Spring Awakening

When the Townsville Choral Society announced that their next musical was to be Spring Awakening, a lot of people, including me, were quite surprised. This modern (2006) rock musical graphically touches on abortion, homosexuality, child sexual abuse and suicide…amongst other themes. It was a courageous decision to stage it.

So, how did this Broadway hit cope with a plot written nearly 110 years ago but transformed into a 21^st century musical? The answer is – wonderfully well. The story is still set in the original time, and continually jumping from the morals and attitudes of that era into modern idiom and rock music takes a little getting used to.

The young cast is excellent. Finn Buckle and Amelia Doolan as the two central characters hold the story together with their totally believable love entanglement. Lachlan Greenland as the angst ridden Moritz is outstanding. In fact the entire ensemble is vibrant, energetic and virtually flawless. Rachel Cairns and Brett Greenland do a great job playing all the adult roles.

Liam Mooney leads a band of nine talented musicians and they deserved the tumultuous applause they received on opening night. Director Sandra Neal has put together an amazing show. With graphic depictions of the themes, children under 13 were discouraged from attending, However, I was completely blown away by the cast, the music and the story.

Ray Dickson

Photos by Chrissy McGuire.