Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening on Broadway Background

Duncan Sheik’s alternative rock score, coupled with the timeless coming of age themes, made this musical a huge success when it premiered on Broadway in 2006. In 2007, it won eight Tony Awards including the awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Choreography.

The fall 2015 revival brings an entire new unique dimension to this story. In a co-production with Deaf West Theatre Company based in Los Angeles, this production of Spring Awakening is performed by a mixture of hearing and non-hearing actors, using a mixture of voice and sign language. In certain cases, two actors play the same character, one signing and one singing, and in other cases one actor suffices for the character. In Deaf West’s acclaimed style, this show seamlessly integrates the speaking and signing performances. The result is a magical and impressive feat displaying multiple forms of communication onstage.

What's Spring Awakening Like?

Scheduled for a limited engagement of only 18 weeks, this Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening will surpass the already magnificent impact of this beautiful story and penetrating score. The last time Deaf West had a show on Broadway was the Huckleberry Finn story Big River in 2003, which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. On top of that, Deaf West won a special honor in the 2004 Tony Awards for bringing that show to Broadway. Like Big River, this production of Spring Awakening has been radically reconceived to play to the advantages of having both hearing and non-hearing actors, singing as well as signing. In particular, the themes of this musical deal with the difficulty of communication between teenagers and their parents, so the extra dimension of sign language is particularly resonant.

Is Spring Awakening Good for Kids?

Spring Awakening is most suitable for children aged 14 and over due to adult themes, brief nudity, and strong language. Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theatre.