Spring Awakening

[saraeo11]

I just saw Spring Awakening and listened to the cast recording. I loved it a lot and I just want to hear different people's opinions on the show, it's lyrics, cast members, ect. Thanks :)

[HamilHansen]

I think Spring Awakening is one of the most interesting musicals that has ever graced a Broadway stage. A book very much based on an old play but with music launching into contemporary rock. 
Jonathan Groff, John Gallagher and Lea Michele are all fantastic (despite my dislike of Michele as a person).

The lyrics are trash. The music, however, is wonderful and vibrant. Standouts are "Mama Who Bore Me" "The B**** of Living" and "Totally F-ed"

A show I'd listen to more than once.

[HogansHero]

@HamilHansen you may not like the lyrics (I don't see how you can cite the 3 songs you do and not, though) but they are certainly not "trash." That's just a terrible word choice.

[Alex Kulak2]

It never made a huge impact on me, but I can still appreciate it as a really solid musical. I saw the Deaf West Production (through less-than-legal means) and it was some of the most interesting stagecraft I've ever seen.

What I find more interesting than the show itself is it's place in the contemporary history of Broadway musicals aimed at a younger audience. It won the Tony Award the year after High School Musical, Disney's attempt to make theatre cool to kids, and shows like Next to Normal, American Idiot, Heathers, Be More Chill, and Dear Evan Hansen quickly followed.

[mpkie]

This is one of my favorite musicals. Though I never got to see the original, I fell in love with it through the OBC recording. That was before I was into theatre. Makes me wish I could turn back time to see the OBC; John Gallagher Jr. is the only Mortiz for me. :)

I did manage to catch the Deaf West production twice on Broadway. The first time was disappointing. There was a lot at stake for me and high expectations, since it was something I'd long to see for better part of a decade. But after reading up on this particular production and going back to see it again, I found the second time much more enjoyable. I thought nobody could be Melchior except Jonathan Groff, but Austin P. McKenzie proved me wrong. Damn, he is amazing.

The music is wonderful but some of the lyrics are truly a bit iffy and out of place. But "Left Behind" is something else altogether, so beautiful.

[dramamama611]

Fell in love with original (saw it an embarrassing amount of times); liked the revival. Much like DEH, it's a show I love despite its many flaws - the emotional impact resonates with me.

 

 

[HamilHansen]

@HogansHero You are absolutely right. I just think those songs as SONGS (with no words) are standouts and earworms. 

The lyrics can make no sense, but yes, I may have overexaggerated a bit. Thank you.

[saraeo11]

Thanks for the responses. Like some of you all have said, the lyrics are hard to understand sometimes. I am doing a lyric interpretation project and using the song "Don't Do Sadness/ Blue Wind". I understand "Don't Do Sadness" and what the lyrics mean, but I was wondering if anyone has a good idea of what "Blue Wind" lyrics mean. Thanks

[GeorgeandDot]

It's a great show that's incredibly moving, but the fact that it beat Grey Gardens for score is still hilarious to me.  The weakest part of Spring Awakening is definitely it's music, which while fun and enjoyable, has lyrics that are complete and utter nonsense 85% of the time.  Still, I love it and I actually thought the revival was better and more powerful (also more aesthetically pleasing) than the original was.

[HogansHero]

It sounds like some of you only like lyrics that follow a certain set of rules. That's fine, of course, but clearly Sater did not aspire to follow those rules. But to say that his lyrics make no sense, etc, suggests to me that you simply haven't chosen to make an in-depth examination (also fine). When I read comments like that, I think about people who look at the work of, e.g., an abstract expressionist, and try to analyze it on terms that would make sense when referring to, e.g., Norman Rockwell. 

@saraeo11, have you looked at the commentary on genius.com? It doesn't get you all the way home, but it'll get you started. here is the link to Blue Mirror stuff but you can work your way back to some more.

 https://genius.com/10097439

also, Sater's own explanation, in book length.

https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Summer-Lyrics-Spring-Awakening/dp/1557838240

[GeorgeandDot]

His lyrics are unintelligible in the theatre.  They're fine on recording (although they're really not anything special), but good theatre lyrics need to tell a story and they need to be intelligible in the theatre to do so.  It's problematic if it takes me longer than the actual length of the song to comprehend the lyrics and realize why it was relevant to the plot.  Thankfully the book does most of the character and plot development and the songs kind of comment on it, or else I probably would have been pretty lost.  Sondheim's lyrics might be complicated and detailed, but at least they make immediate sense (at least most of them do) in the theatre.  Spring Awakening's lyrics are not bad at all, but I wouldn't have awarded it the Tony for Best Score.

[HogansHero]

GeorgeandDot said: "His lyrics are unintelligible in the theatre. They're fine on recording (although they're really not anything special), but good theatre lyrics need to tell a story and they need to be intelligible in the theatre to do so. It's problematic if it takes me longer than the actual length of the song to comprehend the lyrics and realize why it was relevant to the plot. Thankfully the book does most of the character and plot development and the songs kind of comment on it, or else I probably would have been pretty lost. Sondheim's lyrics might be complicated and detailed, but at least they make immediate sense (at least most of them do) in the theatre. Spring Awakening's lyrics arenot bad at all, but I wouldn't have awarded it the Tony for Best Score."

I have no desire to dissuade you from your opinions, or preferences. Obviously, some of us feel differently, including folks who have given the lyrics awards and written about them in thoughtful and glowing terms. (And that doesn't detract from anything you have said.) This isn't all that different from the divide between plays that tell stories expressly and plays that don't. I recall taking a friend of mine, a very fine actor and director, to see a Foreman play. He had never been exposed to Foreman and was angry (at me, probably Richard too) when the show ended. He insisted that, when a play ends, the audience MUST know what happened, even when it is left with unknowns to ponder. I think a lot of people would say that Spring Awakening is more resonant than a lot of Sondheim (I have great affection for both), and I would say that no show owes its audience anything else. Of course, as you prove in this case, you can't please all the people all the time. 

 

[qolbinau]

My ‘diagnosis’ of the Spring Awakening lyrics is that given the writer has a background in popular music the lyrics often reflect that style - very metaphorical/non-literal/unclear. Perhaps no better example is the ‘Purple Summer’ song (at the same time - there are probably more songs than not that are reasonably clear). Personally, I enjoy the score and think it’d be boring if in an ideal world we aspire everything to be of the same style. But I can understand why someone might take an issue with the lyrics. 

[ChildofEarth]

The original cast was good enough that I enjoyed myself but didn’t feel the need to go back.

I LOATHED the revival. It was messy and cumbersome at times - with the standouts being the young ladies who played Wendla.

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Steven Sater wrote a short book that gives some insights into the lyrics: here's the amazon link.

[saraeo11]

Thanks a lot for the help!