In 1891, German playwright Frank Wedekind shocked theater goers with his sexually explicit play Spring Awakening, urging adults to be more open and understanding to adolescents who are trying to understand changes in their bodies and their desires.

In 2006, a musical adaptation of Spring Awakening, with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, became a Broadway hit and winner of multiple Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score.

Ronald Baumanis is directing Spring Awakening for the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, June 5-8. He also directed a staging a few years back in Jackson. This is the 56th musical he’s directed and the 17th musical he’s directed for the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre.

“I love this show,” he said. “I saw the Broadway show and the traveling show and everyone who’s ever done it. I just love this show. I love the mix of the music with a more classic story, and I think it resonates with modern audiences based on the problems these young people had in 1891. It’s not quite to that extent because we have more access to information now. But the same thing about teenage angst, trying to find yourself when you’re told one thing by adults and other things that are more accurate.”

The concept for the adaptation is that the dramatic portion of the musical takes place in 1891 Germany while the musical numbers all take place in modern day, featuring an alt-rock score. The link between 1890s Germany and a rock band circa 2000 reinforces the idea that, despite the many differences in place and time, young people still struggle with similar issues, with often tragic endings.

The musical centers around a group of adolescents and particularly around Wendla, who begs her mother to tell her how babies are born, and Melchior, who is frustrated in everything he tries to do and considers suicide as a remedy.

“A lot of the issues are the same,” Baumanis said. “I think that these teenagers are the same. Certainly, when you get pregnant when it’s unwanted, it’s the same. Though nowadays, kids know how it happens. The whole issue of not being able to find yourself in a time when teenage suicide is rampant in our country, and it’s represented very clearly. It’s more angst, the character just can’t hold anything any more. Whether it’s sexuality, whether it’s failing out of school, he just can’t take it anymore, and the only way out is to kill himself.”

Baumanis said he is working with suicide prevention groups to provide information in the lobby on suicide prevention.

“Sometimes musicals, I think, they preach too much to the audience,” he said. “This one doesn’t preach to the audience, and I think it shows the audiences this is what happens when we don’t communicate with kids. They misinterpret and take away things they shouldn’t take away. They just don’t understand if they don’t communicate the information.” 

Wedekind was involved in impressionism and experimental theater, often veering toward the surreal. The musical takes a more realistic approach.

“The way the typical show handles it, everything in 1891, it’s pretty much straight forward drama with modern touches, as when the mom serves tea but brings out Red Bull for the boys. Instead of having a cigarette, they vape. Little touches like that, but the play itself is intact,” Baumanis said. “When we hit the musical numbers, it’s not 1891 anymore, and it’s all rock music.”

Duncan Sheik’s music blends elements of punk rock and folk rock with an edge. Daniel Bachelis is the musical director for the Civic production.

“It sort of took underground punk rock and kind of mixed it with the indie folk music scene, which was developing about the same time,” Baumanis said. “It created its own genre. A lot of ballads, a lot of rock songs. It’s not hard rock but melodic rock. The lyrics are very different, the lyrics are poetry.”

The music will be center stage. A six-piece band performs under rock concert lights on the Arthur Miller stage.

“The cast is constantly sitting on stage, [there's] a chalkboard with all the musical numbers written on it. There are lights hanging down, everything is exposed,” Baumanis said. “There is a platform for different scenes that moves up and down the stage. The conjugal bed is put right out front to immerse them. We also have cast members sitting in the audience in different places at different times to get a chance to sit with the audience.”

Patricia Mazzola is the producer and also directs the stage movement.

Anthony Pierzynowski plays the troubled Melchoir.

“He has come to discover many of the faults of the society he’s growing up in. Like how are we explaining and teaching kids about what it’s like to grow up in their bodies, and even things about the philosophy of life. He kind of rejects the church and calls himself an atheist and considers himself an idealistic, enlightened person,” said Pierzynowski. “Sometimes that works out to his benefit, but also, he kind of takes an overly arrogant tone.”

Pierzynowski said Melchoir is the hardest role he’s ever played.

“It’s a very nuanced and passionate part because he's still a kid with optimistic feelings, but he’s also prone to making mistakes. At times, he lets his emotions get ahead of him.” Pierzynowski said.

Mackenzie Finley plays Wendla, a girl desperate for guidance.

“Her entire life she’s told that there is only one way and you can only do it this way. She has these questions and curiosities, and she reaches out to her family and gets nothing,” Finley said. “She’s a very curious girl, a teenager who sees her sister is having kids with her husband. She asks her mom how babies are made, and her mother won’t tell her, and it's that in particular where she knows nothing about how the world actually works. It’s because of her naivete that brings a lot of tragedy to her. She’s overall a beautiful, tragic character.”

Mackenzie sings the first song of the play.

“I think the genre choice is very important because one it adds a lot of contrast to the 1891 period but at the same time it has these themes of rebellion and anger, pain and suffering, all those things but also joy and life that young people have and I think it elevates it in a lot of ways,” Mackenzie said.

Baumanis hopes audiences walk away thinking about “how blessed we are with that talent we have here.”

“I want them to walk away and think I love this music and want to listen to the cast album and hear it on Spotify,” he said. “I want them to walk away from it thinking how are we communicating with our young people.”

Hugh Gallagher has written theater and film reviews over a 40-year newspaper career and was most recently the managing editor of the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers in suburban Detroit. 

Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's production of "Spring Awakening" will be presented at 7:30 pm June 5-7 and at 2 pm on June 8 at the Arthur Miller Theater, 1226 Murfin Ave, Ann Arbor. For tickets and more info, go to a2ct.org.