Spring Awakening (Broadway: Deaf West) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (1,429)
See it if You want to see emotional, deeply felt theatre, with an amazing score, and astonishing performances. The show is not to be missed.
Don't see it if You have issues with frank portrayals and discussions of teen sexuality.
See it if you want to see a new take on a classic musical.
Don't see it if you're not into musicals that deal with darker issues.
See it if You love moving performances, a tight pop/rock score, and innovative theater. This revival breathes new life into an already brilliant show.
Don't see it if You are easily offended by sexual content or suffer from sensory overload.
See it if You want something different
Don't see it if You are easily offended
See it if You want to be blown away by the abilities of a stellar creative team and cast. This show is phenomenal in its current run. Pure brilliance.
Don't see it if You will have trouble keeping track of the deaf actors and the hearing actors. There is a lot to pay attention to in addition to the script.
See it if you want an interesting new style of theater, told in a way that you've never seen before.
Don't see it if you're not a fan of mature content.
See it if you're into a new way to look at a show. It has everything and it's an amazing revival.
Don't see it if you should see it.
See it if You want to be moved. The story is already moving and angsty, with the use of sign language, it was taken to a whole new level. BRILLIANT!
Don't see it if Sex makes you uncomfortable (in which case maybe you should see it ).
Critic Reviews (61)
"The juxtaposition of the story's 1891 setting and the intense, heart-pumping, contemporary score by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater remains fresh, but the added element of a combined deaf and hearing cast gives 'Spring' an extra jolt...'Spring Awakening' is a refreshing challenge to the rigid Broadway template."
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"Those unfamiliar with the story may find this production’s clumsy handling of its sharp turns jarring rather than emotionally dizzying. The evocative score is rather more atmospheric than plot-driven, a quality mostly unmatched by the production...The company navigate their roles with finesse and feeling...Individual performances and breakthrough moments that marry signing and storytelling make for emotional impact, one that’s felt in fits and starts rather than as major payoff."
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"Deaf West, Michael Arden, and their extraordinary team reinvented this ravishing musical and created something truly mesmerizing...This production is not only important, it deserves to be seen by an even wider audience...Deaf West Theatre’s 'Spring Awakening' is one that will go down in the history books. It’s quite extraordinary when you can improve upon perfection. Dare I say, it's better than the original."
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"This new 'Awakening' finds added resonance in the musical's warnings against the tyranny of ignorance and small-mindedness. Director Michael Arden has recruited a superb cast that includes actors from the deaf community, and incorporated American Sign Language into the show...It's a darkly sumptuous, ultimately uplifting feast for the ears and eyes."
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"I wasn't really moved by the production itself...I was intrigued by the new production’s concept of highlighting the miscommunication between the generations by making many of the youngsters deaf and literally unable to speak to their parents or hear them...When I actually saw the show, I found its conceit of having deaf actors sign their dialogue and song lyrics while hearing actors simultaneously speak and sing the same lines to be distracting and to lessen the emotion."
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"True, there are lighter, and more feel-good, musicals on Broadway now than 'Spring Awakening.' But Arden proves here that a dark musical can be a very stirring—and soulful--experience. And it just might change your perception of the Deaf community."
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"The results are moving and both visually and musically impressive, if ultimately a bit repetitious. Although the production never quite delivers the knotted punch of the sharp-edged original, the teens' stifled internal lives roil with the power of outsider-ness and communication crises that transcend straightforward storytelling."
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"Theatergoers coming to this raw story for the first time will find a musical with even more layers than the production that first seduced Broadway. The addition of sign language encourages a closer look at 'Spring Awakening.'"
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