Deaf West's production of SPRING AWAKENING floored the critics when it premiered in California, prompting the Los Angeles Times to write, "It's hard to enumerate all the ways in which Deaf West's SPRING AWAKENING is so very, very good." Now this unapologetically brilliant new production is coming to New York.
When it debuted on Broadway, SPRING AWAKENING's raw and honest portrayal of youth in revolt shattered expectations of what a musical could do, earning it 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book (for writer, Steven Sater) and Best Score (for composer, Duncan Sheik). Deaf West's innovative new production takes this already revolutionary musical to electrifying new heights by choreographing sign language into the production, intensifying the rift between the lost and the longing teenagers and the adults who refuse to hear them. Directed by Michael Arden, Deaf West's SPRING AWAKENING is full of knockout performances, explosive music and soul-stirring emotion.
The use of sign language (which functions as a kind of gestural choreography) reflects how the teens are unable to meaningfully talk with their parents or teachers, while the adults cannot hear them. Standouts among the cast include Krysta Rodriguez as the sad but fierce runaway Ilse and the spirited Ali Stroker, who may be the first wheelchair-bound actress to appear on Broadway. Oscar winner Marlee Matlin makes a cameo as one of the adults, alongside Camryn Manheim ('The Practice') and the crisp-voiced Patrick Page.
True, it may take a few minutes to process the process, as it were. A mild case of sensory overload may have you reeling in the opening minutes, as you adjust to the necessity of taking it all in, and figuring out where to focus your concentration at any given moment. But a heady dose of sensory overload is what the best musicals deliver anyway; that's why people become obsessed with them. Here it's just different elements that contribute to the sensation.
2006 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2006 | Broadway |
Broadway Transfer Broadway |
2008 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
2010 | US Tour |
NETworks National Tour US Tour |
2015 | Broadway |
Deaf West Broadway Revivial Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Spring Awakening |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Spencer Liff |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Michael Arden |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical | Ben Stanton |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | She Loves Me |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Spring Awakening |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Spring Awakening |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Spencer Liff |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Michael Arden |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) | Ben Stanton |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Projection Design (Play or Musical) | Lucy Mackinnon |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or off-Broadway) | Spring Awakening |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Michael Arden |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Ben Stanton |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Spring Awakening |
Videos