Playhouse Stage Company announced the opening of a brand new production of the celebrated musical Spring Awakening, playing at Cohoes Music Hall through April 28, with 7:30 p.m. evening performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays.
Playhouse Stage has produced free outdoor summer musicals at Albany’s Park Playhouse since 1989 and has been presenting musicals year-round at the historic Cohoes Music Hall since 2016. Spring Awakening is a rock musical based on a 19th-century German play of the same name and explores the challenges of adolescence and coming of age in a repressive world. The production plays April 12-28, 2024.
The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Spring Awakening features a book and lyrics by Steven Sater, and a rock-infused score by Duncan Sheik. About its original 2006 Broadway production The New York Observer wrote, “Once in a generation, if we’re lucky, an unexpected new musical comes along and changes everything. That is the thrilling achievement of Spring Awakening.” With electrifying music that Entertainment Weekly called “the most gorgeous Broadway score of the decade,” and a fearless approach to important, often taboo topics, including suicide, sexual assault, and child abuse, Spring Awakening grips audiences with an intense emotional journey.
We are excited to give our very talented teen students a chance to work on such a relevant, challenging, and exciting piece of theatre. Many themes and topics explored in Spring Awakening are often referred to as adult subject matter, but these are things that teenagers deal with daily, and it is important to shine a light on them. We are extremely proud of both our students and our creative team for handling the mature subject matter in such a professional manner, and rising to the occasion to tell this vital story so effectively.
Playhouse Stage Producing Artistic Director Owen Smith
The production is directed by Playhouse Stage Managing Director, Chuck Kraus, with choreography and musical staging by Director of Education Ashley Simone Kirchner, and musical direction by Brandon Jones. The trio has helmed the Playhouse’s advanced teen productions since 2016. Rounding out the Creative Team as Intimacy Director is Yvonne Perry in her first Playhouse Stage Company collaboration. The youth roles in the production are performed by advanced teen students from the Playhouse Stage Academy theatre training program, alongside local professional performers Ellen Cribbs and Nick.
Tickets for Spring Awakening are on sale through The Cohoes Music Hall Box Office, by phone at 518-434- 0776, or online.
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