Theatre fans and Duncan Sheik fans may remember Spring Awakening as the scrappy, sexy rock hit that brought us Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff. Last year's Deaf West revival, comprised of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing actors was a new take on an already powerful musical. The Spring Awakening performance at the Tony Awards showed the world this beautiful reinterpretation after Marlee Matlin introduced the gorgeous performance.
Yup, this production of Spring Awakening is told entirely through sign language, with some singers providing accompaniment for the hearing audience members from the side of the stage. Though the show is nominated for Best Revival, this performance almost didn't happen. The show has already closed and left Broadway, so getting together a Tony performance required a little extra work and funding. That also means that, unfortunately, you won't get to see this production or this cast in New York anymore. The Tony performance is your last chance. So, Deaf West and Spring Awakening crowdfunded money via Kickstarter to be able to perform at the Tonys. (You can still donate — additional proceeds will go to support Deaf West.) Watch the performance below.
When the original cast of the show performed in 2007, they sang an edited medley of "Mama Who Bore Me," "The B*tch of Living," and "Totally F*cked." This year's cast started the same way, with the interpreters and ensemble band members joining the cast on stage. We got little tastes of "Mama Who Bore Me" and then the entirety of "The B*tch Of Living." No "totally blanked" this year, y'all!
The Spring Awakening revival also features Ali Stroker, the first actor in a wheelchair ever on Broadway. How incredible is that? This truly was a spectacular and revolutionary year for musical theatre all around.
