The Main Street Players, the longest running community theater in Miami-Dade County, chose a titillating production to close their 40th season. Theater patrons and aficionados from Homestead to Boynton Beach are flocking to the Main Street Playhouse, the quaint theater in the heart of Miami Lakes to see Spring Awakening, the broadway spectacle that launched the career of Lea Michelle, actress in the Emmy award-winning show, GLEE.
Spring Awakening's original play, written by Frank Wedekind over a century ago still holds true to the struggles, desires, doubts, fears, and dreams that haunt teens today. The play, revived by Steven Sater, and given an alternative musical score by the 90’s star, Duncan Sheik, together give Spring Awakening a facelift to match the musical tastes of the modern teen while staying faithful to the mood of characters penned long ago.
The musical, though relevant and well-written, would be missing a certain je ne sais quoi without the fiery energy the large ensemble brings to the stage. For an intimate theater, technical director, Dennis Lyzniak, managed to create the believable setting for a forest, bedroom, and classroom, while still leaving ample room for the 13-person cast to freely move about and engage in riveting choreography and a famous “swing” scene.
The ensemble, Emily Barona, William Cadena, Andre Gabois, Stephen Gair, Mariah Jimenez, Cameron Jordan, Aaron Matthews, Meagan Nagy, Aly Pentagelo, Eliana Parenti, Patrick Rodriguez, Rheanna Salazar, and Corey Vega, all make memorable characters, each powerfully telling their own story, one that speaks to their individual character’s predicament, and to the larger scheme of teenage life.
Salazar and Rodriguez are enchanting as the play’s leads, along with the rest of the cast, all of whom seem to experience opposite scenarios, yet overlap in their need to find love and salvation.
Director Liz Dikinson, along with Musical Director Andrew Gilbert, both previously worked on the Main Street Players' rendition of RENT and came together once again to lead the cast in Spring Awakening.
“Our world is riddled with adults who fail to communicate properly with children, where children commit suicide due to pressures they feel helpless against, where extremes are still enforced, and where acceptance is not a way of life for many,” writes Dikinson in the production’s playbill.
The production touches upon heavy themes, but at the crux of the writing lies the truth of, what Dikinson succinctly encapsulates as, “talking is not enough. To see a change, and to keep teens away from the dangers of suicide, and shame, and loss, we need to start learning how to listen.”
Spring Awakening does not hold back in its commentary on rape, abortion, suicide, abuse and isolation. However, rather than coming across as a headstrong melodrama, it succeeds in expressing that just because the emotional distress teens feel are so highly charged, that does not make their perception of the world any less real.
“There’s a part I can’t tell, about the dark I know well,” sings Barona's character Ilse, in a haunting ballad that if even one child could relate to, it would be one too many.
Spring Awakening contains strong language and sexually explicit content that may not be suitable for young audiences. Spring Awakening opened Friday, September 26 and runs through Sunday, October 12.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There will be one performance on Thursday, October 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors (62+), and $18 for students (with current ID) and may be purchased online at www.mainstreetplayers.com or at the door. Patrons may call 305-558-3737 for more information. The Main Street Playhouse is located at 6766 Main Street in Miami Lakes.