Mr. Johnson Review: Spring Awakening

[johnsons]

Posted: 8/20/08 at 12:02pm

Spring Awakening (Revisited)

Cast
Hunter Parrish as Melchior
Gerard Canonico as Moritz
Alexandra Socha as Wendla
Amanda Castanos, Martha
Blake Daniel, Ernst
Matt Doyle, Hanschen
Andrew Durand, Georg
Christine Estabrook, Adult Women
Glenn Fleshler, Adult Men
Emma Hunton, Ilse
Emily Kinney, Anna
Caitlin Kinnunen, Thea
Gabriel Violett, Otto

I saw the Saturday night performance and I have to say I was extremely dissapointed. As a person who experienced the incredible energy and cohesion of the original cast, I felt cheated.
Hunter Parrish was actually a decent replacement for Melchior. His acting was very strong and he also looks much younger than Groff, Jesse Swenson, or Matt Doyle in the part. However, while his singing was not terrible, it lacked the depth and tonal quality of Jonathon Groff. Granted this was only his 8th performance in the role- perhaps as his comfort level rises his singing will become more grounded.
Alexandra Socha was perhaps the biggest dissapointment for me. I was sitting quite close and I'm not sure if I ever saw her make one facial expression. Literally. Her performance seems to have reached the ultimate level of auto-pilot. Her voice was nice, but not anywhere near the level of Lea. The best thing she has going for her was the fact that she looks so young. This made the hay loft scene much more powerful to me and I think it was wise of the producers to youthen the cast.
Gerard Canonico seems to have the opposite problem of Parrish. While his singing is actually quite wonderful, his line deliveries as Moritz seemed strained and unmotivated.(This is surprising considering he has been a swing for this show for years) His operative word choices and inflections dampered some of Moritz's funnies lines. I have never seen the character get virtually no laughs the entire show. Perhaps he's deliberately trying to change the interpretation from Gallagher's Moritz- if so, he should do so without sacrificing the foundations of the character.
The strongest and most comfortable in the cast seemed to be Blake Daniel as Ernst and Emma Hunton as Illse. They were both wonderful and showed incredible growth since I saw them last. Matt Doyle was also a fine replacement for Hanschen.
The rest of the cast seemed to just share a lack of synergy. They seemed either uncomfortable or uninterested in the events unfolding onstage. I truly wonder if the producer's insistance to cast people with no Broadway experience is really the best way to go. It is entirely possible that the cast will come together in the coming months and turn Spring Awakening into a truly incredible show again. But as of now, it seems to be the shell of what it once was- Steven

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 8/20/08 at 3:58pm

Thanks for the review! I too love Emma Hunton. I really hope to see her in more shows down the line. She has such an incredible voice and her performance as Ilse broke my heart.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 8/20/08 at 5:18pm

Thanks for your review. I agree with everything you said. Part of the problem I think is that casting this time around was a lot more about the singing talent, versus acting. This is just in my opinion of course. In all of the stories I've read about Spring Awakening auditions and callbacks, they focus much much more on the singing than they do the scenes. True, it is a very heavy show vocally, but if you can't act and convey what your character wants through the song, then no one is going to care if you have the best voice. Again, this is just my opinion. I also agree with what you said about them not meshing, and that is having a really big affect on the show, and not in a good way. I know they're all new, but it's no excuse for not giving 100% energy and commitment to each other and the piece itself.

[steven22]

Posted: 8/20/08 at 7:19pm

I've yet to see the "new" cast..and I was skeptical at first...but you just confirmed why I was. Yes...I can't imagine that the cast I've been seeing on stage for the past year can be replicated..That cast ..they had a connection...that I doubt another cast will have for a while

[16andschizo]

Posted: 8/20/08 at 9:18pm

I couldn't agree more. I posted yesterday and today in the Hunter Parrish thread how almost everyone except for Hunter Parrish was awful. They need to give these kids some acting lessons!