Rude awakening
“Spring Awakening” by German playwright Frank Wedekind was written in 1891 but only first produced, in a heavily censored version, in 1906. It remained banned in many places, including Great Britain, right up until the 1960s, its scandalousness having not so much to do with its subject matters — homo- and heterosexual sex, pregnancy, abortion, suicide — as with the fact that the central characters involved in these matters were a trio of 14-year-olds.
In 2006, 100 years after it debuted in Berlin, the play improbably turned up in the form of a Broadway rock musical. The adapters (Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater) wisely chose to retain the original 19th-century provincial-Germany setting, at the same time undertaking to accentuate Wedekind’s theme — the devastating effect of adult repression on the natural sexual urges of adolescents — by using anachronistic rock guitar riffs to express the powerful internal impulses of schoolchildren outfitted in constricting wool uniforms and kept under close watch by authoritarian teachers and parents. The musical won eight Tony Awards — including Best Musical — and its original cast album received a Grammy.
Directed by Megan Healey, with musical direction by Ted Trobaugh and choreography by Sue Dresser, Arena Civic Theatre’s staging continues this weekend, with performances in the auditorium of Orange Town Hall Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. A talkback session with the cast and production crew — including as well community members in the fields of mental health and education — follows the matinee performance. $16 general; $13 seniors and students. 233-3368, arenacivictheatre.org
Art by the second
The evening starts at 6:30 with mingling and light refreshments (courtesy Tart Baking Company, Con Vino Wine Bar and Fort Hill Brewery). At 7 p.m. the presentations begin. Based on a Japanese format called pecha kucha (peh-chak-cha), the rules call for each artist to abbreviate his or her goals and achievements into a series of 20 slides, with a 20-second commentary allowed for each.
That’s The ArtSalon, a several-times-a-year event that provides not only artists, but designers, critics and collectors the opportunity to showcase their endeavors. Set for Thursday, May 5 at Click Workspace at 9½ Market St. in Northampton, the next ArtSalon will feature: Phoebe Helander, a visual artist, cartoonist, musician and teacher; architect Mary Yun; Alyssa Dee Krauss. who practices jewelry-making as a fine-art form; Donnabelle Casis, a visual artist whose work investigates how images are contextualized to form our daily experience; and Paul Teeling (work pictured), who uses video and performance to question the heteronormative/homonormative paradigm and whose favorite color is plaid.
$5 suggested donation. theartsalon.com
— Dan DeNicola