Photo by Joan Marcus

Critics are hailing the new show Spring Awakening for reinventing the Broadway musical. Based on a 19th-century German play that was controversial for decades, Spring Awakening deals with teenage sexuality and includes incest, sadomasochism and rape.

…The musical is set in 1891, but the songs themselves are indie-rock modern in sound — and timeless in content. In one scene, German school boys in drab uniforms and brutally parted hair conjugate Latin verbs. Suddenly, one boy leaps up, pulls a microphone from his jacket and sings. The idea is that we’re hearing teenagers’ inner thoughts –- and those haven’t changed much over generations. (more…)

(also includes 3 songs from the show: “All That’s Known”, “The B**** Of Living”, “The Word Of Your Body”)

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