No, it's not "the next Rent," thank goodness

I saw "Spring Awakening" last night at the Atlantic, and while I wouldn't go so far as to say that I was blown away, it is by far one of the best new musicals that I have seen in quite a while.

The musical juxtaposes an adaptation of a late 19th century Frank Wedeking play of the same name and rock songs with music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, respectively. The word anachronism doesn't even begin to describe the sight of seeing German students of the play's period suddenly grab a microphone and scream out lyrics to songs with titles such as "The Bitch of Living" and "Totally Fucked."

The theme is a familiar one: Kids in their early and mid teens choke in the Puritanical world of rigid, righteous adults. In this case, all the adult characters are played ably Mary McCann and Frank Wood. At the center of the story is Melchior (Jonathan Groff), the typical precocious rebel who explores literature and knowledge of sex far beyond what his society expects. His underachieving schoolmate Moritz (John Gallagher Jr.), meanwhile, is haunted by sexual dreams that he doesn't have the means to understand. They're both better off than Wendla (Lea Michele), whose own sexual knowledge has only recently gone beyond, albeit not too far beyond, the stork.

Needless to say, any move counter to society in a world where the adults range from apathetic to hostile does not go smoothly, and all three become more and more alienated until they each reach their own final tragedies. In other words, don't expect a happy dance number at the end of this one.

In our sometimes overly simplified way of looking at things, some have put together the equation that rock music + rebellious youths + musical theatre = Rent II. Not quite, I'm happy to report. These kids are nowhere near as worldly or tragically wise as the characters in Rent, and outside of their songs, they are as immodern as a Jane Austen heroine. Sater wisely foregoes any impulse to update the play, which makes the anachronism much more effective than, say, the neo-fascist world of the ill-conceived "Jesus Christ Superstar" revival a few years ago.

All three of the lead characters are superb, as is Jonathan B. Wright in the smaller role of Hanschen, the seductive gay student whose Act II number "Word of Your Body" (a reprise from the first act) is a fine tension break in the otherwise heavy final portion of the show.

"Spring Awakening" uses the unique convention of seating some of the audience members in chairs lining both sides of the stage, and the characters often sit and act among them during the show. Given the poor behavior of some theatre-goers -- I can just see someone answering a cell phone call onstage in the middle of the show -- this is a risky move, but last night, at least, the convention worked.

Some reviews have said the lyrics and songs can be a bit repetitive and trite. I had trouble hearing all the words at times because I was one of the lucky audience members onstage and was seated right next to the drum player. Overall, I thought the songs worked perfectly for the show. They were the kind of muddled thoughts you would expect from someone who is decades away from understanding what rock music is. It's no accident that the adult characters have virtually no presence in the songs at all (except for a hilariously spastic dance in "Totally Fucked").

Usually this would be the point where I would include show information, but the bad news is that "Spring Awakening" closed today. Fortunately, however, a Broadway transfer is in the works, and it will be back sometime next season. Two lead characters have upcoming projects: Michele will be Eponine in the revived "Les Miserables," and Groff will be in the Paper Mill's "Godspell," so I'd imagine those parts will have to be recast. Kate Burton also recently made a one-night appearance in the show, stepping in for McCann, so it wouldn't surprise me if she ended up taking over the role on Broadway in an effort to add a name to the show. Tough call on that one. McCann's a great actress, but I'm always happy for any excuse to see Burton on Broadway. Either way, I look forward to seeing this show again when it returns.