An exciting new adaptation by the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble of Frank Wedekind's masterpiece, Spring's Awakening, will run July 3 though July 26 at The Powerhouse Theatre in Santa Monica, following on the heels of the Ensemble's ambitious and critically acclaimed production of i Gelosi.
Written in 1891, Spring's Awakening follows the lives of three teenagers, Melchior, Moritz and Wendla, as they navigate their entry into sexual awareness. First performed in Germany in 1906, Wedekind's controversial play closed after one night in New York in 1917 amid charges of obscenity and public outrage. For the better part of the twentieth century Wedekind's intense body of work was largely unpublished and rarely performed. Yet the play's subject matter - teenage desire, suicide, abortion, and homosexuality - is as explosive and important today as it was a century ago.
The Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble's new translation utilizes subtle but present contemporary dialogue, resulting in a clear enunciation of Wedekind's themes for modern audiences and aptly capturing his delicate mix of comedy and tragedy. The original adaptation was created from a literal translation of the German language text and crafted in rehearsals by the actors under the guidance of lead writer Evan Drane, who also directs its premiere at The Powerhouse.
"With the Tony Award-winning musical version coming to Los Angeles in the fall, we wanted to offer L.A. audiences the chance to experience the original, groundbreaking script in all its urgency," commented Drane.
Spring's Awakening brilliantly portrays our paradoxical relationship with the human condition through the lens of a controversial subject matter: the sexual curiosity of teenagers. In 1890s Germany, three children embark on a mission to explore their newfound interest in sex, a subject actively suppressed by the adults in their lives. The children's experimentation leads to grave consequences, culminating in the erasing of all that is familiar. In the end, the play clearly demonstrates a startling paradox - our tendency to run both from and towards truth. Wedekind called his play "a tragedy of childhood" and dedicated the work to parents and teachers.
Featured in the L.A. Theatre Ensemble production are Luke Baily as Melchior; Nick McDow as Moritz; Eleanor Van Hest as Wendla; Jen Bailey as Ilse; Matthew Schueller as Ernst; Olivia Choate as Frau Gabor; Morgan Early as Frau Bergmann; David Hassett, as Hans; Danika Sudik as Thea; and Catherine Talton as Martha. Also in the cast are Kyle Cadman and Issac Wade.
Evan Drane graduated from U.C.L.A.'s School of Film, Television and Theater with a focus in both acting and directing. His previous directorial credits include The Automobile Graveyard for the Ghostlight Theatre Festival and Rhinoceros at U.C.L.A. In Chicago, he directed for the play Stitched Together at the Theatre Building. In 2006, Evan attended the Director's Lab Chicago, working and creating with directors from across the U.S. and Canada. Favorite acting roles include The Professor in Ionesco's The Lesson; Pilades in Electra with Bohemian Theatre Ensemble (Chicago); and Matthew in God's Country with Acme Theatre Company.
The Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble is dedicated to staging theater works of high artistic integrity while endeavoring to remain broadly accessible and genuinely entertaining. The ensemble holds fast in its commitment to strike a balance between providing a venue for emerging artists and veteran artists, and between presenting the works of new playwrights and revisiting timely and important classics.
The Powerhouse Theatre Company, which makes its home at the Powerhouse, a historical building originally erected in 1910 to house the Southern California Edison Electrical Plant for the city of Santa Monica, is committed to nurturing innovative new work, and has introduced Los Angeles audiences to critically-acclaimed world premieres such the multiple award-winning The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World by Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen; The Family Room by Aron Coleite; Golden Prospects: A Los Angeles Melodrama by
Colin Campbell; A Series of Comedic Lectures with John Lehr; Robots vs Fake Robots by David Largman Murray, Testosterone: How Cancer Made a Man of Me by Hal Ackerman; and the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble productions of Wounded and i Gelosi.
Spring's Awakening runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, July 3 through July 26, except Friday, July 4 which is dark. There will be one Wednesday evening performance on July 23 at 8 pm. All tickets are $20.00. The Powerhouse Theatre is located at 3116 2nd Street in south Santa Monica, just off Main Street between Rose and Marine. Guests in wheelchairs should call in advance to make arrangements. For reservations and information, the public should call (310) 396-3680 x3 or visit
www.latensemble.org.
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