Spring Awakening

So you may or may not know about my little obsession with a little musical called Spring Awakening. It's pretty much my favorite show. Ever. Since I first saw it back in the fall it has become my default soundtrack. Wonderful music written by Duncan Sheik, wonderful story, wonderful acting, wonderful everything. Everyone in this show is under 21. The first time I saw it I cried about 5 times during the show. It's Just That Amazing. Also the first time I saw it, I saw the understudy for the lead male (Jonathan Groff), and it was literally the first time Jonathan had not done the show. Ever. So, I was a little sad panda, but it was kind of a cool thing to be able to say to the cult following that I WAS THERE the first time Jonathan didn't perform.

The second time I saw it I was supposed to sit on stage. If you haven't seen the show, just picture 3 rows of seats on either side of the stage where a few audience members sit. It's incredibly hard to get these tickets, given that there are only about 20 for each show, but I got some. However, my friend Justin who was my +1 was coming up from Philly and, true to form, New Jersey Transit was sucking at life and made him late. Unfortunately with on stage seats you can't just casually walk into your seats late. Kind of distracting to, oh right, everyone. Soooo I basically walked around prior to the show trying to find someone to switch seats. Which I did. Also this time around Jonathan Groff was doing some TV show. Lame. Understudy again.

Third time around was with my fabulous friend Bridgette. This time around there was a new Ilse and a new Moritz. And an understudy for the female lead. Briefly- Ilse is my favorite character and the original Ilse's voice is a smoky and mellow and so soothing. The new Ilse- not so much. I mean, she's fine, but nothing like the original. Neither in look nor in sound. Boo. The new Mortiz- excellent. But at least we saw Jonathan Groff. Finally. Uh-May-Zing. We're talking a fierce command of the stage. This guy is the real deal. It was wonderful to see him. But it made me want to see him AND Lea Michele (the female lead) TOGETHER. Many of you are thinking "This girl is nuts, she has to be kidding, who really cares?" Oh but I'm not. And I do.

This past Friday at long last I saw the show sitting on stage. With the fabulous Kate Russo. If you're counting, yes, that's the fourth time. We were pretty certain we would get kicked OFF the stage because we would be so unable to control our desire to sing along full voice, or just, say, get up and join the actors in the show. Which would also be distracting to, say, everyone. But alas, we dug down deep inside and made ourselves find a modicum of self-control. And we saw the full cast, no substitutions. Jon AND Lea TOGETHER. Woh. Sitting on stage made me feel like I was IN the show. Like I was in the wings of MY show, watching MY friends, as I've done for so many shows throughout my life. I could watch the audience reactions. I could watch the cast interactions. I could see all of the little things that you miss when you're in the audience that, at least for me, add so much to the show. The intimacy. The spark. The FUN. And still, even at the fourth time, I was not bored, on the contrary, I was had a blast. However, I was very happy it wasn't my first time, because you definitely miss much of the BIG picture (like, say, always having someone's back to you) being on stage. But, good for my fourth time around.

And it made me want to see it again. I am not even kidding you, it's like this compulsive need to see it. See Jon and Lea together, from the audience. Their chemistry is so intense, it just draws you in. And they both are leaving the show May. So the current thought is to see it on their last day. Because that's not something I've done yet. And when you have addictions, you find any way to justify JUST ONE MORE. Not that it's an addiction or anything. Just hypothetically speaking.

I'll keep you posted. But seriously, see the show before May 18th if you haven't seen it yet. You will not be disappointed.