Theater review: A rebel yell in 'Spring Awakening'

Masturbation, squirming sex, curiosity about spanking -- it might be deep winter in Minnesota but the eruptive, libidinal musical "Spring Awakening" is a reminder that it is not only in the crooks of trees where the sap will soon flow.

Juices stir the loins and the tongues of hormone-addled youth in this Tony Award-winning musical, propelling them into rebel yells against obtuse, repressive parents who just don't understand. Confusion, confession and, ultimately, tragedy follow.

"Awakening" bowed in Minneapolis on Tuesday at the Orpheum Theatre with all the attitude and angst that attend teenage desire and self-discovery. Yet director Michael Mayer's well-staged sex scenes are not, by themselves, what makes the musical a generational breakthrough. "Oh! Calcutta!" and "Hair" paved that road.

Nor is the show's moody punk and alt-rock music all that memorable; it has only a couple of hummable melodies, including "O, I'm gonna be wounded ... O, you're gonna be my bruise."

What makes "Awakening" feel so fresh and new, and also justifies the hype that follows it from New York, is how successfully creators Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, who adapted it from Frank Wedekind's tragedy, were able to mash up a repressive historic setting with a new sound.

These kids may be stuck in provincial, late 19th-century Germany, where the action takes place, but when they pull out microphones from inside their jackets and begin to deliver wailing or plaintive numbers such as "The Bitch of Living," "My Junk" and "Totally F-ed," it is clear that they belong to the future.

"Awakening" centers on a group of teenagers coming of age in a rote-education society that would be ripe for a Pink Floyd parody ("We don't need no education ... "). The youngsters include Latin whiz Melchior (Kyle Riabko) and his rebel friend Moritz (Blake Bashoff). The group also includes Melchior's girlfriend, Wendla (Christy Altomare).

They come up against an obtuse "parentocracy," including teachers and clergy, with tragic results. But the main flaw in "Awakening" is that these adult figures (played with distinction by Angela Reed and Henry Stram) are ciphers. They are telescoped foils for the youngsters.

Still, the show benefits from a terrific cast. Gifted performers Riabko and Bashoff, who also played their respective roles on Broadway, are totally in the moment. And Bashoff, with a shock of hair, suggests that he could be a Sex Pistol. Altomare is an edgy, beautiful singer who digs deep to find Wendla's naivete and innocence.

Shakespeare's plays are often transposed to ever more exotic locales, sometimes to bad effect. Sater and Sheik, with teammates that include choreographer Bill T. Jones, scenic designer Christine Jones and expressive conductor Jared Stein, deliver us firmly into the libidinal discoveries of 19th-century teenagers. The conceit makes for a thrilling "Awakening."

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390