Out of the Box Theatre Company first produced Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s musical Spring Awakening in 2012. Based on a late 19th-century German play by Frank Wedekind, the show tells the story of teenagers in a repressive religious community navigating adolescence and learning the hard truths of adulthood. “The original Broadway production opened when I was in college in New York,” says artistic director Samantha Eve. “As an enthusiast of Duncan Sheik’s earlier music, this musical immediately resonated with me.”
Sheik’s recent death brought a renewed, nostalgic interest in the show, inspiring Eve to create a new production of Spring Awakening for the next generation. While billed as a concert-style production, Eve (who is directing) describes the show more as a full production with rock concert-inspired staging. “It’s our goal to find new moments to explore in the script with this new cast,” says Eve, “and to bring a bit more of 2026 into this production.”
Returning cast members from 2012 include Deborah Bertling and Rob Grayson. In the cast of new actors, Will Muse plays Melchoir, a kid rebelling against the conventional wisdom of his culture. “He expresses his discontent with … the system, with how kids are being taught, with how adults are raising their children,” says Muse. “Multiple characters don’t know things about the world that are essential to them, which leads them to dangerous decisions.”
Shanel Ramirez, who runs the theater at La Cumbre Junior High by day and plays Spring Awakening’s Martha by night, agrees, saying the show’s tension comes from kids having to face consequences for mistakes made in a dearth of information. “As an educator,” she says, “I’m always trying to prevent my students from finding out the hard way.”
Spring Awakening features a live band directed by Tim Accurso and runs at Center Stage Theatre November 13-15. Click here for tickets and details.
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