp eventually got it staged in New York, but that was 1978 and we're sure that Papp could have managed to get a live version of Deep Throat staged during that period, such were the times. But this is a resurgent conservative America and a play that questions society's right to repress the sexuality of teenagers comes fairly toploaded with controversy (Of course in film you can do anything you want, but for some reason the idea of live bodies reenacting these turgid fantasies brings out the thought police in droves...)
So is the newly formed IV League Productions staging 'Spring Awakening' because it's a key, touchstone piece of modern Theater that audiences should rediscover? Or is it a naughty idea inspired by the success of the safer musical version? Outfits like Sledghammer Theater in San Diego thrill at the idea of shocking audiences with outrageous, even prurient scripts and then sitting back and pooh-pooing at the ignorance and puritanism of their public. But San Diego is a conservative town anyway, so Sledgehammer's just baiting them. More Teeth wants to see if Warwick, RI has a looser sensibility and if this im-morality play actually has something deeper to teach us beyond the forbidden fruit tales of so many late night cable movies.
Truth Be Told - 'Spring Awakening' more than the sum of its parts
Ok...we admit it. We almost *wanted* to dislike this production. We were selfishly hoping for a disingenuous, naive, pretentious mess. It didn't happen. It's also not quite appropriate to rate this presentation in the traditional manner. IV League Productions is not a company and the Warwick Art Museum is not a theater. Their offering of 'Spring Awakening' is more of a studio piece, a high-end student production - in other words, a one-off. Which, actually, is one of the more fantastic aspects of Rhode Island Theater in general and this presentation in particular. It won't run beyond this Memorial Day weekend and it shouldn't. It's meant to be glimpsed by friends, family and the few spectat ors who, like More Teeth, wanted a chance to see what all the fuss is about with this script. While you're watching it, you wish for so
much more than they can possibly deliver, but after the fact, it holds up. Is it the script? The production? Or both?
Director Brad Kirton remains faithful to the original setting of early-20th Centrury Germany and privleged teens attending a rigorous educational institution spiked with a strong dose of religious intolerance. Rigidity abounds and the teens predictably rebel, question the existence of God, themselves, grades and genitalia, all while extemporizing in prose more florid than the scant vegetation scattered on the face of a bone-white tree that looms over the proceedings like a skeletal hand. Those familiar with the controversy surrounding the story are aware that most of these teens go beyond simply pining away while longing for true love or the answers to the universe. They act on whatever impulses are roiling inside them and become victims of the lack of information and guidance provided by parents and educators. Told to excel, they are left to dream too big in gothic surroundings and fall victim to all manner of tragedy. Some find love, but not in the way they are expected to and we are left wondering how this could have ever spiraled out of control so badly.
Of course, since the late 1800's the theme has been revisited so many times that we're used to it, but the beauty of this script is that there will be no easy answers, no neat, buttoned endings and any hope we find is wrapped in a climax more metaphysical and alien than uplifting.
You could insert a joke here, but then, you'd be playing into their hands...
This is all what we take away *after* watching the show, but during it, we're mostly uninterested. It actually takes extreme tragedy to make any of these characters interesting and we mostly dislike the bulk of them until The Third Act. Yes. The Third Act. This is a long show and it is relentless in its plodding progress toward each plot point. Part of it is the ensemble, which is mostly competent at it's finest. We see from the outset that there are no standout performances here and that's ok. The job gets done and when we can understand what they're saying (many of them lose their way through the denser patches of dialogue), it's mostly a matter of wait-and-see-what-happens-next. The first thought was that half of the lines could have been cut and we'd have the same show, but we can tell that the intent was to deliver 'Awakening' in full glory, like sitting through an unedited Lear and taking our medicine. The sporadic attempts at mixed media and technical embellishment are noble, but distracting at times, as if Kirton knew the audience needed something to look at and listen to other than his actors.
But that's the point of doing boutique productions like this. A director can do what they feel like doing and use elements that satisfy their sensibilities and we're invited to go along with it (usually for free, but in this case, it costs twelve dollars) or not.
Maybe a few more rehearsals, a bigger budget or a cast that actually understood the pain of these characters (one notable exception would be Pat Hawkridge, who as all of the adult female roles, seemed to have a grasp on some of the weightier aspects and made Melchior's mother multi-dimensional) would have made for a more engaging experience. Kudos to Kaela M. Adams for even agreeing to take on the part of the much-abused heroine Wendla. That's the role that all the young actresses want-until they see what it entails-but she was not asked to do anything nearly as controversial or difficult as she could have been. As a result, she gets to deliver a perfectly nice performance and not have us cringe on her behalf.
There is no cringing in fact...no squirming in our seats unless mild male homosexuality and mimed masturbation drives you over the edge. We're forced to consider the *idea* of these children being horrible and it is not until almost the end of the show that we are presented with anything truly ghastly. 'Spring Awakening' dares one to challenge the ideas of sexuality, religious dogma and free thought, but we're *told* to do it. By the time Melchior and Moritz are done spouting their platitudes at us, we really could care less whether they live, die or go to reform school. We just stare until it's over and don't consider anything that is really said or done until the ride home. But you do consider it, which is a good accomplishment for any production.
'Spring Awakening' by IV League Productions is performed through May 29th at the Warwick Museum of Art - 3259 Post Road Warwick, RI, 02886. Parking is strange and the area is a nest of one way streets. Tickets only sold at the door. Price is $12 ($10 for Students, which will make up the majority of this crowd) Concessions are served, but you may want an absinthe or two before showing up to get you in the mood.
