SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS: DAY 2 - Lea Michele & Jonathan Groff/SPRING AWAKENING

As a super-special Spring extension of BroadwayWorld's SOUND OFF column, every day until the Tony Awards on June 12 we will be presenting a spectacular new entry in the SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS series featuring a particularly entertaining, interesting, relevant and exciting Tony Awards-related clip from the last sixty-three years of the ceremonies (and subsequent seasons on Broadway) with a rundown and commentary on the sights, sounds and showmanship on display in each carefully chosen selection - all, of course, coming in anticipation of Broadway's biggest night, which will be broadcast on CBS this year, as always. Once again this year, BroadwayWorld is the official home of the 2011 Tony Awards and we will also be featuring exclusive interviews, articles, photos, video content, interactive features and more in the coming days and weeks leading up to the event so be sure to check back daily for your theatre fix!

Today, we are turning up the heat just as the temperature outside starts to rise to new heights with one last longing look at the seminal and sexy SPRING AWAKENING, winner of 8 2007 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Direction and Best Featured Actor In A Musical (John Gallagher, Jr.).

Totally Spring

One of the most controversial and divisive Broadway shows in recent years was the sexually-charged and supernatural SPRING AWAKENING by Steven Sater, with a score by Duncan Sheik, based on the 1891 play by Frank Wedekind. For those who were not fortunate enough to see it in its enlivening original staging by Bill T. Jones with the inventive direction by Michael Mayer, you probably still know by now that it featured one of the most rousing rock scores in recent memory and the leading role debuts of many of the best and brightest young talent on the Great White Way - besides Tony-winner John Gallagher, Jr., chief among them are two stars who have gone on to huge Hollywood fame on the musical-dramedy TV series GLEE. This week's episode featured the return of Groff's much beloved Jessie St. James and he joined Rachel - played by Golden Globe-nominee Lea Michele - in a devastating acapella version of Adele's "Rolling In The Deep". Going back to four years ago - lo long before their international superstardom thanks to GLEE - here is the cast of SPRING AWAKENING, prominently featuring Michele and Groff, on the 2007 Tony Awards, as introduced by Zach Braff, singing a somewhat shocking medley of songs from the audacious Tony-winning emo rock score by Grammy-winning pop star Duncan Sheik.

Lea Michele leads a sensual "Mama Who Bore Me" sensitively accompanied on acoustic guitar by Jonathan Groff - who is her real life BFF - which goes into the group jam version featuring the rest of the girls. Then, John Gallagher, Jr. and Groff lead an appropriately angst-laden "B*tch of Living" capped off by a hilariously censored version of the show's hit anthem "Totally F*cked". Well, you know they had to try - even if there was no way it would pass muster with CBS.

Now, what will they ever do with "F*ck You, God" from THE BOOK OF MORMON on this year's telecast? We'll have to stay tuned to find out!

As a special bonus, check out John Gallagher, Jr. accepting his Tony Award for Best Featured Actor In A Musical for his magnetic portrayal of the conflicted and suicidAl Moritz, as presented by Vanessa Williams and Robert Sean Leonard at the ceremony.

That's all for today. Be sure to stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for all things Tony Awards and subscribe to this column to be the very first to check out the clips, commentary and take part in the conversation in our deluxe toast to the Antoinette Perry every day until June 12 - and, especially, on that day! Until then…