Actors peeled off their late 19th century garb in frantic motions, stomping their feet to the beat of the orchestra. As the cast belted out the profane lyrics to the song “Totally F*cked,” they ran up into the audience and climbed the ladders of the multi-level barn-inspired set, whipping their costumes around above their heads.

“Totally F*cked” may be one of the most fast-paced numbers in “Spring Awakening,” and the high energy of the song continued from the performance’s start to finish.

“Spring Awakening” opened at the Arthur Storch Theatre at the Syracuse Stage on Friday, April 25 and runs through Saturday, May 10. The musical, inspired by a play written by German author Frank Wedekind, follows a group of teenagers in 19th century Germany through several coming-of-age moments.

The theatre is a small venue with an intimate atmosphere. Cast members dressed for the production on stage, with their costume rack front and center. They broke the fourth wall, calling out and waving to friends in the audience. However, the friendly atmosphere immediately dissolved once the lights dimmed to tell the play’s emotional story.

Anna LiDestri, a freshman theater design and technology major who worked on the show said, “It’s one of those musicals I can watch all through tech, and then go home and listen to the music again.”

The characters in “Spring Awakening” live in a repressed world where things like sex and pregnancy are not discussed. They live in not-so-blissful unawareness, which ultimately leads to negative consequences.

Ethan Butler, a junior musical theater major who plays the lead character of Moritz in the show, said that the musical teaches important lessons about communication and discovery.

“It shows the flaws in communication between the adults and the kids,” Butler said. “It shows the audience that this is the result of poor communication.”

The cast is composed almost entirely of Syracuse University drama sophomores and juniors, with the exception of the roles of the adult men and women, played by SU drama professors Celia Madeoy and Joseph Whelan. SU drama students Delphi Borich, Brady Richards and Butler play the lead characters of Wendla, Melchior and Moritz.

Michael Barakiva, a professional director and writer from New York City, approached the direction of the show from an acting standpoint, rather than focusing on music. This is unusual for a musical, Sophie Burnham, the sophomore assistant director of the show, said. This approach is reflected in the intense emotional portrayals given throughout the cast, from lead to supporting roles.

“This really runs the gamut,” Burnham said. “We wanted to deal with it from a place of emotional safety for the actors.”

In preparing for the role of Moritz, an emotionally tortured character who takes his own life in the show, Butler researched sleep deprivation and spoke with people with a history of suicidal thoughts to better understand how to portray this mindset on stage.

“It was extremely helpful to understand that feeling of truly having no options, feeling totally alone and having nobody there,” he said.

The intense and poignant nature of the show was a hurdle for the cast to overcome, Burnham said. To prepare, they dove into the script, interpreting the issues and the subtext presented in the musical.

Audiences familiar with the eight-time Tony Award winning musical can expect to hear well-known songs with a completely new take on them. Performers used more than just their voices to make music on stage — actors played the guitar, the violin and even beat-boxed during the performance to supplement the orchestra.

Kyle Patrick Scanlon, a sophomore musical theater major and audience member, said that the production’s original take on “Spring Awakening”is part of what makes it so captivating.

Said Scanlon: “The direction and vision is really powerful. I’ve seen the Broadway one, and it’s so different — the vision stays true throughout the performance.”

Published on April 29, 2014 at 2:00 am

Contact Diana: dspearl@syr.edu | @dianapearl_