playbill vip

Welcome to Spring Awakening.

It is such a privilege to share this story, this cast, this music, this message, with you. 

Spring Awakening is, at its heart, about communication. Or more precisely, the catastrophic consequences of its absence. It is a searing reminder of what happens when young people are left to interpret the world alone, when curiosity is met with shame, when pain is ignored instead of heard. As relevant as ever, this story challenges us as a society to examine how, and if, we truly communicate with our children. Are we willing to have the difficult discussions?

When we began rehearsals, we had the extraordinary honor of being joined by composer Duncan Sheik, whose insights helped us ground our process in the history and heart of this piece. He reminded us that the original 1891 play was so controversial in its time that at intermission police came in and shut the production down. That spirit of disruption remaining at the center of this musical adaptation in the early 2000’s. Duncan described the show as a “real Brechtian break”, a jarring shift from period scene work into emotionally raw, modern music. “The dichotomy,” he told us, “should be a bit of a ‘what the f--- is happening.’” The show deliberately disorients us. It shocks us out of complacency, just as these young characters are shocked by the brutal realities they were never taught to prepare for.

And yet, what makes this piece work, what truly brings it to life, is not the format or the controversy, but the people. “Shows like Rent, Hamilton, etc., they don’t make sense, but they work because the people all come together,” Duncan said. This production is no different. What you're about to witness is a true collective. A cast, crew, and creative team that came together not only to perform, but to communicate. Because at the end of the day, Duncan reminded us, “It’s really about the story you are communicating with the audience, and that it is coming from the collective.”

He spoke, too, of the emotional weight the songs still carry for him. “When you write songs, they are all like your kids,” he said. “But Touch Me, now the show has begun!” And later, reflecting on the show’s deep sorrow, he added, “I don’t do sadness and then Left Behind… I’m still all emotional.” So are we. There’s no denying the darkness in Spring Awakening. These children, trapped under the weight of silence, shame, and religious repression, represent a generation on the brink. Duncan spoke of the “Lutheran oppression” that demanded conformity, warning, “If you don’t behave this way there are consequences. History shows us the pain of that in 1941.” It is, chillingly, “the precursor of a cautionary tale if you do not communicate with your children.” 

But theatre, like life, is never static. Duncan reminded us that “the beauty of theatre is, it’s different every night.” It’s unpredictable. That fragile immediacy is why we do what we do. "Because each performance is a moment we share, together. A chance to be reminded that all any of us can do is what we can to be a good example of a good person”. To listen. To tell the truth. To love. And after all of it, after the silence, the pain, the sorrow, the loss, there is still hope, which is the final message in Purple Summer. As Duncan explained, it’s the image of rebirth, of resilience: “After the bleak winter [of Germany], the purple flowers that bloom everywhere reassure us”. 

Elizabeth Schlieger - Artistic Director and MRT Board Chairperson