Spring Awakening
5* rating
Review by James Harding - Broadway Baby
The Summer Purple
Spring Awakening follows a group of teenagers struggling to cope with the clandestine world of sex in conservative 19th-century Germany, and doesn’t pull its punches - the original Frank Wedekind play was banned in Germany for its explicit subject matter. There is a risk in modern versions of shows famous for their once-shocking subject matter of relying simply on their scandal value to make the production buzz, but this production has a more mature take on the play leaving room for the actors and audience to explore the issues beyond the historical context of the show.
I should tell you that the hype around Spring Awakening is huge. The heavily-adapted musical version has been a cult hit amongst musical-theatre fans across America and the UK and I know of at least six student productions coming up in the new year. If you can’t sing The Days of Purple Summer then you just aren’t in musical theatre. Many companies were disappointed not to get the rights for the fringe production - or at least, they will be until they see how wonderful this one is!
The imaginative and effective blocking relies heavily on the whole cast working together and at times watching the show is like watching the insides of a complex and beautiful machine. The company exude a wonderful ensemble attitude in their interpretation, their hours spent together on the RSAMD MA programme enabling powerful acting and stunning movement during the big numbers. The superb leads Helen Hart and Andrew Keay rightfully command most of the audience’s attention, although the humorous buffooning of Seth Leiber and the ever-present characterisation of Kristopher Bosch make them stand out from the ensemble. This young cast bring a mature note to the show everyone is talking about."
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Friday, August 6, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Casting ... and underwear!
Production: Spring Awakening
Rehearsal Wk 3
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
So we finally find out our 2 casting groups today! (for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, we are double cast for the show and today we found out which of us are in each cast & who we will be working with.) This is great to know as it allows us to start forming bonds with our scene partners and it allows us to take our work to the next level. I think there were some suprises in there but I'm glad we can get started on creating a dynamic with our own cast and developing it as a group.
The show is getting closer and I think it would be fair to say we are all nervous about how soon we open! But I have faith that we can pull off a great show (come and see it please.) Costume fitting today was hilarious, Carly & myself (Car is also playing Wendla) had alot of fun trying to fit into the tiny underwear they want us to wear! They accidently asked me to try on a bra that was 3 sizes too small, I think I gave the wardrobe department a bit of a shock when I came out of the changing room! haha!
Rehearsal Wk 3
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
So we finally find out our 2 casting groups today! (for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, we are double cast for the show and today we found out which of us are in each cast & who we will be working with.) This is great to know as it allows us to start forming bonds with our scene partners and it allows us to take our work to the next level. I think there were some suprises in there but I'm glad we can get started on creating a dynamic with our own cast and developing it as a group.
The show is getting closer and I think it would be fair to say we are all nervous about how soon we open! But I have faith that we can pull off a great show (come and see it please.) Costume fitting today was hilarious, Carly & myself (Car is also playing Wendla) had alot of fun trying to fit into the tiny underwear they want us to wear! They accidently asked me to try on a bra that was 3 sizes too small, I think I gave the wardrobe department a bit of a shock when I came out of the changing room! haha!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
My Creative Junk
Production: Spring Awakening by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater
Rehearsal Week 1
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
What an exciting week it has been for Spring Awakening! After a week or so of note-bashing the show is finally getting on it's feet. The rehearsals so far have been intense yet incredibly good fun, with a very enthusiastic atmosphere.
Today we looked at an exciting & energetic scene within the show (which includes the song 'My Junk.') This proved to be a hilarious rehearsal in which we used water bottles as microphones, a rostra block as a 'bridge' and two office swivel chairs as 'moving school desks'... talk about creativity! (Creative ideas courtesy of Andrew Panton, our director.) The scene is performed by the full company and includes a student fantasising about his piano teacher and another boy getting up to no good in the privacy of his bathroom with his father angrily banging on the door.
The music is really starting to come together and you can hear people starting to take ownership of their vocal lines now that they are more comfortable with them. The highlight of the day had to be when Paul (adult male & Otto) walked onstage and delivered his line in an irish accent because he got momentarily confused which musical we were doing!... An Australian actor delivering a line in Irish within a German show! Priceless!
Rehearsal Week 1
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
What an exciting week it has been for Spring Awakening! After a week or so of note-bashing the show is finally getting on it's feet. The rehearsals so far have been intense yet incredibly good fun, with a very enthusiastic atmosphere.
Today we looked at an exciting & energetic scene within the show (which includes the song 'My Junk.') This proved to be a hilarious rehearsal in which we used water bottles as microphones, a rostra block as a 'bridge' and two office swivel chairs as 'moving school desks'... talk about creativity! (Creative ideas courtesy of Andrew Panton, our director.) The scene is performed by the full company and includes a student fantasising about his piano teacher and another boy getting up to no good in the privacy of his bathroom with his father angrily banging on the door.
The music is really starting to come together and you can hear people starting to take ownership of their vocal lines now that they are more comfortable with them. The highlight of the day had to be when Paul (adult male & Otto) walked onstage and delivered his line in an irish accent because he got momentarily confused which musical we were doing!... An Australian actor delivering a line in Irish within a German show! Priceless!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Welcome to RSAMD at The Fringe Blog
Welcome to RSAMD at The Fringe 2010
by One Academy Productions
We'd like to say hi to all you followers of our new blog site which will keep you up to date with all things RSAMD at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010.
Following on from the 5*sell-out success of Jerry Springer - The Opera, our MA Musical Theatre students will be back in August with the Scottish Premiere of the multiple Tony award winning and Olivier nominated Spring Awakening.
We will also be premiering two brand new works in collaboration with Perfect Pitch. Closest to the Moon by Richard Taylor and In Touch by Dougal Irvine.
Our cast and production teams will be posting with news on everything from rehearsals to performances, so check back and keep in touch with us.
Tickets for all our shows can be purchased at http://www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh
See you in Edinburgh
by One Academy Productions
We'd like to say hi to all you followers of our new blog site which will keep you up to date with all things RSAMD at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010.
Following on from the 5*sell-out success of Jerry Springer - The Opera, our MA Musical Theatre students will be back in August with the Scottish Premiere of the multiple Tony award winning and Olivier nominated Spring Awakening.
We will also be premiering two brand new works in collaboration with Perfect Pitch. Closest to the Moon by Richard Taylor and In Touch by Dougal Irvine.
Our cast and production teams will be posting with news on everything from rehearsals to performances, so check back and keep in touch with us.
Tickets for all our shows can be purchased at http://www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh
See you in Edinburgh
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