Spring Awakening, 6/20/07

(matinee performance)
Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York City
Left Box B

I had planned on seeing Drowsy Chaperone, but, on a whim, decided to look at the offerings at TKTS - and saw that 2007 Best Musical winner Spring Awakening was there, so Chad and I immediately grabbed tickets.

I had seen the show back in January, back with the complete original cast. I enjoyed it very much, but did find some elements lacking, particularly the performance of Lea Michele as Wendla, and the book (ESPECIALLY the book). After a second viewing, my experience was somewhat different.

Upon reaching the theater, I learned that understudy Phoebe Stole would be performing the role of Wendla. At first I was sad about this, as I wanted Chad to see the original cast, but then I remembered my feelings for Michele's performance. This filled me with hope - and I can gladly say that Strole lived up to these hopes. At times, she sounded a tad nervous, particularly during her opening number, but she warmed up quite nicely after that. She played the role with the perfect innocence required, something I didn't get from Michele. Her chemistry with Jon Groff's Melchior could have been better, but given the fact that she's an understudy, that is somewhat understandable. Overall, a very nice performance by Phoebe Stole, I'm excited I got the opportunity to see her!

As for the book.... it was even worse, honestly. How it won the Tony Award for Best Book is beyond me. Now, I know that the Tony Award also stands for the dramatic structure of the piece, but even that didn't seem particularly strong. While the second act certainly surges forward to the climax, the first act tends to wander a bit, featuring secondary storylines that the audience doesn't really care about, storylines that aren't resolved in the end, or, in fact, are never mentioned again. While this problem comes from the original Wedekind play, there is no reason that this couldn't have been fixed (there were other elements of the original changed - why not aiding character development?). The dialogue itself is confusing, written in the style of the original, but missing its mark. Why didn't the creative team bring in an experienced playwright to write the dialogue (which could have been anachronistic without any issues, due to the way the music was presented in a similar anachronistic way).

I've now seen both of the "front runners" for Best Musical, Grey Gardens and the winner, Spring Awakening (the latter twice). I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy both of them immensely. That said, I do not see Spring Awakening's victory, not at all. Grey Gardens is an emotional journey, features far better writing, a more appropriate score, a far better book, and is overall a better performance. One thing I will acknowledge, however, is my initial feelings for both shows. When I saw Spring Awakening, I liked it right off the bat, even with its flaws. After the show, I knew right away that I enjoyed the show, and wanted to come back again. Grey Gardens, on the other hand, took a while to set in. Immediately leaving the show, I was rather disappointed, wishing I had seen something else. However, I couldn't stop thinking about the show, until I finally realized how wonderful it was. This difference is most certainly due to the different natures of the show: Spring Awakening attempts to get "in your face", while Grey Gardens is all about subtlety and the nuances.

All that said, its actually easier to find the undeserving Tony Award winners than the deserving ones, but that's a different post entirely.

All in all, a very enjoyable day at the theater. Let this be a lesson for all of you out there: if you don't have a strict limit on the price you want to pay for your ticket, look around! The TKTS booth is your friend (and don't let the often long lines intimidate you! The line for tickets was down the breeze way and back, and we reached the window in no more than 20 minutes)!