Tori Savona Song/Book/Movie Essay The Scene opens abruptly, leaving me confused and surprised, yet calmed. A warm set of strings, a deep base included, wash over, infecting my whole body, paralyzing my senses so all I can do is hear. Slowly chimes come in along with the sweet melodic voice of a young girl who stands on a chair studying her newly mature figure. It’s the awakening of Spring, and I’m sitting in the Proctor’s theater watching Spring Awakening. Close after the audience is assaulted by a reprise of this starting beautiful song, and all the sudden my warmth turns to excitement. The song includes a background of pulsing yet legato violins, a strong beat of a drum, and harmonies that make me want to get up and dance. Up next comes a school boy scene. Chants of latin change the scene. The bold and pulsing chants are mesmerizing as the lead boy’s melodic voice drifts over them like beautiful birds flying South. The rest of the show follows wrenching my senses and feelings every which way. Songs flop from beautiful slow harmonies, and dissonance to large jam sessions when the entire audience can’t help but tap a food or dance a little in their seats. Every single song has it’s own meaning and dovetails with the dialogue in a way that I didn’t even know what hit me. Never before had I seen sheer perfection and something that could wash over me such as this. The music itself made me feel in parts of my body that I never knew that I possessed. Some songs brought me to tears. Intermission came after the literal “climax” of the story. Once the house lights turned on I wanted to cry. Why so soon? Can’t they just skip intermission for now, please? I couldn’t move, I
just wanted the beauty to wash over me again, over and over. The 15 minutes seemed like hours. Once it began, I thought I was going to jump out of my skin. The second act was even more powerful, to the point where I didn’t know how to contain myself. I wanted to cry and laugh and get up and dance, and go on stage and join them and sing until my lungs and diaphragm give out. The ending regretfully came, but I could accept it. The end brought a closure that felt like a warm blanket wrapped over my body. Once it ended all I wanted to do was go home and listen to the soundtrack over and over again. The second I got in the car on the way home I plugged in my ipod and listened to the music. Songs that I used to listen to had no meaning until now. I listened to the soundtrack, but that was only the tip of the ice berg without seeing the play itself. Sitting in the car every scene came to me again over and over. It was like watching the play again in my head. That week and weekend, my obsession grew. I went back to see Spring Awakening for a total of 3 times. When I went on Saturday, I even sat on stage. Once it ended Sunday night and the tour had to pack up, I felt as though my soul was leaving with them, headed for Connecticut. During school all week, I would listen to the music at every chance I could get. I wore long sleeves and fished my ear phone up my arm and put my ear on my hand, listening to the music and pretending to listen to my teacher. Every moment I could get, it was Spring Awakening filling my ears and soul. This continued for a couple weeks. Now I still fall asleep with it playing, but sometimes I change it up and put different songs on. Never before had something controlled me, possessed me, like this had. There are certain songs, yes, that have had this effect (including Eric Whitacre’s “Sleep”) but when so many songs are put together into one, it becomes so much more powerful.
This show brought everything to the table. All the troubles of my teenage years that I am experiencing are okay, and I’m not alone. Everyone around me is going through these troubles with me. It brings fourth the conflicting ideas of sexuality, homosexuality, pregnancy, abortion, suicide and others in our troubled society today. If every parent and politician saw this play, many ignorant thoughts will be no more, and problems will be prevented. Spring Awakening will continue to change lives as it did mine.