Steven Sater News

A brilliantly staged and sung production of a very flawed musical.

From the award-winning writers of Spring Awakening and Waitress comes Alice by Heart, an awe-inspiring musical celebration of imagination and friendship at The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio. Learn more!

In the Contemporary Theatre of Ohio production ALICE BY HEART, Alice Spencer (Elise Parks) finds herself in an air raid shelter with her best friend Alfred Hallam (Ethan Zink) as the German Luftwaffe bombard London during the Blitz in World War II. To comfort Alfred, who is dying of tuberculosis, Alice tries to tell him their favorite story, Lewis Carrol’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND, from memory after her copy of the book is destroyed.

Oceanside Theatre Company’s “Spring Awakening” directed by Gerilyn Brault with musical direction and choreography by E.Y. Washington, doesn’t tiptoe around the messiness of adolescence: repressed sexuality, parental silence, mental health struggles, and the devastating cost of ignorance. It runs through September 14th at the Sunshine Brooks Theater in Oceanside.

The Sandbox Collective, under the new artistic direction of Sab Jose-Gregorio, will launch its 2026 season with a highly anticipated production of the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical 'Spring Awakening,' opening in February 2026 at the Black Box in Rockwell Center, Makati City.

Beck Center for the Arts has announced its 2025–2026 Youth Theater Season. The lineup features four productions that highlight comedy, mystery, fantasy, and poignant storytelling, offering opportunities for students and entertainment for audiences of all ages.

Bursting with powerful, beautifully-rendered musical performances and emotionally-stirring characterizations from a terrific ensemble cast, Chance Theater's incredible-sounding, fiercely-acted, deeply searing new production of SPRING AWAKENING is, according to this critic, one of the best, most satisfying productions of this musical I have seen in a while. With characters you care for and a stunning score that stays with you, the show remains a favorite. And, most of all, the show still f**king rocks.

Chance Theater has released photos of its production of Spring Awakening. Directed by Jocelyn A. Brown, Spring Awakening is based on Frank Wedekind’s groundbreaking play Spring's Awakening. 

Alice by Heart is a musical that uses surrealism to explore themes of grief, love and trauma, inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and set against the backdrop of World War II London. The play blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, using Carroll's world as a refuge for characters dealing with loss and the harsh realities of war.

Trinity Theatre Company will present Alice by Heart - Mission Valley Teen Intensive the culminating performances of their Mission Valley Teen Intensive Program this weekend.

ALICE BY HEART, playing at West Valley Arts, fights for the strength that comes from friendship and imagination against all odds.

Chance Theater will bring the revolutionary Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening to Orange County for the first time this summer, running July 11 through August 10, 2025, on the Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center. Directed by Associate Artistic Director Jocelyn A. Brown, the production also features music direction by Robyn Manion and choreography by Mo Goodfellow.

This June, Aspire Performing Arts Company will present the musical Alice By Heart at The Barn Theatre in Montville, NJ. Learn more about the show here!

Pulaski Academy’s theatre program is truly a standout gem in Arkansas’s educational arts scene. They not only invest in high production value and quality storytelling, but also consistently nurture student talent with such evident care and professionalism. 

Ann Arbor Civic Theatre will present Duncan Sheik/Steven Sater's alt-rock musical SPRING AWAKENING at the Arthur Miller Theater, University of Michigan on June 5-8, 2025.

Metropolitan Performing Arts will present Alice by Heart, the poignant and magical musical from Grammy and Tony award-winning creators, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

What did our critic think of ALICE BY HEART at The Forst Inn Arts Collective?

Fresh off his run as Marty Mcfly in Back to the Future the Musical on Broadway, Casey Likes will helm a production of SPRING AWAKENING, which will run in Scottsdale. Learn more!

Spring Awakening will be playing at the Grease Paint Youth Theatre, from April 4 through April 13, 2025. Check here for the video of Sater discussing the original casting.

Go see it. ​​​​​​​If you check out the history of the musical, Spring Awakening, you will find that it is origins are in a German play titled The Awakening of Spring; underneath that, “A Tragedy of Childhood.” It was so controversial, it make it to stage for 15 years after it was written in 1891.