From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 20: A Review, "In the Heights" at Downtown Cabaret, Bridgeport

By James V. Ruocco

A refreshing frozen fruit Piragua.
A heat wave, a power cut, a sunset.
A fireworks display of bright rainbow colors.
A stolen kiss between two people who are about to become lovers.
A winning lottery ticket.
The loss of a business, an unexpected death, a chatty rap of syncopated awakening.
A bodega owner's dream of returning to his parents' birthplace.

That electrifying sound of Hispanic zing and spirit you hear coming from the cozy environs of the Downtown Cabaret isn't the latest episode of a sexy, sun-drenched telenovela  starring William Levy and Jacqueline Bracamontes. Instead, that loud, contagious sound of celebration belongs to Lin-Manuel Miranda's rap-meets-salsa musical "In the Heights," which began life on Broadway back in 2008, long before "Hamilton," that $3,000-$6,000 a-ticket, hip-hop Broadway musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton. 
Not to worry.
You can see this one for much less ($33.00 a ticket).

"In the Heights," which won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Musical Score, is set in the barrio of New York's Washington Heights neighborhood. Here, a variety of its colorful inhabitants become Miranda's mouthpiece as they sing and dance about their troubled lives, their financial and romantic problems, their lusts and longings, their familial conflicts and finally, their desire to break away from the community, in search of a better place...god willing.

From the moment the cast takes center stage at Downtown Cabaret to sing the opening "In the Heights" production number to the joyful closing anthem "When the Sun Goes Down," this revival of Miranda's earlier work, delights, cajoles and works you into a frenzied state of wicked, delicious, sweaty delirium. This experience is further enlivened by the musical's zesty Latin pop and salsa score and the good and hopeful cheer of Quiara Alegria Hudes play script. Plus, a colorful scenic design by William Russell Stark and Phill Hill's (lighting design)  swirling array of rainbow colors guaranteed to put even the most discerning of theatergoers in a partying mood.

Director Christy McIntosh-Newsom embraces the "In the Heights" material with confidence and brio. The harsh realities of barrio life, the continued tug-of war between people fighting for survival or escape, rings loud and clear. As does the different personalities of the individuals who populate the neighborhood. A passionate director, Newsom, of course, leaves no stone unturned. She always knows what buttons to push, who to thrust into the spotlight, what plot twist to amplify or downgrade and how to get a laughs from some choice, cheeky Hispanic one-liners, body language and innuendo. 

The snap, crackle and pop choreography of "In the Heights" has been envisioned by Emily Frangipane, a very talented interpreter whose previous Downtown Cabaret credits include "Spring Awakening," "Evita" and "American Idiot." Here, Frangipane crafts some dizzying, innovative dance moves and production numbers, which instinctively reflect the themes and mechanics of Miranda's feel good musical. But since the cast is comprised of essentially nonprofessional dancers, some of the show's bigger musical moments never achieve their anticipated Broadway momentum or leap off the stage and hit you smack in the face, causing you to jump up and shout "Bravo."
Nonetheless,  Frangipane plunges forward. And in, turn, the jagged, raw, flat-out truths of the "In the Heights" dance material and its varying pulses and rhythms are never lost. And, that, in itself, is quite an accomplishment.

The always engaging Eli Newsom.....back again as music director...takes hold of Lin-Manual Miranda's pungent, enthusiastic score and adapts it nicely to the smaller space of the Downtown Cabaret without ever once losing its exciting pulse, spicy flavor and piping hot Hispanic beats. From the moment the show begins till the curtain call, 2 1/2 hrs. later, Newsom and his talented band members Josh Sette, Christopher Cavaliere, Charles Casimiro, Gabe Nappi, Mark Dennis and Brendan Stavris keep everyone on stage and in the audience deliriously entertained without ever once missing a single beat. They are not just playing the score, they are living it. Big difference!

The song list for "In the Heights," as devised by Miranda, is serviceable to the plot, its characters and it Hispanic roots and surroundings. Nothing is thrown it just for the sake of giving certain leads and supporting players extra stage time. Nor is anything in the music and lyrics overly preachy, corny and dripping with sentiment. Everything is mapped out perfectly. There are showstoppers, glossy comic numbers that reflect the in-your-face life of the barrio, sweet and sassy ballads, tender duets and others that are designed to get under your skin and linger long after "In the Heights" has ended.

In the role of Unsavi de la Vega, the role originated by Miranda in the 2008 Tony award-winning Broadway production, Marcello Calderon, is a natural showman and entertainer who clearly enjoys being on stage, singing, acting and narrating the "In the Heights" story. Throughout the entire production, he is wonderfully animated, charming and personable. He makes you care about every one of the characters and the joy and sadness that unfolds. He is also an actor who can get everyone up on stage front and center for a celebratory neighborhood dance or shed a tear when a beloved character dies suddenly during the first half of Act II. Moreover, he brings a sense of urgency to the proceedings that keep things  real and reflective despite familiar themes of chasing dreams, financial debt, a better life and a romantic sub-plot than harkens memories of Tony and Maria from "West Side Story."

Alexis Willoughby, cast in the role of the street-smart, take-charge, often vivacious Daniela, is commanding, sexy, vibrant, comic and so in sync with her character and role in the story, she is the real deal. We not only get her and her character's desire to close up shop (she owns a beauty salon) and move to the Bronx, we cheer her every step of the way, hoping she will succeed. Vocally, she's absolutely dynamic.

The charismatic Jessica Paige Brown, who plays the pivotal role of Nina Rosario is both vigorous and high-spirited. She truthfully projects the portrait of a young woman who made it out of the barrio, only to return home (she has dropped out of Stanford University) troubled, confused and uncertain about the path that lies ahead. She is well matched opposite the tremendously talented Everton Ricketts who portrays Benny, a black dispatcher for her father's cab company who doesn't speak a word of Spanish, but tries to pull off his difficult feat in one of the play's hilariously timed comic sequences.

In the role of "Abuela" Claudia, the neighborhood barrio matriarch who has become grandmother to most of the musical's characters, Celia Ortiz gives a three-dimensional performance that is so beautiful, so controlled and so real, you just want to hug her and never let her go. In the script, her character is the one who has looked after Usavi after his mother died. She also holds the winning lottery ticket worth $96,000.

From the moment she appears on stage, you can't take your eyes off. She is just great, reveling in the character's zest for life, her forgotten dreams and passions and her towering, pathos-steeped gallantry. Vocally, she is dynamic and yes, she literally stops the show when she takes center stage to sing "Hundreds of Stories," an impassioned song of encouragement.

As Kevin and Camila Rosario, the owners of a not-so-profitable gypsy cab company, which they are forced to sell so their daughter Nina can realize her dream and return to college, Perry Liu and Julie Bell Petrak, believably communicate their character's ongoing troubles through song, dialogue and characterization. Petrack, who staged the sensational "Spring Awakening" this season at Downtown Cabaret and Liu aren't given lots to do in "In the Heights," a fault of playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes, but whenever they are on stage, you are transfixed.

Other standout performances come from Joe Cardozo as Sonny, Joyce C. Ramirez as Carla and Olivia Grace Rivera as Vanessa. Lastly, there's Nicholas Kuell, who plays the neighborhood Piragua Guy, the owner of a small piragua stand who is forced to compete with Mister Softee. His two musical numbers "Piragua" and the "Piragua" (reprise) are a joy to behold. To his credit, Kuell has such fun in the role, he turns an otherwise small part into a lead role. The audience, in turn, awaits his every entrance.

 

"In the Heights" is being staged at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre (263 Golden Hill St,  Bridgeport, CT ) through May 21.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 5 and 8:15 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays.

For tickets and more information, call, (203) 576-1636.

 

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 19: A Review, "Next to Normal" at TheaterWorks Hartford

By James V. Ruocco

The bipolar disorder of a wife and mother painfully coping with a life that thrusts her back and forth into a mental hell she might, or might not, necessarily escape, is the driving force of Rob Ruggiero's magnificent, emotionally-charged presentation of "Next to Normal," at TheaterWorks in Hartford.  The subject matter, its intensity, its anguish and its pain is so vivid and real, it immediately gets under your skin (and well, it should) in ways that will leave you rattled, frightened, shaken, torn or just crying uncontrollably.

Then again, that's the point of this Tony-award winning musical, which was first performed on Broadway back in 2009. If you don't sob, don't reach for a tissue or don't leave the theater in some form of shaken disarray, you need to visit your medical  practitioner immediately. Really? Yes, really.
Not to worry, though.

Ruggiero, brilliant auteur, that he is, refuses to let that happen. Instead, he keeps you on the edge of your seat for well over two hours, completely engaged in the pain of his onstage characters, rather than just allowing you to watch them from the outside, looking in. His "Next to Normal" is so up close and personal, you actually forget you're in a theater, watching a show, holding a playbill or counting how many songs there are in each act.
Here, as in other productions he has staged at TheaterWorks and beyond, Ruggiero always knows exactly what buttons to push. He likes actors, he understands them and he lets them experiment and grow until they inhabit and own the parts they are playing. It's a creative process that makes all the difference in the world.

In terms of staging, everything from a spin of the stage, the move of a prop or the turn of a table is important to the telling and progression of the story. Nothing happens without reason. But whether you're an actor on stage or simply a member of the audience, it is happening for the very first time, in real time, despite carefully constructed, unobtrusive stage blocking or movement.
For "Next to Normal," the intimate, edgy environment of TheaterWorks actually complements the production (an intended metaphor, perhaps), which, for the most part, has been staged mostly in larger venues on Broadway, in London or on national tour. Here, actors enter and exit from the audience and often pause to deliver dialogue or sing lyrics from the mind-blowing "Next to Normal" score. This, in, turn, allows the audience to completely connect (think, three-dimensional) with the broken, bruised or surprise emotions of every character and their evolution in the playtext. Not one word or dialogue or vocal is unclear. You hear and experience everything. Sound design by Ed Chapman is absolutely flawless.

"Next to Normal," which features book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, is not your typical feel-good musical. That's a good thing, too. And therein, lies its appeal.
It deals with themes and subjects that adults....and only adults...can truly understand: first love, a marriage slowly unraveling out of control, parental neglect, drug dependency, regret, missed opportunities, escape from reality, boredom in the bedroom, death, favoring one child over another, hiding behind-closed doors, etc. That's not all. About 15 or 20 minutes in, "Next to Normal" delivers a jolting, surprising twist to the proceedings that you didn't see coming, unless you've seen the show before.

Adam Souza, the musical director for "Next to Normal" at TheaterWorks, allows Yorkey and Kitt's original music and lyrics to intoxicate, hypnotize and seduce his audience by using just the right amount of emotional rigor, snap, sensitivity and operatic force. This is a very intricate, detailed, often mind-blowing theatrical piece of varying rhythms, styles, nuances, beats, vitalities and jagged edges that harken memories of both "Rent" and "Spring Awakening." Its execution, from ballad to duet to choral number or showstopper, allows little room for error. No surprises, here. Souza and his exceptional musical team, create a flawless evening of musical theater that respects and understands the intentions of the show's original team, and unobtrusively adapts to the vocal styles and attitudes of the immensely talented TheatreWorks cast.

I first fell in love with Christiane Noll's beautiful singing voice the first time I saw her in Frank Wildhorn's "Jekyll & Hyde" at New Haven's Shubert Theatre and subsequently, twice on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre. That love affair continues with this production, in which, Ms. Noll gives the performance of the season. Or, should I say, the performance of the year.

From the moment she appears on stage as Diana, she immediately projects the image of a married woman and mother, trapped in a real and imagined world rife with anger, sorrow, loss, guilt, tragedy, longing and memory. We feel her pain. We feel her joy. We feel her grief. We feel her yearning. Through dialogue or lyric (her "I Miss the Mountains" is well worthy of a standing ovation), we are with her every step of the way. Yes, Alice Ripley originated the part of Broadway. But Noll's captivating and fractured portrayal of the bipolar Diana is so unbelievably dynamic, maybe, Yorkey did envision the former "Jekyll & Hyde" actress in the role before it sprang to life on Broadway.

As Gabe, the boyishly-charming teenaged son who is both an imagined angel/lost child and demon to his mother Diana, John Cardoza  is wonderfully charismatic, forceful, dizzying and edgy. He plays the part with proper dash, charm, angst and confusion. His voice is solid, beautiful and commanding. When he sings, he pays close attention to the lyrics and communicates them effortlessly. And his show stopping interpretation of "I'm Alive" is exactly that.

The beautiful, beguiling Maya Keleher, cast in the role of Natalie, the fragile young teenager who often feels that she is invisible to her mother Diana, offers a genuine, thought-provoking performance that is so honest, so raw and so real, you can't take your eyes off her for a moment. Her singing voice is absolutely perfect.

The very talented and personable David Harris has an amazing singing voice and presence as Dan, the husband of Diana who has stood by, supported and loved this woman through the years, hoping one day his wife's pain, would completely disappear. He and Noll are ideally matched for musical theater of this caliber. Alone or together, their singing voices reflect pitch-perfect brilliance.

As Henry, Natalie's boyfriend, Nick Sacks is wonderfully in sync with his offbeat character. J.D. Daw also commands attention as Dr. Fine/Madden.

The electrifying honesty and unnerving edginess of Rob Ruggiero's kinetic direction, offset by the rich, emotional, raw performances of the six-member cast, make "Next to Normal" the must-see production of the 2017 theater season. I, for one, can't wait to see it again.

"Next to Normal" is being presented at TheaterWorks ( 233 Pearl St, Hartford, CT), now through May 7th 

Performances are Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

For tickets or more information, call (860) 527-7838.

  

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 18: A Review, "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the Thomaston Opera House

 

 

 

By James V. Ruocco

The German occupation of Holland.....The persecution of the Jews...The secret annex...The hiding place...The Frank family...The Van Daan family...Albert Dussel....The diary...The nightmares....The cries in the night...The discovery...The capture...The separation.

"The Diary of Anne Frank" is a story that has survived the testament of time. It is a powerful reminder of the Holocaust and all its horrors. It is also a story of hope, survival and awakening that demands to be told and must be told again and again.

Using passages from the actual diary, mixed with dialogue created for the stage and big, dramatic sound effects that eerily spring to life, director Lucia Defilippis Dressel's "The Diary of Anne Frank" is an amazing, compassionate, intelligently staged body of work that respects, understands and embraces the original work without any rose-tinted edges, consequences or contributions. And, that in itself, is reason enough to applaud her, the distinguished 13-member-cast and the lead performance of 12-year-old Lexi White, an actress of extraordinary, enormous range whose performance is so rich and natural, it would make the real Anne Frank excited and proud. And probably, Peter Van Daan, as well.

This is a production that doesn't rest on the laurels of Wendy Kesselman's shortened, briskly-paced adaptation of the original three-hour Frances Goodrich/Albert Hackett play text. Instead, it recalls the events of a young girl's diary, using very carefully-guided research, intimate stokes, colors and nuances that cry historical fidelity and not the cheap, broad theatrics you'd find on the stages of other community theaters across the state. 

Dressel, an accomplished actress, director and auteur would have none of that. Her "Anne Frank" is multi-faceted and complex. Here, you get a cinematic, almost documentary-like take on life in the annex and the people who inhabit it as witnessed by the real Anne Frank. Some, of it, of course, is dramatized by the playwright for stage purposes, but, nonetheless, respectful of the diary and the teenaged girl who fights with her parents, talks too loud and often dreams of romance.

One of the biggest differences of this "Anne Frank" vs. other incarnations of the piece, is Dressel's decision to open up the production beyond the proscenium wall. Here, actors enter and exit through various doors of the theater or down the aisles past the audience. The actual hiding place, its entrance and the bookcase that hides its passageway, is effectively utilized by Dressel throughout the production.

In turn, the play's evolution adapts a voyeuristic, three-dimensional process that thrusts the audience...head first...into the ongoing action, conflicts and exchanges. Watching "Anne Frank," one is made to feel as if they are peering through a window watching real-life people live their day-to-day lives.

The climax of the play....Nazi soldiers discover the hiding place and remove the frightened characters from the building...is a stoke of genius on Dressel's part. Here, one by one, the characters are taken off the stage, down the stairs and gradually yanked apart from one another .....a painful, disturbing separation of sorts that elicits cries and screams from the characters ...and leaves you emotionally shaken.

If this "Anne Frank" clicks with its audience, it is largely due to Dressel's exceptional casting of the actors who bring the story so vividly to life. Yes, they are all performers: some seasoned vets; others brand new to the stage. But never once are you reminded of that. Instead, they are the real deal. They are are the true inhabitants of the actual hiding place hoping for survival, but living in fear that one day they will be discovered.

In Johnny Revicki, Dressel has found a very compassionate, focused actor to portray Otto Frank, the father of Anne and Margot Frank. He gives full illumination to the part, always communicating the dangers and difficulties of living in closed quarters completely cut off from the outside world. His Otto is a leader of sorts, but not without the understanding, the sympathy and heroism the part calls for. His final speech at the end of Act II, a brilliant, acting moment where Frank reveals the fate of everyone in the play, is profound, beautiful and truly magnificent.

The beguiling, enigmatic Lexi White, doesn't play the part of Anne Frank. She owns it. Her portrayal is raw, illuminating, exciting, emotional and honest. She also humanizes the part, which, is essential to the success of the piece and Anne's part in the telling of the now-famous story. Her interaction with everyone on stage is absolutely remarkable. It's the performance of the year and one you'll be talking about for quite some time. Acting is White's calling. Make no mistake about it. She loves it. She is passionate about it. And one day, you'll get to see her perform on Broadway. Yes, really.


Suzanne Powers brings just the right amount of emotional strength, passion and honesty to the part of Edith Frank, Anne's mother. Whether interacting with the onstage characters or quietly standing there in silence, observing, reacting or thinking, she always knows what buttons to push. She is an amazing talent with an emotional range comparable to that of Juliet Stevenson, Sheridan Smith and Laura Linney.

Casey McKenna and Dianna Waller are perfectly cast as Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan. They have great stage presence. They are perfectly in sync with the material, the drama, its edge and their role in the progression of the story. The same applies to the wonderfully charismatic Bret B. Bisallion who plays the part of Mr. Dussell, the cynical dentist who is forced to share Anne's room in the hiding place. He is "spot on" throughout.

Joshua J. Gogol, as Peter Van Daan, the young man with whom Anne discovers love and gets her first real kiss (a tender and playful moment that Dressel wisely reinvents by moving the action from the attic to a very noticeable downstage playing area), affectively captures his character's angst, frustration, confusion and budding curiosity about the opposite sex. It's a very natural, genuine performance. In fact, Gogol's portrayal is far surperior to that of Jonathan Kaplan who starred opposite Natalie Portman in the bittersweet 1997 Broadway revival.

As Margot Frank, Jenny Dressel brings a profound resonance to the part of Margot Frank, Anne's sister. It's a very spirited portrayal. Even when she's just sitting there listening or reacting, we always know what she's thinking.
Amy Kopchik and Dennis Walsh are especially gratifying as Meip Gies and Mr. Kraler, the two friends from downstairs responsible for the hiding and caring  of the "Anne Frank" characters during their two years of confinement in the annex.

"The Diary of Anne Frank' is being staged by Landmark Community Theatre at the Thomaston Opera House  (158 Main St., Thomaston, CT), now through April 2. 

For tickets or more information, call (860) 283-8558.

 

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 17: A Review, "Spring Awakening" at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, Bridgeport

By James V. Ruocco

The musical phenomenon that is "Spring Awakening" is based upon Frank Wedekind's intimate, controversial 1891 German play of the same name that was originally banned in Germany for its blatant portrayal of sexual copulation, masturbation, rape, abortion, homosexuality, suicide, communal ejaculation and masochism amongst teenagers discovering the intimacies of their inner and outer sexuality amidst a strict bourgeois morality.
Not exactly fodder for a Broadway musical, but then, they said the same thing about "Hair," "Rent," "Next to Normal" and "Fun Home," and we all know what happened there. Don't we?

Intriguingly, the subject matter for "Spring Awakening," though hardly shocking by today's standards, lends itself nicely to the musical stage. And luckily for us, is not based upon a movie, a television series or a hit concept record album like so many past or present Broadway and West End musicals. Instead, it wisely respects its original 19th century source using a carefully orchestrated blend of pseudo pop, folk-infusion and alternative rock music and dialogue to retell its brutally honest tale of sexual awakening and turn it into a piece of mind-blowing, intelligent, provocative musical theater.

In Bridgeport, director Julie Bell Petrak has reassembled all the pieces of the original 2006 Broadway musical play text and transformed her telling into an illuminating portrait of teen angst and sexual awakening as if she were a proud, celebrated 19th century painter. She uses all the right colors, strokes, lines and patterns. She is a director who wants flat-out truths, bared souls, raw nerves, pain and passion. She is not afraid to take chances. She is someone who enjoys a challenge. And she doesn't resort to theatrical tricks. Instead, she gives you  raw, justified, storytelling.

 

With Petrak as auteur, this "Spring Awakening" is completely innovative, wistful, grief-laden and brazen. It has plenty of heart, soul, passion and bleeding. It delivers scene after scene, song after song, line after line. It has distinctive passages and moments that get under your skin or in your face. You laugh, you cry, you wipe your brow. And you applaud her marvelous creativity as the stage of the Downtown Cabaret Theatre is seized and inhabited by a cast of actors whose drive and energy and dedication is absolutely tremendous.

The Broadway production, which was staged by Michael Mayer and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, is a tough act to follow. "Spring Awakening" also came with an ensemble cast that included Jonathan Groff, Lea Michelle, John Gallagher Jr., Gideon Glick,  Lauren Pritchard, Jonathan B. Wright and    Lilli Cooper. But there is no copycatting or imitating here. This "Spring Awakening" stands tall and proud. There is so much in this show to enjoy, you're rarely reminded of the show that played New York eleven years ago or the original cast who brought "Spring Awakening" so vividly to life.

In its favor, Petrak heightens the sensual tone and explicitness of her incarnation, which, in turn, elevates the play's awareness of sexual awakening and the acts that naturally follow, both good and bad. There's a lot more kissing and touching, most notably between the gay characters of Hanschen and Ernst. And nothing is left to the imagination when Melchior commits the act of  sexual intercourse with Wendla at the end of Act One and at the start of Act Two.
Again, Petrak is too be applauded for her bold choices, which reflect that of the creators of the 2006 Broadway musical (music by Duncan Sheik; book & lyrics by Steven Sater) and the 19th century play from which "Spring Awakeing" takes it cue.

One of the most satisfying, uniquely clever aspects of this "Spring Awakening" is Petrak's decision to break down the proscenium theater wall, for storytelling purposes. Actors, for example, enter and exit through all sections of the theater. They often sing or talk right next to individual audience members or stand, sit and perform on a the huge platform of center stage stairs that thrusts them front and center. A tiny spiral staircase off to one side of the stage is also effectively implemented into the proceedings near the end of Act II.

This staging device, in turn, transforms the audience into a willing or reluctant voyeur. It also gives this "Spring Awakening" a frank, powerful in-your-face intimacy that plunges you head first into the epicenter of the ongoing story. It's a wildly imaginative, three-dimensional process that makes you feel as if you.....and you alone....have just witnessed a suicide, a kiss between two lovers, a confession, a group masturbation, a teenaged sexual fantasy, a confused coupling that ends mid-orgasm, a homosexual encounter in the woods, the burial of a loved one or the reading of a very private, explicit letter.

The onstage band, in full view of the audience, is led by the very talented Eli Newsom, who doubles as musical director for "Spring Awakening." Upfront, Duncan Sheik's original musical score  is especially complicated and intricate as are the lyrics by Steven Sater. But Newsom, an obvious lover and savant of musical theater, never once misses a beat. He brings the right amount of intensity, intimacy and precision to both the music and the lyrics, often reveling in its frenzied, arousing, adrenalized, impassioned, ardent, fiery, blatant and animated beats.

 The singing, throughout the entire production, is impassioned, uplifting, proud and affecting, thus, giving  a powerful, confession-like voice to the musical's varying blends of melancholy, discovery, anger, passion and hope. Vocal director Brian Crook deserves singular praise for this often daunting feat, which he unravels effortlessly.

For example, when Melchior is brought before the school's discerning governors for disseminating explicit information about the facts of life, Crook, aided by Newsom and his musical team, transform "Totally Fucked" into a blatant, radical, rousing cry of protest that rings loud and clear throughout the entire Downtown Cabaret Theatre. The sweet and sentimental anthem "I Believe," which augments the passionate, hayloft lovemaking of Melchior and Wendla, is rife with plenty of sensual and pulsating harmonies. "The Dark I Know Well," sung by Martha and Ilse, captures the confusion, the horror, the humiliation and the torment of the pair, who sing about the parental physical or sexual abuse they are forced to endure or have escaped. The exhilarating, pumped-up "The Bitch of Living" finds Moritz, Melchior and the other boys – Ernst, Hanschen, Otto and Georg – hilariously sharing their very own sexually frustrated thoughts and desires.

The insightful, jaw-dropping choreography is Emily Frangipane is brilliantly executed with just the right amount of genius, liberation, passion, desire and carefree abandon. It is also in sync with the show's complicated, beautiful lyrics, its varying beats and rhythms and the sexual exploration and self-discovery Wedekind had in mind.
"The Bitch of Living," "Totally Fucked," "And Then There Were None" and "My Junk," for example, explode and delight in much the same way as they did on Broadway.  And like Petrak, Frangipane employs a three-dimensional effect, when needed. I absolutely loved it.

The casting of Eric Regan as Melchior Gabor is nothing short of galvanic. This is a very demanding role with many twists, turns, mood swings, revelations and pulses. Yet Regan stands tall (and well, he should)  and plays Melchior with earnest and sympathetic bravado. Yes, he is an actor, but he's so in touch with the character, he's the real deal. For two hours, you see Melchoir on stage, not Regan. The brooding, handsome actor also takes hold of the dialogue as if Sayer wrote "Spring Awakening" with him in mind, not Jonathan Groff, the award-winning actor who originated the part on Broadway.
Moreover, Regan allows us to get inside his head, follow him on his journey, both emotional, physical and sexual, in ways that are heartbreaking, tender, ironic and always very, very real. If anyone is doing "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," Regan is the perfect choice for the lead role of Christopher. And Petrack, quite obviously, should direct him it. I'll send them the script.....today.

Vocally, Regan has the right vocal chops to bring his characters' many song's to life, including "Totally Fucked," "All That's Known," "The Mirror Blue Night," "Left Behind" and "The Word of Your Body," his duet with the beguiling Tommins.
But he doesn't just sing the songs or perform them. He unobtrusively injects Melchior's personality and curiosity into the music and lyrics, expertly channeling the emotion of the material in ways that would the show's original creators proud.

One of the plays most difficult acting roles in "Spring Awakening" is that of Moritz Stiefel, the school oddball and goof, tortured by day-to-day fears of failing his classes and the mysterious blue legs that haunt his late-light dreams. Like John Gallagher, Jr. from the Broadway production, Robert Peterpaul completely owns and inhabits the part from the moment he appears on the Downtown Cabaret stage. He's funny, he's quirky, he's troubled, he's dramatic, he's often, an idiosyncratic mess. All of which builds and builds into a completely driven, electrifying, three-dimensional performance.

But Peterpaul doesn't stop there. He adds lots of twitchy quirks, icks and facial twists to the characterization in much the same way as Gallagher did. He also unashamedly allows each and every one of us to feel his pain, his frustrations, his mood wings and his failure in the classroom, and in life. Vocally, he's completely in sync and in tune with the material, most notably when singing "The Bitch of Living," "And Then There Were None" and "Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind."

Casting wise, Madeleine Tommins, is so very right for the role of the inquisitive Wendla Bergmann. She looks and acts as if she was plucked right out of the 19th century and embodies the innocence and shadowy air of longing that gives "Spring Awakening" is necessary pulse, joy, fear and curiosity. Her tender and acquiescent portrayal also allows us to see the world through her eyes and naturally experience her innermost thoughts about love, intimacy and its many conflicting emotions.

Elsewhere, her vocal delivery of "Mama Who Bore Me," the haunting ballad that opens the show, is melodically perfect, well-intentioned and performed as is "Whispering" and "The Word of Your Body." She is also well-matched opposite Regan and "spot on" in their many dramatic and musical scenes together.

Sahai Lara is a complete revelation as Martha Bessell, the young girl who was forced to endure sexual and physical abuse by her father while her mother stood by and did nothing. The emotional rawness of her character's internal struggle is revealed through the haunting ballad "The Dark I Know Well." It is handled and performed with such honesty and edgy emotion, it leaves you shaken.

Arielle Boutin totally immerses herself in the part of Ilse Newmann, the teenager who escapes an abusive home to live freely in the environs of an artist's colony. Her troubled plight, which prompts her eventual freedom from her family, is performed with raw gusto in "The Dark I Know Well, which she shares with Martha.

Much later, Boutin sings the revelatory "The Song of Purple Summer" (the entire cast eventually joins in), about the emotional growth and birth of a new generation, who eagerly look forward to a very liberated future. Her singing of this song, and others, reveals a fiery energy and compassion, which is exactly what the part calls for. And she is just as extraordinary as Lauren Pritchard who originated the role in the 2006 Broadway production. Can't wait to see what she does next.

Hanschen Rilow, the young gay student who wildly masterbates (and I mean, wildly) to a photograph in the frenzily-staged "My Junk" is passionately portrayed by Matthew Casey, an actor who clearly understands his character's dilemma, but continues to pursue his passion for life, boys and just about everything else, regardless of the consequences.

Ernest Robel, the naïve teenager who becomes Hanschen's boyfriend, is sensitively portrayed by Michael Major, a fine actor who never once executes a false move. He and Casey are perfectly matched. And in "The Word of Your Body" (reprise), they can barely keep her hands off one another, due in part to very convincing performances and Petrak's amped-up staging and embracement of homosexuality, which back in 1891, was completely immoral and taboo. She also shows us that love, between a man and a woman or persons of the same sex is a part of life, then, now and forever. Accept it. Deny it. The choice is yours.

Robie Livingstone and Dave Jackins play all the adult authority figures, from brutal, demanding  teachers to confused, sometimes troubled parents, with enormous elan. They are both highly accomplished actors, well attuned to the material, the staging and their interaction with the younger cast members. They never once, miss a beat.

In conclusion, this "Spring Awakening" is a fierce, emotional work that executes all the right moves and never once falters. It is superbly crafted by Petrak. Frangipane's insanely inventive choreography nearly blows the roof off the Downtown Cabaret Theatre. The knockout performances of the principals, supporting cast and the chorus are picture-perfect. And finally, Newman's musical direction and Crook's vocal instruction, bolsters the show's sexual excitement, wonderment and blossoming.

"Spring Awakening" is being staged at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre (263 Golden Hill St,  Bridgeport, CT ) through April 2.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 5 and 8:15 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays.

For tickets and more information, call, (203) 576-1636.