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Atlantic Announces Spring Awakening World Premiere Casting

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Managing Director) in association with Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman, is proud to announce casting for the final production of Atlantic's 20th Anniversary season and the first musical in the company's history. The world premiere production of the new musical SPRING AWAKENING, will feature music by Grammy Award nominee Duncan Sheik ("Barely Breathing"), book and lyrics by Steven Sater (Carbondale Dreams), choreography by Bill T. Jones (The Seven) and direction by Tony Award® nominee Michael Mayer (Thoroughly Modern Millie). SPRING AWAKENING will begin previews Thursday, May 18, 2006, officially open Thursday, June 15, 2006 and play a limited engagement through Sunday, July 9, 2006.

SPRING AWAKENING will feature a cast of fourteen led by Tony Award® winner Frank Wood (Side Man, Hollywood Arms), Atlantic founding member Mary McCann (Broadway's The Old Neighborhood, ATC's The Night Heron), John Gallagher Jr. (Rabbit Hole), Jonathan Groff (In My Life), Lea Michele (Fiddler on the Roof) and Christopher Clark, Michele Cobham, Lilli Cooper, Chris Garneau, Jared Goldstein, B Rian Johnson, Lauren Pritchard, Jonathan B. Wright and Remy Zaken.

Based on Frank Wedekind's masterpiece "The Awakening of Spring," SPRING AWAKENING is the contemporary musical adaptation of one of literature's most controversial plays. SPRING AWAKENING boldly depicts a dozen young people and how they make their way through the thrilling, complicated, confusing and mysterious time of their sexual awakening. Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's score feature songs that illuminate the urgency of adolescent self-discovery, the burning intensity of teen friendships and the innate suspicion of the uncomprehending adult world. The story centers around a brilliant young student named Melchior (Groff), his troubled friend Moritz (Gallagher Jr.) and Wendla (Michele), a beautiful young girl on the verge of womanhood.

The design team for SPRING AWAKENING features scenic design by Christine Jones (The Public's Much Ado About Nothing), costume design by Tony Award® winner Susan Hilferty (Wicked), lighting design by Kevin Adams (Take Me Out), sound design by Brian Ronin and musical direction by Kimberly Grigsby (Caroline, or Change).

SPRING AWAKENING continues Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's longstanding working relationship. They most recently collaborated on Nero: Another Golden Rome, Sater's play with music currently on stage at San Francisco's Magic Theatre. The team presented the New York premiere of Umbrage at HERE and are developing The Nightingale, based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, which has been work-shopped at the O'Neill and La Jolla Playhouse. Sater provided the lyrics for Sheik's acclaimed album Phantom Moon and their original songs have been featured in Michael Mayer's film A Home at the End of the World and the forthcoming independent feature Brother's Shadow.

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