Philadelphia revival of SPRING AWAKENING set in a 50?s diner because shut up.

[sbflyfan]

Looks... interesting.

Is this Jim Hogan the same Jim Hogan who was in the Non-Equity tour last year?

[best12bars]

Maybe they could start out in B&W and switch to color after they "awaken."

[Wynbish]

Melchior in the Middle! Starring Frankie Muniz

[FindingNamo]

Maybe it's an immersive production and you can buy a shake with two straws to share with your best girl during the show!

[wicked1492]

[Playbilly]

As long as they are not holding microphones, it's an improvement.

[luvtheEmcee]

You know, I was about to be like, "someone please explain" about this. But then I gave it a second thought, and I think it could actually be kind of interesting. Certainly wouldn't fix anything about the show, but it could work well enough.

[JoeKv99]

So they have sex on the diner counter? People EAT off that counter for crissake!

[Bettyboy72]

Jim Hogan was in the non-equity tour and he reads OLD. His love scenes with an actress who was a tiny, very young looking girl were UNCOMFORTABLE and WEIRD. His lack of youthfulness really dampened the power of the piece.

I think setting it in the 50s is cool, but could they dress the actors in period clothes. The costumes are AWFUL!

What does Melchior hit Wendla with? A fry basket?

[Mister Matt]

Well, it's not as if the original production was designed to replicate the late 19th century. My question is why it's set in a diner?

[NoName3]

Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte is superficially a romantic comedy of manners but in fact both the music and libretto are complex and ambiguous and deal with interpersonal relationships and sexual politics in sometimes disturbing ways.

In 1991 director Peter Sellars famously set the show in a roadside diner, a production later broadcast on PBS.

I don't think this director's concept is particularly original.

[ChanceEncounter]

So, it's been quite a while, and wasn't an enjoyable experience, but I don't remember Melchior being Moritz's father when I saw the show on Broadway.

[phillytheaterguy]

So I actually did see the show with my mom last night, and the setting works. They did not change any of the lyrics or script. The show was just set in that time period with costumes and sets. And to put some of your concerns to rest, they did not use of the ketchup bottles for surgical procedures.

I thought the change in setting made some of the issues even more clear. My mom (who is in her 60's) said that she had those same conversations with her mother not too long ago. I thought that was pretty interesting.

Most of all, the show is high quality and the actors are strong. I don't know much about this company, but it was different and interesting and definitely worth $20.

[amsdiva2]

It was a thrill to watch the audience at Preview last night leap to their feet in a standing ovations. What's wonderful about theatre is that is starts with a piece of literature. A director's job is to create. Being able to take a well known piece and conceptualize it in a different way is what makes a director an artist.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

But there's a difference between art and setting it in a 50's diner 'cause why the eff not? What works tonight won't work forever.

[FindingNamo]

"It was a thrill to watch the audience at Preview last night leap to their feet in a standing ovations."

Did they immediately go back to the box office and buy tickets for future performances?

[ChanceEncounter]

Which one is Fonzie?

[TheLadyoftheWood]

What is La LuPone doing in this production? Isn't that her in photo one?

[onedaymore]

Melchior's only 21?? Ooh, now I feel bad for saying he looks 40. Oops.

[dottiepark]

I was skeptical about the whole diner thing, too, but the setting really didn't impact the production at all...and the costumes (school uniforms) helped tie everything about the era together. It worked! I have seen SA too many times, and this unorthodox approach freshened it up for me. It's an interesting and very entertaining production, well worth seeing.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Is this even an Equity production? Did they have legal permission to change the setting? These are the questions that BWW has taught me to ask. I think it looks cool, though, and since repressed kids singing rock and roll in the 1950s makes more sense to me than repressed kids singing rock and roll in the 18whatevers makes sense to me.

[dramamama611]

At 20 bucks a ticket, I cannot imagine Equity has ANYTHING to do with it.

They could have gotten permission to change the setting. I would think Sater and Shiek would have been open to that.


I never understand why someone uses the word REVIVAL unless it is in NY, or planning/hoping a shot to do so. Unless THAT organization has done it before, theirs is not a revival.

I looked up the production compnay (link below). They are defintley NOT professional. (Which is fine, doesn't mean they can't do good work.)

They have a two show, summer season.
Mezeppa Prodcutions

[AEA AGMA SM]

In general it is not a violation of your license agreement to change the setting of a show, provided, of course, that you do not change any dialogue to reference the new setting. As long as you perform the text as is (which is what you are licensing) you are typically free to design the show however you feel fit to your space, budget, and concept.

[phillytheaterguy]

You are right. The contracts issued by MTI and Tans Witmark almost never require the show to be done as originally produced on Broadway. You just can't change the lyrics or the book. I don't know the show that well, but I didn't notice any changes at all. They certainly used the german names and didn't add any period references.

[afaye11]

Last summer I saw their production of Pippin and was VERY impressed. The cast was fantastic and they did some incredibly creative stuff. They definitely took some liberties and made the show their own, but they were very respectful to the source material.

I have tickets to see Spring Awakening and am a bit nervous, but I'm no doubt looking forward to it. It doesn't seem as secure in its setting as their production as Pippin did, but I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt due to how impressive Pippin was.

[sbflyfan]

SPOILER ALERT

Just curious, does anyone know if it's specified by the creators that Moritz's gun doesn't actually fire?

I've seen several regional productions, now, and I've been waiting for some enterprising director to have the gun actually go off, but in all of the productions, it's been done along the lines of the original Broadway production. He either puts the gun in his mouth, or holds it up to his head, then a blackout with no gunshot.