The multiple Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of Spring Awakening, with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, is set to receive an innovative, immersive production performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and spoken English. Presented by Deaf West Theatre in association with The Forest of Arden, Spring Awakening opens tomorrow, September 13, at Inner-City Arts in downtown L.A. Click below to watch a new promo for the show!
Based on
Frank Wedekind's controversial 1891 expressionist play of the same name and featuring an electrifying rock/pop score, Spring Awakening follows the lives of a group of adolescents as they navigate their entry into sexual awareness. An extraordinary creative team, including director
Michael Arden (Patrick on the FX series Anger Management, Deaf West productions of Big River on Broadway and Pippin at the
Mark Taper Forum), musical director
Jared Stein (first National Tour of Spring Awakening as well as Broadway productions of American Idiot and Hair) and Emmy-nominated choreographer
Spencer Liff (Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, Tony Award-winning revival ofHedwig and the Angry Inch starring
Neil Patrick Harris) reinvents the groundbreaking musical about lost innocence and the struggles of youth in true Deaf West style.
The cast of 25 deaf, hard of hearing and hearing actors and musicians includes Joey Antonio,
Miles Barbee,
Jimmy Bellinger, Katie Boeck,
Joshua Castille, Julian Comeau,
Daniel Durant,
Treshelle Edmond, Max Fishman,
Sandra Mae Frank,
Kathryn Gallagher,
Gabrielle Garza,
Sean Grandillo, Karla Gutierrez,
Joseph Haro,
Amelia Hensley,
Troy Kotsur,
Daniel Marmion,
Austin McKenzie,
Lauren Patten,
Natacha Roi, Rustin Cole Sailors,
Daniel David Stewart,
Ali Stroker and Alexandra Winter.
Deaf West Theatre productions are renowned for weaving ASL with spoken English to create a seamless ballet of movement and voice, thereby creating a fully inclusive theatrical experience for deaf, hard of hearing and hearing audiences. Spring Awakening marks DWT's fifth musical production.
Scenic and costume design duties for Spring Awakening are shared by
Dane Laffrey and
Christopher Scott Murillo; lighting design is byTravis Hagenbuch; sound design is by
Philip G. Allen; projection design is by Brent Stewart; and hair design is by Carol Doran. ASL Masters are Anthony Natale,
Elizabeth Greene and Shoshannah Stern. The production stage manager is T.J. Kearney and production manager isFrier McCollister. David J. Kurs, Christopher Sepulveda and Ann E. Wareham produce for
Deaf West Theatre. The production was developed and previously workshopped with Deaf West by
Michael Arden and
Andy Mientus.
Spring Awakening runs Sept. 13 through Oct. 19, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Five preview performances take place Sunday, Sept. 7 at 3 p.m., and Tuesday, Sept. 9 through Friday, Sept. 12, all at 8 p.m. Performances take place in the Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts, 720 Kohler Street in downtown L.A. (just south of the Arts District). For reservations and information, call (818) 762-2998 (voice) or go to
www.deafwest.org.
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