Probably one of the best lectures I had to read.
It not only tells the story of kids growing up with all their questions concerning sexuality or their immense pressure about school, but it created a breakdown of those taboos no author faced until then. It really marks the end of realism and the beginning of the modern period and especially naturalism as era. It‘s really natural and unfiltered, and I appreciate that, because imo, it was only necessary to break with the stereotypical Romanticism/Realism stuff. So if I could, I would thank Wedekind for this work, even if I didn‘t (obviously) lived in the 19th century.
I would love to talk with my future students about this because it still represents issues in our society today. A timless, well-thought literature.

reading a musical just doesn't hit the same

An interesting play, that's probably as taboo now as it would have been a hundred years ago. Teen suicide, sadistic and masochistic acts, teen sex, murder, moping, masturbation and depression. On top of all these 'disturbing' elements are some very humorous moments and wonderfully written moments of adult (as in grown-ups, not as a euphenism for dirty) banality and absurdity.

3,5 ☆

my obsession with spring awakening (the musical) was never just a phase, i’m afraid

The living are as such not to be pitied.

Don't let the title Spring Awakening fool you. This is an impressive piece about growing up. The underlying themes of this play are rather bleak. The issues are serious, deadly serious. Moral authorities –parents, school, church – are there to provide a compass for the adolescents, which eventually lead them astray, one way or another. In some cases the road to their respective hell is paved with good intentions, in other cases it's just plain ignorance. Somehow the author managed to add a little fun and wit to his story; sarcasm and satire too. For instance the choice of names for the teachers is extravagant. At the end there is even a little magical realism. I am sure Jens Bjørneboe would have enjoyed this play. Personally I would have preferred a novella, but that's just me.
Read it. It's good!

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Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the most unexpected reading I've done in...years???

Once upon a time there was this teenage girl and her friend sitting in German class and being forced to read this play at high school. We were all in our headspace back then and let's be honest, we still are BUT times change. Why? Well, mainly cuz of Jonathan Groff (hahaha I'm kidding I'm sorry! But actually, maybe I'm not)

So, I've been a big fan of Jonathan Groff since Hamilton, Glee, Kristoff... And then a couple of years ago I discovered that his starting point was actually the musical spring awakening. And I was like HOLD UP I KNOW THIS WE READ THAT PLAY. So I ofc put this musical on my list, but I put off listening to it until now recently I guess. I suddenly had a new found motivation bc I was craving some Groff. But I will stop talking about him bc this review is about SPRING AWAKENING. Reiß dich zusammen!! Und hiermit switchen wir Mal auf deutsch weil das Stück es ebenfalls ist:))

Ich werde aber trotzdem auch das Musical referencen weil ich Lust hab. Also, ich hab das Musical zu zwei Dritteln gehört, sogar ein bootleg gefunden, und dann hat mich die Neugier übernommen und ich hatte Lust das Stück nochmal für mich zu lesen. Schule ist eine sehr weirde Zeit irgendwie, und obwohl ich das Stück schon damals nicht schlecht fand, war es ein kleines bisschen weird (aber auch interessant zugleich). Die Art wie das Musical die Charaktere und den Plot gehandelt hat war so cool, sodass ich eben noch mehr content haben wollte und zum Original zurückgekommen bin. Ich hätte niemals gedacht dass das mein erster read von 2025 wird lol, aber hey, es war bereichernd! Ich find retrospektiv macht es total Sinn wenn es Teil vom Curriculum ist. Das Stück war sehr ahead of its time und zeigt ua. wie wichtig Aufklärung ist, wie wichtig Unterstützung ist, behandelt aber so viele wichtige Themen dass ich es gar nicht aufzählen kann oder möchte. Mein Fazit ist; wichtiges Stück, Charaktere die bei einem bleiben, und regt dazu an, über das Leben zu philosophieren.

Überraschenderweise, da ich mich so auf Groff gefreut hab der unseren Melchior spielt, fand ich die Songs von Moritz im Musical besonders relatable. Ich sag nur the bitch of living. Oh, als letztes wollte ich noch sagen, dass es ja nicht umsonst eine "Kindertragödie" ist, also wenn ihr was leichtes erwartet, walk on:))

The irony that this was banned for 100 years

I watched the play of this first (found on YouTube, thank you people) and it was definitely interesting. It’s about 1890s Germany and teenagers growing up and grappling with the strict Lutheran rules they’ve known their whole lives.

I felt like I was just reading an old version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower because it deals with so many of the same themes. There’s suicide, abortions, coming to terms with homosexuality, and so on and so forth. So, some pretty heavy stuff. The play was a lot more emotional for me because the music is so beautiful! The play adaptation is also fairly different from the original script, but I think it’s better that way.

I think this is a good read for parents and teens alike because you really see firsthand the problems that arise when you don’t have open conversations with people!! A big plot point is Wendla’s mom refusing to tell her where children come from….which comes back to bite them later.

I also think this would be a wonderful read for people (cough SCOTUS cough) who think that abortions will stop once they become illegal! Nice try. The problem in this book is the lack of sex education! So maybe we have something to learn from this after all.

I liked the play a lot (had to skip through some parts because it got a lil explicit and my innocent eyes didn’t want to see that) but the original script was eh. I’m definitely glad I watched it first because otherwise I would’ve been confused out of my mind. A lot is implied and not written, but you definitely see everything in the screen version.

It was also like 80-something pages so it was a quick read. I don’t think I’d really recommend the screenplay but the play itself was fun, if not a bit raunchy at times.

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Wedekind’s pioneering treatment of the sexual explorations and emotional difficulties of teenagers is still a powerful critique of moralism and repression.

Every scene increases the pace until the very last one which slows down into the calmness of reflection disturbed by madness. Prior major publications by Freud and Hesse, Wedekind – in similar fashion – challenges the way sexuality is treated in education. Much has changed since 1891; many idiocies remain.

This play contains not only one of the best funeral scenes, but also one of the best churchyard scenes in Literature. Wedekind's talent to induce painful laughter and hot rage within one dialogue is unrivalled.

Horrible play! Highly recommended.