i’m not a theater critic so this review isn’t going to be the sort of thing you might get from someone who really knows what they are talking about. i am however a fan of musical, a fan of the original frank wedekind work fruhlings erwachen and so for those reasons i was pretty damn excited to head over to the fox last night to catch spring awakening on it’s tour stop here in atlanta.

here’s the thing. it’s awesome. i mean really, really good. it is definitely true to the story, which by the way is teen rebellion, intimacy, homosexuaity, abuse (no wonder it was banned in 19th century germany.) the music is great too; being rock musical-like but with an indie flare. i liked the production too, a set that never really changed or moved much, placing all of the focus on the actors and the story.

some other things i found neat – the actors used handheld mics and even mic stands for some numbers, giving those numbers much more of a concert flare – the moritz character did this a lot; all of the adults in the musical were played by the same two actors, one playing the men and one playing the women; several of the members of the audience were totally unprepared for one character masturbating under his nightshirt on stage and two characters pretty much having r-movie style sex on stage. this last one made for some humorous conversations during intermission out on the smoker’s porch where i went with my friend adam.

last thing i will say; the song totally f$&ked is f*&cking awesome.

go see spring awakening at the fox before it gets on out of here. you won’t be disappointed.

spring awakening
at the fox theatre
march 9-14
tickets via ticketmaster

a few weeks ago i wrote about the musical spring awakening coming to atlanta (ticket info here)

i am pretty excited about this tony winner being here and we have arranged with the folks putting on the show to give away a pair of tickets here on the atlanta metblog.

it’s pretty simple, if you want to go and want a free pair of tickets, just answer these three trivia questions in the comments. first one to respond AND provide a valild email address gets the tix:

1)This musical was based off of a banned 1891 German play by the same name, who was the author?
2) Which character in Spring Awakening is Melchior’s best friend and has trouble conjugating Latin?
3) This song title is the anthem of Melchior’s angst when confronted by the school’s headmasters and is sung by the entire cast as a revolt against adult authority.

good luck!!!!

(p.s. even if you don’t win you should totally go see this. it’s worth it.

and for good measure a little youtube fun from spring awakening:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNglewl6mQw[/youtube]

As a red-blooded, card-carrying Alliance Theatre subscriber, I can tell you that this year’s season – coincidentally the Theatre’s 40th season – is going to be a real treat. Two August Wilson plays (Radio Golf and Gem of the Ocean), a gospel version of Jesus Christ Superstar featuring Atlanta choirs, a Second City created improv/sketch comedy piece and a live-action version of Andre Benjamin’s Class of 3000, the Alliance is bringing it to the arts community in Atlanta. And now, you can be a part of that by competing to become an Alliance Reviewer for the Alliance Theatre 2008-09 Season blog!

Simply submit a one-page essay on “Why Great Theatre Matters to Atlanta” and e-mail or snail mail it to the Alliance by Monday, June 16 for consideration. Five reviewers will be selected and notified by the end of June, and will get to attend not just all the Alliance and Hertz Stage shows, but also get free tickets for an additional showing!

Of course, I would’ve found out about this after I got my subscriber package, but if you’re a subscriber also, that doesn’t rule you out. Hurry up and submit!

Be an Alliance Reviewer for the 2008-09 Season! [link]