Out North Contemporary Art House and Be Here Now present the Tony-award winning rock musical Spring Awakening in its Alaska premiere at Out North. Spring Awakening will be presented on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from July 20 to August 5.

Spring Awakening is a modern rock musical about teenagers discovering the agony and ecstasy of sex in the shadows of social politics and pressures during late 19th century Germany. Featuring music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater, it’s a musical adaptation of a controversial 1892 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind which was banned in Germany for a period due to its frank portrayal of abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse, and suicide.

The Anchorage production is directed by Caleb Bourgeois and choreographed by Hannah Gauthier. The cast, largely comprising Anchorage youth, includes Coleman Alguire, Joey Chu, Ashley Glore, Nico Bringold, Amanda Winkleman, Christina Howell, Mark Bautista, Anthony Lounsbury, Vicente Capala, Megan Perkins, Lala Araki, Jared Long, Karina Becker, and Megan Harty.

Director Caleb Bourgeois discussed the production in an interview with Heather Hamilton of The Northern Light, the student newspaper of University of Alaska Anchorage:

“The play takes place in late 19th century Germany, and surrounds a group of adolescents on the cusp of adulthood who are just coming into their sexuality. The play zeros in on several different struggles, including their lack of understanding and a refusal by adults to explain what they are going through.

“It essentially centers around Coleman [Alguire]’s character, Melchior Gabor, who’s this kind of rebel, knowledgable, intelligent guy who’s just trying to get through. Joe [Chu]’s character, his best friend  Moritz Stiefel, is kind of the guy who just can’t get ahead and he’s always down on his luck. Wendla Bergmann, Ashley [Glore]’s character, is this girl on the brink of womanhood, going through her own thing of self-discovery as well,” said Bourgeois. “It’s really a story about all these different kids and how difficult it is to be this age, whether it’s in this time or the past.”

Read The Northern Light‘s article for more about this exciting production.

In 2007, Spring Awakening was nominated in for 11 Tony Awards, winning in 8 categories including best musical, direction, book, score, and featured actor. It also took four Drama Desk Awards, and the London production won four Olivier Awards.

• Date/time: July 20 through August 5: Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM.
• Location: Out North Contemporary Art House, 3800 DeBarr Road, Anchorage (see map)
• Age: For mature audiences / contains adult themes.
• Cost of admission: Students $20; general admission$25. Tickets available in advance through Centertix.
• Further info: see Facebook events page