Content warning: This article contains mentions of physical and sexual abuse
If you’re searching for a way to spend two hours this April, Mask and Bauble Dramatic Society’s Spring Awakening has your fix. Directed by Nate Findlay (CAS ’27)—and written by Steven Sater—Spring Awakening is Mask and Bauble’s final mainstage production of their 174th season, spanning eight shows between April 10 and 18.
Set in 1890s Germany, Spring Awakening is a rock musical that follows an ensemble of young teenagers, including the two main characters, Wendla (Chiara Volpi, SFS ’28) and Melchior (Colin Wechsler, CAS ’26). In a strict Protestant community, the adolescents are left largely in the dark, knowing very little about themselves and even less about each other. The show narrates their struggle to explore their sexuality, navigating the sentimental, the embarrassing, and the dangerous, all through a superb alternative rock soundtrack.
Within the confined space of Poulton Hall Stage III, the show’s set keeps it simple: a rustic plywood stage with the word “blah” painted in capital letters all throughout. A handful of crates, chairs, and tables make their way on and off the stage in various scenes, but otherwise, the only permanent set pieces are a wooden archway and two mic stands, sitting on the far left and right. It’s intimate, but in a show that’s about intimacy, the simplistic design adds to the musical’s central themes.
The stripped-back staging puts the actors and their characters at the forefront, and the actors absolutely hold their own in the spotlight. Leads Volpi and Wechsler deliver strong performances, both with clear voices that work in tandem, never overpowering the other. Their roles, along with much of the rest of the young ensemble, require a difficult level of vulnerability. Such a story of desire, coming-of-age, sex, grief, and abuse asks the actors to relinquish their inhibitions and perform some of life’s most unguarded moments in front of an audience of their peers.
No cast members hit the nail on the head in this undertaking more than Sam Levinger (SFS ’29) and Margie Conner (SON ’28). While neither actors play the show’s two main characters, they are in the roles that demand the most acting chops in the show. Levinger’s Moritz, with wild hair and zero knack for schoolwork, is perpetually meek and nervous, plagued by the expectations of young adulthood and sitting on the brink of a breakdown. Conner is challenged with the role of Martha, who reveals the physical and sexual abuse she faces at the hands of her father during the song “The Dark I Know Well” in the first act. Her approach to the number is nothing short of haunting, with shaky hands and an expression of fear that define it as the most memorable performance of the entire show.
Unfortunately, much of the cast’s performances are hindered by a sheer lack of volume. At times, especially throughout the first act, the instrumentals carry over actors’ voices, and it becomes difficult to hear them, especially when they’re speaking over a score. This is a possible issue with the mics, but given that the show is done in such a small space, it’s still puzzling to be unable to hear a performance happening only a few feet away from you. With such a talented cast, the show is done a disservice by a fixable lack of projection and enunciation.
If there’s one moment where the entire ensemble gives it their all, however, it’s during “Totally Fucked,” an electrifying rock anthem in which Melchior fesses up to writing detailed essay to answer Moritz’s questions about sex and reproduction. It’s a song in which the entire company gets to let loose onstage, jumping in a cathartic frenzy and mocking the adults controlling their lives, singing in a rousing harmony that finally makes sense of the set design, “Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah!”
Spring Awakening is a show that has it all. The music is fun and catchy, but the themes of sexual autonomy and teenage rebellion are deeply poignant and still relevant today, despite the show’s turn-of-the-century German setting. Mask and Bauble handles both extremes with tact and enthusiasm, making for a show with the perfect balance of laughter, gasps, and tears. Even without a happy ending, audiences are sure to walk away satisfied.
Spring Awakening will be playing at Poulton Hall Stage III on April 14, 16, 17, and 18.
