Spring Awakening: A New Musical

Amazon.com Who would have thought that Duncan Sheik would succeed where Paul Simon and Randy Newman failed, successfully transitioning from the pop-rock world to the Broadway stage? With Spring Awakening, Sheik and book writer/lyricist Steven Slater (who had already worked on Sheik's 2001 album Phantom Moon) have created a thoroughly exciting show that incorporates a contemporary art-indie idiom (including a small rock band instead of an orchestra) into a dramatic musical-theater context. The unlikely setting is that of a Frank Wedekind adaptation, but as it turns out, teenage angst is perennial, whether it's in contemporary America or in a 1891 German boarding school. Songs such as "The Bitch of Living" ("with nothing going on, asking just what went wrong"), "The Word of Your Body," "I Don't Do Sadness," and "Totally Fucked" ("You're fucked if you speak your mind and you know you will") resonate with the rage, frustration, confusion, excitement, joy, anger, and of course budding lust of those hormone-driven years. The show is greatly enhanced by its youthful cast members (they're all pretty close in age to their characters), who sing their hearts out. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Product description Spring Awakening ~ Soundtrack Review "Best of all is Sheik's melodic and impressive pop/rock score. This music will continue to be heard years from now." -- The Daily News "Once in a generation a new musical comes along that changes everything." -- New York Observer (June 11, 2007- New York, NY) Spring Awakening, the controversial rock musical about 19th century German teens coming to terms with their emerging sexuality, dominated the 61st Annual Tony Awards held June 10th at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City with eight wins, including the top honor of Best Musical. Additional categories the show swept included Best Score (composer Duncan Sheik and lyricist Steven Sater), Best Book of a Musical (Sater), Best Direction of a Musical (Michael Mayer), Best Performance by a Featured Actor (John Gallager Jr.), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones) and Best Orchestration (Sheik). Spring Awakening's Tony success story comes on the heels of an exciting award season for the show. The musical garnered three Outer Critics Circle Awards, four Drama Desk Awards and a Drama League Award, all including top honors for a musical. With music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Steven Sater, Spring Awakening is a beautiful, striking and thought-provoking listen in the theatre and on disc. The Decca Broadway Cast Recording debuted at #3 on the Billboard Broadway Album Chart earlier this year and has been holding steady ever since. Critics across the board agree the show and its music take musical theatre to new frontiers of excellence. Elysa Gardner of USA Today noted the score "veers from haunting ballads to exuberant post-punk tirades," New York Magazine enthused; "Spring Awakening explodes in a burst of power pop," and Entertainment Weekly gave the album an "A" review, noting it is the "most gorgeous (and occasionally rocking-out) ...score of this decade." -- Decca Label Group / Decca Broadway
ASIN: B000J3FBFC
VSKU: DBV.B000J3FBFC.A
Condition: Acceptable
Author/Artist:Lea Michele|Jonathan Groff|Brian Johnson|Lauren Pritchard|Gideon Glick|Duncan Sheik|John Gallagher Jr.|Lilli Cooper|Skylar Astin|Steven Sater
Binding: Audio cd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case will show wear, and may be in library packaging. Ships fast!