ROCKING OUT WITH SPRING AWAKENING
Set in 19th-century Germany, Spring Awakening tells the story of teenagers discovering their sexuality — for good and bad. Originally an 1891 play by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening was updated in the late 1990s with music by singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik and became a hit when the show opened on Broadway in 2006. It has inspired more than one Vancouver theatre company to mount a version, and now Phantom Moon Collective is presenting its take, with a twist — an alternating cast in the lead roles of Melchior and Wendla (William Tippery and Daren Dyhengco, and Jenna Testani and Jess Amy Shead, respectively). We talked to producer and director Chris Lam, who recently directed the science-fiction play The Nether at the Firehall Arts Centre, about the project.
Q Why Spring Awakening?
A It was coming up on 10 years since it opened on Broadway. I’ve always wanted to do the piece, I just never found the right time to do it. When I was doing (2016 musical) Dogfight at Pacific Theatre, where Spring Awakening is happening, I was watching one of the performances and I thought that Spring Awakening would do really well there, in terms of presentation and formatting.
Q It’s not the first time a company has performed Spring Awakening in Vancouver, including a production that just wrapped up. What are you bringing to your version?
A I really wanted to do a version of it that was honouring a lot of the original elements of Broadway show. There’s story story story and then a song, then story story story, and there has to be a complete separation. When people do break out into song, it’s completely divorced from the story. They’ll carry over thematic or emotional residue from the scenes, but it has really nothing to do with the book scenes themselves. I really like that convention — (the characters) suddenly pull out mikes and go into a contemporary thing and then go back into this 1891 affectation. And I love the fact that the musicians are immersed in the piece as well, that they’re part of the fabric of the rock concert feel.
Q Each night, the cast alternates leads and ensemble parts. Why did you decide to do it this way?
A When I was first casting Dogfight, I had another actor who wanted to play the lead role and part of me wanted to oblige him by having him also play that part. So I thought, why don’t I just split the difference and just double cast it? The seed of that, of being naive and wanting to make everyone happy, grew into something where I feel I’m interested in double-casting, and let’s see how that works.
Q You’re just coming off The Nether, a play with science fiction themes. What will people who liked that play like about Spring Awakening? Are there any commonalities?
A Count on it (Spring Awakening) having really great music in it, of having the energy of a rock concert. Also, it has dark subject matter in it, which The Nether has as well. I am drawn to very dark content. I feel like there is a lot of truth and insight in the dark. Spring Awakening definitely has its fill of dark moments. It’s basically a slide-show of all the taboos that you can think of. But it’s balanced with this wonderful music. And it’s also very optimistic, too. And it’s also a big Broadway show. People can count on seeing the Broadway show — or at least a version of it.