Spring Awakening

I absolutely LOVE musicals. As much as I love to sing, I was not blessed with awesome dancing or acting skills. So I'm much more of an audience member than a performer. Seriously though - I eat this stuff up. Learning about new musicals and keeping up with the musical theater world is one of my favorite things to do. I especially love it when musicals take on the tough subjects. 

((Example: Hairspray takes on racial injustice in America in the 1960s. RENT takes on HIV, AIDS, drug addiction, gender stereotypes, homosexual relationships, homelessness, and so much more.))

My FAVORITE musical of all time would have to be Spring Awakening, which deals with basically everything under the sun. 

The basic premise of the music is a coming-of-age story about German school-aged adolescents in the late 19th century. The musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of teenage sexuality. It contains a combination of alternative rock and folk-infused rock. The entire musical is incredibly eerie and beautiful. 

Tough Subjects:

Sex:

The characters in the musical (based on a 1891 German play) are emerging into adulthood. The main girl, Wendla, is confused as to how her older sister conceived a child, and her mother refuses to tell her the truth about how a child is conceived. Because Wendla is left in the dark about sex, she is unknowingly taken advantage of by her friend Melchior, who is just as curious about sex. Wendla ends up pregnant, and her whole life is a heartbreaking and confusing mess.

Melchior, prior to his experience with Wendla, teaches his best friend Moritz what sex is. Moritz is absolutely appalled and intrigued by the subject, and ends up running out of his room due to being uncomfortable. 

Sexual and Physical Abuse:

Two of the characters, Martha and Ilse, open up during the show about how they have been sexually abused by their fathers in a haunting song "The Dark I Know Well."

Wendla, distraught with the abuse that her friends are struggling with, begins to feel guilty and heartless because she has never experienced pain before. In a terrifyingly beautiful scene, she asks Melchior to hit her with a branch from a tree. He does so softly at first, but as Wendla cries out that has never felt anything in her life, he hits her harder and harder, until she falls to the ground. 

Sexuality:

Two of the characters in the story, Hanschen and Ernst, end up falling for one another - something that definitely needed to be kept hidden. Hanschen has fantasized about his best friend Ernst throughout the whole show, and at the very end he finds out that he has feelings for him back. 

Suicide:

This musical is absolutely heartbreaking. Spoilers, okay? After being sabotaged by the school system, and not having enough money to move to America, Moritz decides that the best course of action is to take his own life. After a beautiful and dark monologue, he leaves behind everything. 

Abortion:

After Wendla is taken by her mother to the doctor after feeling sick, the doctor tells Wendla's mother that her daughter is pregnant. Wendla's mother is furious, and Wendla feels guilty and confused. She is rushed right away to a doctor who would be able to perform an abortion. The abortion ends up being a failed procedure, and Wendla bleeds out and dies. 

There are quite a few other hot topics portrayed in Spring Awakening, such as corrupt school and societal systems, masturbation, and homelessness. 

If you're going to watch it (the Original Broadway and Off-Broadway show are both on Youtube...I prefer the Off-Broadway!) just be weary that there are these heavy topics shown and discussed. There are also a couple of songs (The B of Living, Totally F-ed) that have an incredible amount of swearing in them. 

Finally, let's give a shoutout to seriously the most talented pair ever - Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff! They're Wendla and Melchior in the Original Broadway Cast. 

They're best friends in real life. Also, look familiar? Any fellow former gleeks? They're Rachel and Jesse.