“Spring Awakenings,” now playing at Chicago’s Greenhouse Theater Center, is not the Tony-winning 2006 Broadway musical “Spring Awakening,” but an adaptation of its original basis, an 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind that was first performed in 1906. Translated by Francis J. Ziegler, and directed and adapted by Lazy Susan Theatre Co. company member Matthew Masino, it is a fervent and vibrant production with a cast clearly filled with passion for what might be seen as something of a theatrical novelty.
An exploration of the angst of sexual awakenings of teenagers, it was also a social commentary on the damaging effects of sexual repression, those things we haven’t liked to talk about - puberty, erotic dreams, BDSM, pregnancy, abortion - all on stage. And other things, too - teen suicide, the stress of scholastic competition, and societally enforced sexual repressiveness.
Measured against this window into the past, we must have learned something over the decades. At least we’ve been talking about these matters more.
Though not a musical, it is laced with song, and actor performers on cello (Nicholas Ford Kinney, and in the role of Georg), guitar (Grace Trivax, and in the role of Martha), flute (Phoebe Webstbrooks, also playing Otto) and piano (Pierce Howard, and in the role of Hänschen). Music for the show is composed by Michael Van Bodegom-Smith, with musical direction by Dominic Rinker.
Remarkable in their performances and the core of the drama are the trio of Isabelle Grima as Wendla, Jake Griffith as Melchior, and Bryce Lederer as Moritz. As the show runs on (two hours, no intermission) one begins to realize that Lederer has the most demanding role, and he really delivers. His Moritz is central to the storyline, heavily laced with tragic turns.
Moritz confides to his classmate Melchior that he struggles with confusing dreams. The more seasoned and knowledgeable Melchior quickly tells him essentials of the facts of life, explaining that these are erotic dreams, a natural companion to sexual development. Wendla, who has a thing for Moritz, asks her mother to explain where babies come from, and is met with obfuscation. Uninformed, she soon enough ends up in the hay with Melchior, and pregnant.
Set in Germany—young men wear short pants, young women just trading girlish skirts for long dresses—these school chums are a bonded group, and display real affection for each other. Characters are fully fleshed out in the charming production, even lesser roles like Ryan Vu’s Ernst, Quinn Skelly’s Rupert, both so good in their performances. A real standout is Hannah Loessberg as Thea.
Other than its historic theatrical interest, Is there a message in this show? Perhaps. With the rise in illiberalism fueled by drastic governmental shifts, it’s beneficial to look at the harms we suffer when social repressiveness suppresses openness to talk about taboo subjects. And this show is just plain fun, as well.
“Spring Awakenings” runs through May 11, 2025 at Greenhouse Theater Center.
