A Not-So-Nice Awakening: A Review

(I know I should update this more often)

Spring Awakening is one of those shows that has gotten such a buzz from the theatre grapevine. I first heard about it because of its musical score which was done by Duncan Sheik (of On A High fame). It's quite rare for a pop star to cross over to theatre and still get valid affirmation from peers (and yes, he got a Tony award for it).

So, being the Tony whore that I am, I was quite excited when the Sydney Theatre Company decided to stage it in Australia, and I was most likely one of the first ones in the online queue. I got a pair of seats for the second row (guess who the eager beaver is!) and rocked up with all shimmering bells on.

Well.

First of all, don't sit in front. As a rule, I usually take the fifth row of a theatre so that I can see what is happening, but still be ok enough to see the entire set. The second row... just isn't far enough. With the lights flashing and all of that... ummm. No. Just no. We moved to the next level up after the first act and definitely much, much better.

Now - the musical itself. The female cast is fantastic and vocally, they were amazing. The harmonising was strong and overall, definitely noteworthy. The concept of characters blending in with the set is nothing new really - very Greek chorus, methinks - but the execution was very modern. The set itself was quite bare, but given that it was designed so that the characters can blend into it and mold it into the scenes, it was quite understandable. The lighting was good (as long as you don't stay in the second row), and I love the concept of the uneven lights. Tres chic, I thought. In the fact, if you look at each aspect of the production, it was well done.

Sadly, I don't think the parts of the production fit together. The lights, although nice, didn't do justice to the set, which was too deep to begin with, really. The actors didn't do well working with the set and didn't know how to place themselves in it. Worse, some of them acted like they have been doing this for far too long. While one can argue that the actors have been through heaps of rehearsals and such, an audience does not deserve a show where the actors are half-hearted in their efforts. Plus, it's the second show in their season, soooooo... no.

The saddest part about the production are the male singers. Some of them did a fairly decent job acting, but singing? Definitely not their forte. Plus, they were given choreography that made them stomp and all - while that covered up the horrid singing, it also made them pant a lot (understandably!). Tip: Pit chorus is your friend.

Actually, the choreography in this musical is fairly mind-boggling. Really, sometimes, you can just skip the interpretive dance. It just made it look very Year 12 Rock Eisteddfod reject.

Overall, this show isn't the sum of its parts. The direction was overall messy and didn't gel well with the entire production. It's like the actors were told to do something they didn't like and they are just going through the motions (some goose-stomping, even!). The microphone/rebellion imagery was nice in theory, but in practice, not so - and definitely not with actors who do not have stage stillness.

So what do I think? One and a half slices.