Peacock Players Present Wedekind's SPRING AWAKENING 7/17 Thru 7/19

Peacock Players, New Hampshire's premiere award-winning youth theatre, is proud to present the play Spring Awakening at the 14 Court Street Theatre, in Nashua, NH for three exclusive performances in July.

The inspiration of Broadway's most talked about musical and the biggest Tony Award-winner in recent years; Spring Awakening is a German play by Frank Wedekind, with a new translation by Jonathan Franzen.

First performed under heavy censorship in Germany in 1906, Frank Wedekind's play closed after one night in New York in 1917 amid public outrage and charges of obscenity. The play's mature content regarding teenage sex, suicide, and abortion was radical indeed; but even more radical was the unsentimental and brutally authentic comedy with which Wedekind treated it.

The story traces the dawning sexual awareness of four teenagers, Melchior, Moritz, Wendla, and Hansy, who, in their painfully funny contradictions, are at once too innocent and not remotely innocent at all.

Spring Awakening will be directed by New Hampshire Theatre Award winning director and Peacock Players Resident Artist, Timothy L'Ecuyer.

The cast features Alyssa Dumas (of Manchester) as Wendla, Tyler Christie (of Hampstead) as Melchior, Cameron Van Dyke (of Brookline) as Moritz, Kyle Goleman (of Nashua) as Hansy, and an extraordinary ensemble of New Hampshire's most recognized and awarded young performers.

This exclusive Peacock Players Summer Mainstage production will be sponsored in part by Costumes of Nashua, and the Telegraph ENCORE.

"When we decided to bring this show to the Peacock Players Summer Mainstage season, we knew that the issues explored in Frank Wedekind's 1891 controversial play were still relevant today," says Artistic Director Keith Weirich. "Due to the popular Broadway musical, and our personal association to the Broadway production, Spring Awakening has become a cross-generational experience for our students that continues to transcend age and cultural barriers."

The Broadway musical production of Spring Awakening, which recently closed on January 17th, starred Nashua native and Peacock Players alumni, Alexandra Socha, in the leading role as Wendla Bergmann. "Alexandra has been eagerly involved in sharing her experiences with the Broadway production with her Peacock friends here at home," says Weirich. "It's rewarding to witness students, of the same age, performing on Broadway and performing in Nashua at the same time - inspiring each other."

"We have received such a positive response to this project, not just from young people, but from parents wanting to share their unique experience with the subject matter in helping to start conversation with their sons and daughters," says director L'Ecuyer. "The play opens doors to discuss the topics the "adults in the show" fear to discuss or are determined to ignore. We have been surprised and gratified by the fact that so many parents are inspired to such meaningful dialogue."

"We hope that our audiences will find our production of Spring Awakening not only entertaining, but thought provoking and insightful into the teenage issues that are experienced in every century," says L'Ecuyer.

Weirich adds, "Spring Awakening is the best play ever written about teenagers. In a culture where lies about adolescence prevail, this funny and honest play is more relevant than ever. I think every teenager and parent should see this show."

Spring Awakening marks the first production of Peacock Players 2009 Summer Mainstage season. The award-winning youth theatre will also present the Broadway smash-hit musical Grease in August. For more information regarding Peacock Players upcoming auditions, Mainstage productions, classes, and Summer Camp - please visit www.peacockplayers.org.

Spring Awakening performances are Friday, July 17th @ 7pm, Saturday, July 18th @ 7pm, and Sunday, July 19th @ 2pm. To purchase tickets or for more information, please call the Box Office at (603) 886-7000, x91 or visit www.peacockplayers.org.

 

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