“these young actors never fall behind as they steer the piece through its minefield of rock ‘n’ roll angst”
When it first woke up Broadway, with a shake of the shoulders, over a decade ago, “Spring Awakening” deflowered the musical theatre form and won eight Tony awards. It was a breath of fresh air and although based on Frank Wedekind’s play from 1891, with its rock infused score it brings Wedekind’s indictment of how kids are mistreated and ignored into the twenty-first century. The British Theatre Academy’s revival at the Stockwell Playhouse, maintains this tradition and is an obvious choice to showcase the talent of these young actors.
It is Germany in the 1890s, a world where the adults hold all the cards, and the classroom of pubescent teenagers are confused, excited, and anxious. The beautiful young Wendla (Charlotte Coe) explores the mysteries of her body, wondering where babies come from while blaming her tight-lipped mother for her ignorance. Meanwhile the fearless and free-thinking Melchior (Max Harwood) placates his buddy, Moritz (James Knudsen), traumatised by puberty in the face of the elders’ repressive morals. The children’s latent sexual feelings all emerge in a haywire hotchpotch of sadomasochistic confusion and, without the guidance they desperately need, there’s tears before bedtime – to say the least. The subject matter doesn’t shy away from controversy. As late as 1965, Wedekind’s original treatment of teenage sex, abortion, parental abuse, depression and suicide was heavily censored and described as “one of the most loathsome and depraved plays I have ever read” by an assessor in the Lord Chamberlain’s office.
Because the themes are still relevant today there is always going to be a distinctly modern feel to this piece. Although here it is also down to the energy and sparkling spirit of the twenty-one strong cast. Supported by a full sounding five-piece band they handle the material with a maturity that belies the teen-rebel lyrics. Admittedly they are given a head start with Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s thrillingly anachronistic score, that mixes seductive melancholy with pop-punk grittiness, but these young actors never fall behind as they steer the piece through its minefield of rock ‘n’ roll angst.
At the helm are Harwood’s Melchior and Coe’s Wendla, their voices rising above the turmoil as they grapple with their anxious souls and unschooled seductions. They are kept aloft by the shining ensemble, from which some voices definitely stand out, particularly the underused James Dodd as Ernst (who’s crying out for more of the libretto) and Jamie Heward as the cross-dressing Hänschen.
It is a feast for the ears, but we never really feel the force of the emotional punch. Inevitably much of the subtlety and the shading of Wedekind’s original text are going to be sacrificed while making room for the musical numbers. Nevertheless, we’re not looking for an intricate insight into the character’s psychology here. Wedekind’s play will provide that. Although I would have liked to have felt more moved by these disparate and desperate individuals as they tread their doom-laden path. The impact is musical, not dramatic, but we leave the space re-awakened to the power of song, thanks to this dedicated and gifted cast.
Aria Entertainment’s From Page To Stage (FPTS) are delighted to announce their exciting musical concerts and the eleven new musicals selected to be showcased during their Summer Festival at The Other Palace (Monday 14 August – Sunday 3 September 2017) including: musical royalty with Tony and Grammy Award winning writer Steven Sater (Spring Awakening) and Academy Award, Grammy Award winning pop legend Burt Bacharach’s new musical Some Lovers – a fully produced main house production; and titular royalty on stage in the studio, with the coming of age new family musical The Queen’s Nose by Charles Miller and Tim Sanders, adapted from the right royal author Dick King-Smith’s delightfully funny children’s book.
Fast becoming the world’s leading new musical theatre Summer Festival FPTS moves into The Other Palace, where night and day over the three weeks, the sound of music from new musicals from across the globe will be brought to life; both in the theatre and studio – and even the bar. From a record breaking 302 submissions from 15 countries, the selected new musicals will be showcased and performed by top West End performers, directors, choreographers, musicians and musical directors – showing each step of a new musical, with workshops, readings, showcases (25 minute tasters of musicals) and fully staged productions.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, owner of The Other Palace says:
“I am thrilled that Katy Lipson is bringing From Page to Stage to The Other Palace, in August. It buoys my hope that The Other Palace will become a breeding ground for new musicals and a genuine hub for anyone interested in musical theatre.”
The Festival will open with the slick cutting-edge Song Writers Showcase (14 Aug), giving a professional platform for some awesome new musical songs from a plethora of musical genres, very clearly showing the calibre of shows on tap for three weeks at The Other Palace.
Creating a perfect FPTS mini Family Festival in the studio (28 Aug-02 Sept), The Queen’s Nose will be one of three family shows alongside the infectious tale of Chicken Little by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary; and the first musical where the world of carnivores and herbivores clash in Dinostory by Luke Di Somma, Mark Anderson and Erin Carter.
The Festival includes darker musicals XY (15 – 17 Aug) by Oliver Houser: “whilst studying on my undergraduate psychology course, I learnt about the psychologically harmful, non-consensual corrective surgeries still performed regularly on intersex infants. It’s been percolating in me for 5 years….” – Christopher Dickens and Tom Wright’s Rebel Song (21 – 23 Aug), a topical love story adapted from the award-winning novel At Swim, Two Boys…… – and One Way (24 – 26 Aug), in which an astrophysicist is selected to go on the first one-way trip to Mars by Ben Bonnema and Christopher Staskel.
Other exciting musicals being premiered at FPTS include: The Edinburgh 7 (24 – 26 Aug) by young bloods Christina Tweeddale & Catherine Myers (from the band Honeyblood), the Kielty Brothers and Jordanna O’Neill – their musical of women’s suffrage and their fight to study medicine in 1866…. – The comedy musical by Chris Burgess, The Girls of Downey Hall (24 – 26 Aug) based on Jenny Colgan’s best-selling novel Class …. – Tasha Taylor Johnson (Feed Your Ego) and musical director Phil Cornwell’s Cult! (24 – 26 Aug) a comedy tale of an unlikely group of Doomsday Seekers…. – and One Day (28 – 30 Aug) by Ben Toth, Todd Almond and Anil Baral set in 1972 Northern Ireland: Catholic against Protestant, Irish against British, neighbour against neighbour….
And the headline show: Some Lovers (24 Aug – 02 Sept) – Bacharach’s first new score for the theatre since 1968s Promises Promises. Steven Sater says:
“Love songs, that’s what I write. Burt and I had just written our first song together; and some months and any number of songs later I came to recognise how distinct our songs were from those ubiquitous pop anthems of young love. Ours seemed invariably to express a sort of disaffection, a disappointment, a dark joy, or the renewed determination of a more mature, mid-relationship romance. One day, in the heat of July in Los Angeles, as Burt and I laboured away on a Christmas song, I thought: what if we revisited that Depression-Era classic story, The Gift of the Magi? What became of those young Christmas lovers, twenty years after their happily ever after? And that was the beginning of Some Lovers.”
The first weekend of FPTS sees two special evenings in the Studio, with British composer Charles Miller in You Know How To Love Me (18 – 19 Aug). Joining him will be a host of West End artistes singing from his wonderfully surprising shows including: Brenda Bly: Teen Detective, When Midnight Strikes and The Return Of The Soldier – and Charles will be sharing his favourite behind-the-scenes stories.
And then the Closing Gala (03 Sept) and the icing on the cake of Aria Entertainment’s From Page To Stage Summer Festival is an evening with America’s finest: An Evening Of Songs From Spring Awakening Creators Duncan Sheik And Steven Sater. An extraordinary concert performance of Steven and Duncan’s many musical collaborations including: Spring Awakening, Phantom Moon, Nero, Alice By Heart, Umbrage, The Nightingale and A Home At The End Of The World – and maybe a sneak preview of their latest projects….. a unique ending to the world renowned festival From Page To Stage……
Tuesday 15th August XY (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – staged reading
Wednesday 16th Aug XY (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – staged reading
Thursday 17th August XY (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – staged reading
Friday 18th August You Know How To Love Me – A Charles Miller Celebration (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – concert
Saturday 19th August You Know How To Love Me – A Charles Miller Celebration (STUDIO) @ 2.30pm & 7.30pm – concert
Sunday 20th August DAY OFF
Monday 21st August Rebel Song (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – staged reading
Tuesday 22nd August Rebel Song (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – staged reading
Wednesday 23rd Aug Rebel Song (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – staged reading
Thursday 24th August Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 8pm – full production
One Way, The Edinburgh 7, The Girls Of Downey Hall, Cult! (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – showcasing 4 x musicals in one night – 25 minutes each
Friday 25th August Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 8pm – full production
One Way, The Edinburgh 7, The Girls Of Downey Hall, Cult! (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – showcasing 4 x musicals in one night – 25 minutes each
Saturday 26th August Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 3pm & 8pm – full production
One Way, The Edinburgh 7, The Girls Of Downey Hall, Cult! (STUDIO) @ 2.30pm & 7.30pm – showcasing 4 x musicals in one night – 25 minutes each
Sunday 27th August DAY OFF
Monday 28th August Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 8pm – full production
Chicken Little and Dinostory (STUDIO) @ 1pm – FAMILY FESTIVAL – staged reading
One Day (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – musical concert
Tuesday 29th August Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 8pm – full production
Chicken Little and Dinostory (STUDIO) @ 1pm – FAMILY FESTIVAL – staged reading
One Day (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – musical concert
Wednesday 30th Aug Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 8pm – full production
Chicken Little and Dinostory (STUDIO) @ 1pm – FAMILY FESTIVAL – staged reading
One Day (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – musical concert
Thursday 31st August Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 3pm & 8pm – full production
The Queen’s Nose (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – FAMILY FESTIVAL – staged reading
Friday 1st September Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 8pm – full production
The Queen’s Nose (STUDIO) @ 7.30pm – FAMILY FESTIVAL – staged reading
Saturday 2nd Sept Some Lovers (MAIN HOUSE) @ 3pm & 8pm – full production
The Queen’s Nose (STUDIO) @ 2.30pm and 7.30pm – FAMILY FESTIVAL – staged reading
Sunday 3rd September Closing Gala: An Evening Of Songs From Spring Awakening Creators Duncan Sheik And Steven Sater (MAIN HOUSE) @ 8pm – staged concert
