Spring Awakening

Can it really be? A month since my last show and last post?
After a productive and focused morning of last minute Christmas shopping, and errands, we Bill and I picked up John and head into the city. We met up with cousins Ginny and Ceil at Bryant Park, Went to Joe Allen's for drinks, then the Theater Row Diner for some supper. Great seeing the gals.
OK, now for the show. Spring Awakening by Steven Slater and Duncan Sheik (I am Barely Breathing, and I can't find the air....). I remember and interview several years ago when that (his one and only) pop hit came out. He was dissing pop music as meaningless and mindless. I wrote him off. Now he has composed some beautiful and important tunes for this wonderful show.
It takes place in the lat 1800's in a small provincial town in Germany. It's hard to describe how riveting and fast paced the story is. It's (very basically) about sexual repression, suicide, abortion and abuse. Hmm, fun night out at the theater. But it all works in a very creative and captivating way.
The young cast of mostly unknowns are wonderful. Wonderful and memorable in the way the original cast of Rent was. It was exciting to see an original cast of newbies. They were all fantastic.
The lighting and the choreography (Bill T Jones) were great, creative, effective and simple, and really worth mentioning. And meeting (one of the producers) Tom Hulce (Wolfgang, of the film Amadeus) was fun. He was like a little kid, filled with excitement about his wonderful new show that has received "across the board" rave reviews.
Great show. I am looking forward to hearing the recording to see if the music holds up.