Eight-time Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening returns to Melbourne this January for a limited season at the Meat Market, North Melbourne.
Presented by the Young Australian Broadway Chorus, Spring Awakening explores the journey from adolescence into adulthood through a compelling fusion of morality, sexuality and rock and roll.
Spring Awakening is a bold musical adaption by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater of German expressionist Frank Wedekind’s controversial 1891 play of the same.
Featuring an electrifying rock/pop score, Spring Awakening follows the lives of a group of adolescents as they navigate their entry into sexual awareness.
This ground-breaking musical, driven by a score that creates a juxtaposition between the world of the play and the genre of music, touches on topics still relevant to today’s youth, reflecting that yesterday’s problems are still today’s concerns.
Spring Awakening was first performed off-Broadway in 2006, with leading roles filled by stars including Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff. It was praised as “an unforgettable statement” by the NY Times and “the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade” by Entertainment Weekly.
The Young Australian Broadway Chorus, a division of Stage School Australia, has most recently presented sell-out seasons of Broadway hits CATS (2020), Les Misérables (2019) and Wicked (2018) at the National Theatre.
Previous productions include The Secret Garden (Southbank Theatre), Seussical (Malthouse Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (Union Theatre) and the Melbourne Premiere of Spring Awakening (National Theatre) in 2011.
Stage School Australia is one of Australia’s leading performing arts schools for young people. Established in 1984 as the Victorian Children’s Theatre, it is made up of the Young Australian Broadway Chorus, Australian Youth Theatre, Beginners OnStage, Australian Boys Dance Academy, Talent Company of Australia and The Costume and Staging Department.
Stage School Australia has gained a reputation as a launching pad for the industry with alumni including James Majoos (Heartbreak High), Max McKenna (Jagged Little Pill) and James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom, Peaky Blinders).
Spring Awakening marks a return for the highly acclaimed musical that explores issues very much relevant today, touching on topics such as teen pregnancy, domestic violence, incest, suicide, and rape.
Audiences are provided with an opportunity to open conversations within their families, whilst the musical shows that time may move on, but the problems of youth are timeless.
Director: Robert Coates | Musical Director: Josh Mulcahy | Choreographer: Jacqui Green | Producer: Elysia Krstevski
Spring Awakening
Meat Market, 3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne
Season continues to 21 January 2023
Information and Bookings: www.springawakening.com.au
Image: Spring Awakening (supplied)