Playbill UniverseThe Verdict: Read Reviews of Spring Awakening Revival on BroadwayNine years after its original opening, Spring Awakening returns to Broadway. The Deaf West Theatre production officially opens on Broadway Sept. 27 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The revival has already garnered much attention for its inclusive storytelling. But what do the critics say?
By
Playbill Staff
September 27, 2015
The company of Spring AwakeningJoan Marcus
Ken Davenport, Cody Lassen, Hunter Arnold and Deaf West Theatre (artistic director David J. Kurs) present the production, which is directed by Michael Arden and choreographed by Spencer Liff. Previews began Sept. 8.
The creative team includes Dane Laffrey (scenic and costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Gareth Owen (sound design) and Lucy Mackinnon (projection design). New York casting is by Telsey + Company/Craig Burns, CSA, and original casting was by Beth Lipari and Bruce Newberg.
The Tony-winning musical by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik is a soulful coming-of-age story set in 19th century Germany (based on the 1891 play of the same title by Frank Wedekind) that sent shockwaves through Broadway in 2006. The staging is based on the Deaf West Theatre production that is performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and spoken English.
The limited engagement continues through Jan. 24, 2016. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster or by calling (877) 250-2929.
The revival is a transfer of the recent production at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, CA, that was co-produced by The Wallis and Los Angeles-based Deaf West Theatre and Forest of Arden, whose founder, Arden, directed with choreography by Liff. It was first presented in L.A. at Inner-City Arts.
Watch a clip from that production:
Spring Awakening earned the Tony Award as Best Musical in 2007, and launched the careers of Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff.
The Annenberg production of Spring Awakening was co-presented by the Wallis, Deaf West Theatre and Cody Lassen for a limited 22-performance engagement May 21-June 7 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. The production was developed and previously workshopped with Deaf West by Arden and Mientus.
Partially inspired by Sophocles' Antigone, the show is an intimate exploration of love that goes beyond faith between a queer Pakistani-American man and his deeply devout mother.
The work centers on a truck driver named Larry Walters, who uses a lawn chair and 42 helium-filled weather balloons to fly nearly 16,000 feet above Los Angeles.
