arts & life

Melchior (played by
Jeffrey Bobick) and
Wendla (Kryssy Becker)
appear in Spring

Awakening.

Wide Awake

Suzanne Chessler

I Contributing Writer

teven Sater wanted to create
something he could relate to and
that might speak to others, too.
He succeeded, overwhelmingly, with

S

Steven Sater wrote the book
and lyrics for Spring Awakening.

Spring Awakening

runs Feb. 13-March 1

on the 2nd Stage at

the Baldwin Theatre,

Royal Oak.

Tickets start at $18.

(248) 541-6430;

stagecrafters.org .

Spring Awakening.
The edgy rock musical and Broadway
hit that starred Glee's Lea Michele won
eight Tony Awards, including two for
Sater's book and lyrics. It will have a local
run Feb. 13-March 1 as produced by
Stagecrafters in Royal Oak and directed
by Matthew Miga.
"I worked on this play for eight years:'
says Sater, in a phone conversation from
the West Coast. "It takes a strong stance
in relation to family, church and school:'
Based on Frank Wedekind's controver-
sial 1891 play about rape, suicide, sexual-
ity and abuse, Sater's adaptation sizzles
with contemporary relevance.
"It's such a transformation from
Wedekind's great original play. There are
hero journeys for lead characters that are
not necessarily felt in the original play:'
The characters, lacking guidance and
understanding, are desperately confront-
ing issues of first love, friendship and
the loss of friendship in a provincial
and oppressive society in 19th-century
Germany.
"One thing to remember about the
original source material of this show is
that girls in the play grew up to be the
mothers of Nazis:' Sater says. "I always
was aware of that.
"Part of the cautionary tale of this play
is to look at what happens when we don't
pay attention [to the needs of young peo-
ple]. That makes the play feel more timely

Stagecrafters adapts
Steven Sater's raw pop
musical, Spring Awakening.

than it ever has:'

Spring Awakening began with an idea
Sater had while writing songs with singer-
songwriter Duncan Sheik, the show's
composer. After Sater suggested that they
do a theater piece together, Sheik stressed
using music relevant to the culture at
large.
"I felt Spring Awakening had something
powerful to say and do:' Sater explains. "I
never just wanted to create an entertain-
ment piece. I always wanted to change the
world a little.
"When the shooting happened at
Columbine High School, some months
after I had this inspiration, I made the
determination to touch the troubled
hearts of youth around the world:'
Sater's commitment to making an
impact on others strengthened after an
apartment fire caused him deep pain and
suffering.
While an English literature student at
Washington University in St. Louis, he
escaped engulfing flames by jumping
through a window. Landing on pavement
three floors down, he experienced critical
injuries in addition to burns that resulted
in a lengthy hospitalization.
"After the fire, I felt that everything I
had done had been ephemeral; he recalls.
"I wanted to create things that could last.
"I was in a St. Louis hospital, and a nun
told me that God had saved my life for a
reason. I thought I had to turn this [dif-
ficult time] into a life-altering experience
for the positive:'
In Spring Awakening, those feelings
are communicated through the song "All
That's Known:' It voices aspiration and
determination to keep going and make a
difference in the face of loss and heart-

ache.
Although raised in a Jewish household
in Indiana and identifying culturally as
Jewish, Sater found professional momen-
tum through Buddhism.
"I was in New York shortly after gradu-
ate school at Princeton and was invited
to a Buddhism meeting by an actress I
wanted to spend time around," says Sater,
near 40, married and the father of two.
"I was asked if there were things I
wanted to see in my life that were not
happening. I was told to write them down
and start chanting. After that, things
began to change, shake up and move
around in my life so I continued practic-
ing:"
Spring Awakening represents the first
time Sater has gone to classical source
material and transformed it into a very
contemporary story.
"I started writing lyrics only because I
met Duncan:' says Sater, who had been
an actor. "We're both Buddhists and were
chanting in his apartment.
"A couple months into working with
him, we began working on the play. As
someone who had written poetry my
whole life, I felt I had been preparing for
something but hadn't known what it was:'
Sater, who has been to Detroit to work-
shop a play, continues focusing on teens
as he develops a murder-mystery musical,
He also is giving attention to writing a
new version of Alice in Wonderland.
"I'm doing two projects with Burt
Bacharach," he says. "I've been writing
with Burt for six years. It will be Burt's
first original musical since Promises,
Promises, and it's a more traditional form
of songwriting than I've done before:'

❑

February 12 • 2015

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