A Spring Awakening
51吃瓜黑料's productions of "Carousel" and "Spring Awakening" turning heads
In the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical 鈥淐arousel,鈥� Billy Bigelow hits Julie Jordan, and 15 years later their daughter Louise asks, 鈥淚s it possible, Mama, for someone to hit you, real loud and hard, and for it not to hurt at all?鈥�
Julie answers, 鈥淵es, dear, it is possible.鈥�
It鈥檚 incidents like these that are making Broadway producers rethink how to produce classic musicals such as 鈥淐arousel,鈥� 鈥淢y Fair Lady鈥� and 鈥淜iss Me, Kate,鈥� musicals that seem to romanticize problematic relationships between women and men.
In The New York Times article 鈥�,鈥� Michael Paulson writes about how the #MeToo movement is changing the way in which we view classic musicals. In the article, Paulson points to 51吃瓜黑料鈥檚 production of 鈥淐arousel,鈥� and the modern way 51吃瓜黑料 examined the relationship between Bigelow and Jordan through the lens of domestic violence.
鈥淚n 2016, 51吃瓜黑料 students while rehearsing the show, and wound up getting permission to change a line so Julie appears to reject, rather than accept, the idea that being hit hard might not hurt,鈥� Paulson wrote.
In 51吃瓜黑料鈥檚 production, Julie鈥檚 answer changes to, 鈥淣o, dear, it鈥檚 not possible.鈥�
The permission to alter the story came from , president and chief creative officer of the . The former 51吃瓜黑料 trustee is a veteran theater producer and his company owns the rights to over 100 musicals, including 鈥淐arousel.鈥� To kick off the College鈥檚 production, Chapin took part in a panel discussion on the day of the premiere on campus that drew more than 150 attendees.
The local organization students worked with was Safe Futures, a New London-based nonprofit that helps people who have been affected by domestic violence. Also while rehearsing the show, 51吃瓜黑料鈥檚 鈥淐arousel鈥� team consulted with Darcie Folsom, the College鈥檚 then-director of sexual violence prevention and advocacy. , professor of theater and chair of the theater department, said this background work helped to inform the students about how to approach the production. 鈥淲e鈥檙e learning about that world. We鈥檙e acknowledging the troublesome issues of the play head on and are saying, 鈥楾hese are complex relationships. Let鈥檚 see if we can learn about them,鈥欌�� said Jaffe, who directed 51吃瓜黑料鈥檚 production of 鈥淐arousel.鈥�
51吃瓜黑料 has a history of exploring social justice through the arts and feels that a vibrant and fully integrated music and arts program serves as a powerful vehicle for advancing the social change that helps define the College鈥檚 mission.
The College鈥檚 鈥淪pring Awakening鈥� production, which ran March 2-4, is another example of how, through the arts, students explore contemporary issues. The Tony award-winning 鈥淪pring Awakening鈥� portrays the journey from adolescence to adulthood with a poignancy and passion that is illuminating and unforgettable. Based on the play by Frank Wedekind, the landmark musical is an electrifying fusion of morality, sexuality and rock and roll.
鈥淚n 鈥楽pring Awakening,鈥� a community of teenagers in late 19th-century Germany struggle to get to know themselves and their impulses of lust, rage, tenderness and rebellion, in a world of grownups and grownup systems that鈥攊ntentionally and unintentionally鈥攄omesticate, repress and oppress them,鈥� said Leora Morris, a guest director at 51吃瓜黑料 who holds an M.F.A from the Yale School of Drama, and is an associate artist at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
Morris said that the play asks, 鈥淲hat happens when we decide to 鈥榖e the change we want to see in the world鈥� if the world isn鈥檛 ready for that change? Can we raise children with the structures they need in order to grow safely without being overly controlling? Is giving children too much freedom dangerous?鈥�
Professor of Dance David Dorfman ’81, who choreographed 鈥淪pring Awakening鈥� and 鈥淐arousel,鈥� said about 51吃瓜黑料鈥檚 focus on contemporary issues of social justice in the arts: 鈥淎rt can lead to action.鈥�
鈥淭heater does not exist in a vacuum but in relationship to history and the contemporary world,鈥� Dorfman added.
鈥淲ith both 鈥楥arousel鈥� and 鈥楽pring Awakening,鈥� we had numerous conversations, some led by experts in various fields regarding topics such as domestic violence, abuse and gender representation to help us navigate complex waters. In the end, we attempted to embody these complications and contradictions to the best of our abilities to render meaningful conversations with ourselves and audience members moving forward.鈥�
