"They Walk With My Heart, Not Gone"

Date of Performance: May 18 evening

By: Duncan Shiek (music), Steven Sater (book, lyrics), Michael Mayer (direction)

Starring: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), Lea Michele (Wendla), Blake Bashoff (Moritz), Emma Hunton (Ilse), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Remy Zaken (Thea), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Matt Doyle (Hanschen), Skylar Astin (Georg), Blake Daniel (Ernst), Glenn Fleshler (Adult men), Christine Estabrook (Adult women), Gerard Canonico (ensemble), Eryn Murman, Matt Shingledecker, and Jenna Ushkowitz




What I have always loved about theatre is its intimacy and its power to connect people. There's something incredibly special that happens within the walls of a theater---people experience and process this singular, once in a lifetime event together. No performance is the same, no audience is the same, and if you're lucky, when the show is over, the people leaving the theater are not the same either.

Theatre allows, nay, demands that audiences connect with each other and with the performers. On May 18, I witnessed one of the most electrifying, emotionally charged performances of my life. Best friends Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele, who created the roles of Melchior and Wendla in Spring Awakening, performed for the last time. Whenever an original cast member leaves, fans tend to rally and casts cry, but SA is a huge youth hit with a cultlike following. Groff and Michele are beloved by their fanbase and by their fellow actors and technicians. It's a credit not only to the show, but also to Groff and Michele's influence, that so many fans flocked to their last show and that many of SA's creators and alumni attended--Duncan Sheik was crying in the standing room only section with John Gallagher Jr., Steven Sater and Michael Mayer returned, and cast alumni Lauren Pritchard, Johnny B. Wright, Krysta Rodriguez, and Robi Hager were also in attendance. To say that the audience turnout that evening was excited and eager would be an understatement. The majority of the people there were repeat "guilty ones" and devoted fans; it wasn't just New York regulars--many people had made special arrangements to be there--by plane, train, automobile. Even I am guilty of this--I planned my vacation around attending this show.


The show started a little late (Bashoff apparently had an awful nosebleed because he had been crying so much and there was a concern that he would not be able to perform) and as soon as Lea walked onstage for "Mama Who Bore Me" there was an eruption of applause--so much so, in fact, that she couldn't start her song for several minutes. This was my first time seeing her in the role and it was remarkable how much her Wendla differed from Alexandra Socha's (I saw Socha in October, and she has now officially taken over as Wendla). Socha's Wendla interpretation came off childlike, innocent and vulnerable, and her sex scene with Melchior seemed closer to rape (and more in line with Wedekind's original text). Michele's Wendla was innocent, but Michele tapped into Wendla's strength and her sexual desires. Socha's interpretation of Wendla is interesting, but Michele's is a better match for Groff's Melchior; it's easier to understand why Melchior is attracted to Michele's Wendla. Close friends and self proclaimed "soul mates" Groff and Michele have amazing chemistry, but this also works against them; there's less of an awkwardness between their Wendla and Melchior, especially in the hayloft scene when their characters have sex for the first time. Michele's voice is wonderful, incredibly rich, and she has an impressive range; while Socha's acting is a match for Michele's, there is no contest--Michele's vocals are stronger by far (and she can sing clearly and beautifully while crying which is impressive).

If you like "Mama Who Bore Me: Reprise," you really need to see the show live. The song on the cast recording features only a three part harmony. The song in the stage show has a five part harmony, and the accompaniment is great to listen to (the acoustics in the Eugene O'Neill are ridiculously good). When Phoebe handed Lea her microphone, they shared a smile, knowing it was the last time they would be doing that handoff and at the end of "Mama Who Bore Me: Reprise," there was so much applause that Lea struggled to maintain her composure.

This was my first time to see several of the actors in the Latin Classroom scene. When I saw the show in October, Brian Charles Johnson was understudying Moritz, Skylar Astin was out filming Hamlet 2, Matt Doyle was still swinging (and went on as Otto), and Blake Bashoff had yet to join the cast. Bashoff's Moritz is quite different from John Gallagher Jr.'s and Brian Charles Johnson's--his portrayal is infused with humor, and his body moves with both awkwardness and nervousness. Brian Charles Johnson's voice is scratchy and sounds like it's strained and in poor condition now. Skylar Astin is sorely underused--his riffs during his "Touch Me" solo are beautiful, and his scenes with the piano teacher are humorous, but beyond that, he unfortunately does not have a lot to do, and at certain points, you can sense his boredom. Matt Doyle's take on Hanschen has a different focus than Johnny B. Wright's. Doyle's Hanschen seems more entitled and worldly than Wright's and while I think Doyle does a fantastic job, I wish he had been promoted to Melchior instead. I'd argue he has the best male voice in the show, and his Melchior interpretation, for me, is stronger than his Hanschen.

I was fascinated by Emma Hunton's Ilse, and after seeing her, I wish I could somehow meld Hunton and original cast member Lauren Pritchard together. Before seeing Hunton I felt that Pritchard's throaty vocals and long, flowing hair would always be the definitive interpretation of Ilse. While I think Pritchard has an ethereal quality that is absolutely ideal for Ilse, Hunton brings an innocence to Ilse that was not there before. Pritchard emphasized Ilse's adult lifestyle and her wistfulness for a return to her childhood days while Hunton plays Ilse as a young girl caught up in an adult world and desperately reaching out for connection; Hunton's Ilse is wounded and her pain slowly rises to the surface; Hunton and Bashoff's scene together, "Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind" is heartbreaking, moving, and intensely frustrating; they craft two characters that so clearly need someone to reach out to them and it's devastating when they cannot bridge the gap and forge a support system for each other.

Throughout the entire show, there were many reminders that this was Michele and Groff's last show. Cast members were crying in the wings, Michele and Groff got entrance applause every time they came onstage, Bashoff bowed to Groff, Michele clutched Lilli Cooper's hand, and Groff cried during "Those You've Known." However, nothing can compare to "Totally Fucked." I'll post a video of it, but the video cannot even come close to describing what it was like inside the theater. At every show, "Totally Fucked" is a big fan favorite, but at this particular performance, the audience's expectation and excitement for this number was palpable. Groff had a glint in his eye as he began the number (similar to the expression he had when SA performed on Good Morning America and replaced "fucked" with "stuck" to remain television appropriate). People in the audience immediately reacted with applause. There was an amusing interplay between Johnson and Groff during Johnson's verse, and things completely erupted when Glenn Fleshler said, "For the last time, did you write this?" There was a long beat, Groff looked to the audience and screamed, "YESSS!!" The entire audience was pounding their feet and singing along and Michele let out a primal scream and held Blake Daniel's hand as she jumped around for the last time. There was a very long standing ovation (perhaps five minutes?) and the cast's reactions ranged from amused (Remy and Phoebe were laughing and Doyle struggled to remain stoic and not break character) to touched (Michele sobbed during the entire ovation--which was slightly entertaining since she was giving the audience the finger--and Groff, sitting on his stoop above the stage, broke character, and clutched his hand to his chest, obviously surprised and grateful).

Sitting there, I felt lucky and honored to be there, but more than that, I felt alive. There I was, sitting in a theater, surrounded by people from all over the country, but we were sharing this once in a lifetime experience together. We all identified with and loved this show and we were celebrating not only Michele and Groff's last performance, but also life in general. Spring Awakening is not just an angst filled teenage musical; it celebrates the human experience, acknowledging the pain and confusion we suffer, the desires and romances that fuel and change our lives, and the battles we fight, but it also acknowledges what helps us get through---purple summer, a beacon of hope in the darkness. I sat listening to "Those You've Known" and "The Song of Purple Summer," and I thought of the figures who have changed my life, and I recalled my loneliness and my darkest times and realized how far I had come.

Summer is dawning...and I believe.