4.5/5 stars

It’s no surprise that a play about sex-crazed teens sticking it to the man would be turned into a rock musical. What is surprising is that it took nearly a century for people of all generations to embrace a work so true to the universal human experience of coming of age. In fact, it was deemed “pornographic” in 1891. Is it then surprising that the play went on to win eight Tony Awards in 2007 as a Broadway musical? A sign of the times, perhaps.

Conceived by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik as essentially an unmodernized alternative-rock adaptation of the play of the same name by German playwright Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening proves once again that sex is real, that knowledge is good, and that people prefer pop music to Sondheim.

Originally written (and quickly banned) in Germany, Spring Awakening explodes with pent-up teenage angst, expounding youth’s rebellion against the sexually repressive, uptight “parentocracy” of the early 20th century. Reincarnated as a rock musical, the production is vivid and hard-hitting, the characters dynamic and lovable and the delivery risque.

The show opens with the baroque-pop inspired “Mama Who Bore Me” and wastes no time diving headfirst into the sexual confusion of the young Wendla (Christy Altomare), a naive teen begging her mother to describe intercourse. Her mother, too prude, too uptight, too embarrassed, fails utterly, fails to even try. The tone is set.

And then a classroom full of nervous German schoolboys erupts into a rock and roll concert. They pull microphones from their uniforms and dance on the desks. Neon lights blaze on the stage and the band is all guitar riffs and crash symbols. This frantic outburst of rock ‘n’ roll happens again and again. It never gets old and never seems out of place.

The music tends more toward simple, hook-driven pop than even most “rock” musicals allow. Songs like “The Bitch of Living” rely more on the power and presence of the singer than delicate composition or the annoying tendency to try to propel the plot of the story through song.

The plot rests instead in the hands of the dark-horse lead Melchior (Kyle Riabko), who holds and distributes the “obscene” knowledge of the genitalia throughout his school. His closest friend, the punkish Moritz (Blake Bashoff), is plagued by wet dreams that take over his greek conjugations, then his academic standing and ultimately his sanity.

It is worth mentioning that all of the adult roles are played by the same two actors. This has the wonderful effect of homogenizing the teachers and parental figures in the play and imparting a clever indication of a deep-rooted generational divide.

The play is indeed bold, leaving few sexual corners unilluminated, including but not limited to rape, masturbation, homosexuality and sadomasochism. And the cast juggles these sometimes funny, sometimes serious, often downright awkward facets of sexuality with the wonderful impulsiveness of a confused adolescent. Wendla’s youthful indiscretion is perfectly charming, and yet, when she asks Melchior to spank her, it somehow all makes sense.

Unfortunately, and this could be the only weak point of the production, the sex-fueled adrenaline rush of the first act seems to wear off by the second, giving way to a swirling build-up of deep melancholy and character rebirth. Understood, the tone is decidedly different, dealing now with morality and mortality, a difficult theme to wrap up with a grand finale rock song, but the closer, “Purple Summer,” is definitely one of the more uninspired songs of the production.

Either way, Spring Awakening is a big deal. If anything, it shows that teenage desperation is a truly beautiful thing. See it if you can, for not too often does a big-name Broadway production come around that feels as much your own as, say, the pornography under your bed.

Reach reporter Trevor Pendras at arts@thedailyuw.com.