By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.
City Theater Company (CTC) returns this month with a staging of the award-winning musical Spring Awakening. In fact, Delaware’s own John Gallagher, Jr. earned the 2007 Best Featured Actor Tony for his portrayal of Moritz Stiefel during the original run. With music by Steven Sater and Duncan Skeik, the haunting songs and touching narrative will keep audiences captivated. CTC's Opening Night was a triumph, and the players received a warranted standing ovation.
This show celebrates rebellion and provides the perfect opportunity to showcase performers of all types. Featuring a pop rock score, Spring Awakening is an ideal platform for gifted vocalists to shine. And this production has talent in spades.
Director and CTC Artistic Director Kerry Kristine McElrone gushes: “The sheer talent of every person involved with this show, from our designers to our cast to our musicians, is staggering.”
The opening song, when Wendla Bergmann – an excellent Olivia Bloch – sings “Mama Who Bore Me,” sets the tone for the show. Bloch walks with purpose and a powerful voice to Sheik’s rhythmic melody. Musical gurus Joe Trainor and Lia M. Cox have the band and sound coordination perfectly complementing the vocals. This blissful marriage continues throughout the show.
However, if this entertainment were a movie, it would be rated R for dealing with adult/sensitive themes like sex, child abuse, and suicide plus the characters use a lot of profanity.
The story is based on an 1891 play by German playwright Frank Wedekind, a piece which was suppressed from being performed until 1906 for its frank condemnation of sexual and social taboos disguised as righteous correctness. The plot is deceptively simple: A small group of teenagers in a Victorian-era German town wrestle with their literal “awakening” on all things related to love and sex under, or perhaps in spite of, the eyes of their watchful and neglectful parents and teachers.
“Adults” (Kristin Finger and Rob Hull) in the show are nameless avatars who portray multiple characters. Both are intimidating and eerily sinister, but insist they are doing what’s best to teach/parent/guide the village children properly.
The “Girls” and “Boys” are dressed in virginal white school uniforms/attire, masking their mature feelings and life experiences. When the teens sing “My Junk” and “Touch Me” back-to-back in Act I, the audience feels their pent-up energies ready to burst forth.
Rick Neidig’s simple set/stage is brilliant for this show. The audience sits on three sides of an elongated “U” with the band on the short, open end. This immersive theater brings the players and their emotions right up to the faces of the viewers. There’s dynamism you can’t avoid. Pain, love, joy, malice, sex, heartache, fear, humor, and death pour forth unfiltered. It’s a powerful experience.
John Murphy’s portrayal of Melchior Gabor is outstanding. He’s strong, yet tender. He’s smart, but naïve. And he controlled his singing to meet the moment time and time again. Kudos to Luke Sullivan for his Moritz. The angst on his face while going through his troubling timeline was affecting. His emotional and tender duet with the talented Emma Romeo Moyer (Ilse) was a musical highlight.
This is an ensemble piece whose supporting cast has to be great. It is. The “Girls” (Bloch, Autumn Jewel Hogan, Elsa Kegelman, Moyer, and Emily Rooney) were bubbly and curious and flirty. The “Boys” (Adam Cooper, Jordan Eck, Avery Mehki Hannon, Murphy, Sullivan, and August Walker) were brash and adventurous and supportive. When the teens rally behind Melchior singing the rousing “You’re Fucked,” everyone on stage was bouncing around with infectious energy.
The first-rate band included: Sebastian Cain (viola), Ryan Dailey (bass), Sarah DelPercio (violin), Rachel Hoke (piano), Joey Lopes (guitar), Kanako Neale (percussion), and Emme Whisner (cello).
Founded in 1993, City Theater Company performs contemporary comedies, new works, and classic musicals to critical acclaim inside The Delaware Contemporary. Both institutions are invested in promoting the work of local and emerging artists, advancing opportunity and growth by and for the community, and welcoming all those looking to experience art.
Spring Awakening will run through December 21. Curtain is at 8:00pm for all remaining shows save for the December 15 Sunday matinee (1:00pm). The run time is approximately two and a half hours with a 15-minute intermission. City Theater Company’s home is at The Delaware Contemporary, located at 200 South Madison, Wilmington, Delaware 19801.
Tickets ($33.00-$48.75) can be purchased at the box office or online at www.city-theater.org. Special ticket pricing is available for military personnel and students. Call the box office at 302.220.8285 or email info@city-theater.org for details.
“And now our bodies are the guilty ones.” – Wendla Bergmann
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