STEPHEN SACCO
Special to the leader
Easter has passed, and spring has arrived. It’s only fitting that the not-so-traditional Broadway hit musical “Spring Awakening” take Fredonia’s stage this month, put on by the Performing Arts Company (PAC).
The musical touches on many raw, difficult topics.
Dr. Jessica Hillman-McCord, from the Theatre & Dance department, is the director/choreographer of “Spring Awakening.” She touched on the difficult subject matter characteristic of the show.
“This play is really about the abuse of young people and the hope that they can move past this
. . . [and] hope for the future,” she said.
Currently, the Never Again movement has erupted after the fatal shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. A group of students from Stoneman Douglas High School is leading the movement, which directly correlates with the symbolism and themes of “Spring Awakening.”
Hillman-McCord also explained that this show is a little different than most.
“It’s not your traditional feel good musical … the score is beautiful … the content is extremely important and current … [and] visually striking.”
Frank Wedekind wrote the play during pre-Nazi Germany, and it takes place during the year 1891. The historical significance of the show led to the hiring of “dramaturgs,” or researchers. Their job is to communicate to the cast what the historical circumstances were during the era that the musical is set in.
The two dramaturgs hired for this production are Hannah Hernandez, a junior B.F.A musical theatre major, and Jack Levenberg, a sophomore B.F.A acting major.
“For me it was about learning how these kids in Germany were being treated, was this show exaggerated or not … So I did a lot of research on the education system, on how suicide and sexuality was handled,” said Hernandez.
“I think we know every person in the play pretty well … it’s been easier to relay the information and talk to the cast on a personal level,” said Levenberg.
The work that Hernandez and Levenberg bring to the production leads to effectively relaying the emotions and the reality of the characters to the audience.
Audience members will get a taste of history before walking in the theatre doors. A poster outside of Marvel Theatre, created by Hernandez and Levenberg, puts the historical circumstances and the issues surrounding the production on display.
Michaela Tramuta, a senior B.F.A musical theatre major, is the lead female role in “Spring Awakening.” Tramuta was a varsity basketball player in high school before she realized her passion for the theatre.
“Once freshmen year of high school came around, they did ‘Godspell’ . . . I wanted to do the play . . . But who do I please? My dad who’s the athlete or my mom? . . . I saw the musical and I sobbed after,” she said. “I was like, ‘this isn’t right, something is missing. I need to be on stage,’ and that was the moment [I realized] this is what I need to do for the rest of my life.”
This will be one of Tramuta’s last performances before she graduates and her time at SUNY Fredonia comes to an end.
One of the male leads is Jeff Kringer, a senior B.F.A musical theatre major. Unlike Tramuta, Kringer comes from a family of theatre.
“Senior year of high school I did ‘The Secret Garden,’” he said. “What was special about [it] was that I did it with my little brother.”
Kringer also described his change in perspective and his decision to make a career out of theatre.
“I think I realized the weight of theatre. It’s not just entertainment, it’s never been just entertainment. It’s something meant to relate … it exposes things … it presents the public with problems,” he said. “To see something like that right before your eyes is way different than seeing it through a screen, or reading and hearing about it.”
Acting and performance is not just a hobby to Kringer, but something more.
“You realize that it becomes not an escape. It doesn’t become putting a mask on anymore … or just a hobby you do where you can run away from the real world,” he said. “It becomes taking the masking off.
“Spring Awakening” opens on April 6 at 7:30 p.m. and will run through April 14. Tickets are on sale through the ticket office and are selling quickly.