Cast of Broadway’s ‘Spring Awakening’ reunite and reminisce

While many of John Gallagher Jr.'s peers went to college, he didn't. His university became “Spring Awakening.” Gallagher spent much of what would have been his prime college years — from 20 to 23 — starring in the original, envelop-pushing Broadway show that musicalized teen angst. Gallagher recently got a chance to go back to school by reuniting with the cast for the first time in 15 years during a one-night benefit concert.

The new documentary “Spring Awakening: Those You've Known” airing Tuesday on HBO and HBO Max captures that concert and adds interviews, candid moments and home movies, as well as performance footage from the original 2006 Broadway show, often beautifully melting into the benefit concert.

Filmed in just five days and edited in a mater of weeks, “Spring Awakening: Those You've Known” follows four major plot lines: the musical itself, its 2006 road to Broadway, the reunion 15 years later in 2021 and the special relationship between breakout stars Jonathan Groff and LeaMichele.