Off the Wall Theatre’s production of Spring Awakening is a success for juxtaposing Victorian sensibilities with believable adolescent tension and expressively delivered rock music. The story, based on Frank Wedekind’s controversial 1891 stage play, centers on a group of German teenagers at the close of the 19th century. In this socially repressed, religious and authoritatively academic environment, the young people grapple with sexual awakening.
Under Dale Gutzman’s stage direction and Anne Van Deusen’s musical direction, the production is visually and aurally stunning. The ensemble plays on a raised stage (allowing for many cheeky moments of peeking over the edge) with Arcadian scenic elements, as well as a few nods to tortured innocence including an open book and doll pinned to a wall.
Led by Van Deusen on keyboard, an impeccable string and percussion ensemble accompanies the actors from behind a scrim; a bonus: Two performers, Sam Ramstack and Jalen Jacob-Bernard, perform violin and viola solos onstage in character. As the plot thickens, the music progresses from folk to prog rock, perfectly paralleling the characters’ journeys away from traditionalism and conformity and into individual exploration.
Outstanding individual performances come from Claudio Parrone Jr. in the role of the precocious, reckless Melchior, who is willing to risk everything to follow his desires. He plays opposite Alexandra Bonesho as Wendla and the two are especially memorable in their first sexual encounter, “The Word of Your Body.” This song is brilliantly reprised later by gay couple Hanschen (Daniel Slattery) and Ernst (Jacob-Bernard) who play out their seduction with equal parts devil-may-care verve and poignant tenderness in the course of a provocative discussion on gaming the pernicious system. Calynn Klohn and Brittni Hesse are breathtaking in “The Dark I Know Well,” a testament to the living hell of sexual abuse and the lack of recourse in a patriarchal society apt to turn a blind eye to such brutality.
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Fitting to the story’s commentary on ineffectual adult guidance, grownups (all played by Dale Gutzman and Jocelyn Ridgely) tend toward the stereotypical with a few exceptions. Moritz’ (the heartfelt Patrick McCann) father is a featureless antagonist until he finally breaks at his son’s funeral when a girl gives him her doll for comfort. In an instant, the cruel and ineffectual gains a human face.
Spring Awakening runs through Aug. 2 at 127 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-484-8874 or visit offthewalltheatre.com.
