Day Eight: Spring Awakening
Today's post is a musical featuring your favorite male singer, and that singer today is Jonathan Groff! I fell in love listening to him sing as I heard the Spring Awakening soundtrack.
So Spring Awakening takes place in the late 19th century Germany. Wendla (who was played in the original Broadway show by Lea Michelle) is an adolescent and is approaching puberty and feels as though she should know what she needs to know (i.e. conception). When she asks her mom, she simply tells her that a woman must love her husband with all of her heart. The other girls in town are mad that they aren't being told about conception either.
At school, boys are reciting Virgil in Latin class. A boy, Moritz, sleepily recites the wrong line, the teacher gets ready to beat him. But his friend, Melchior, stands up for him, but he instead gets hit by the ruler. He can't stand how the narrow-mindness of their school and town interferes with his desire for knowledge.
Moritz describes erotic dreams that he's been having recently and believes he's on the verge of insanity. Melchior assures him that is was okay for guys to dream that way as they're getting older. This leads t all of the other guys venting about their thoughts and desires. Moritz is still unsure about the whole thing, so he asks Melchior to explain it to him in the form of an essay.
The girls are together and talk about marrying the boys in their town, the top of their list is attractive Melchior . It's shown that one guy masturbates to an erotic postcard and another daydreams about his piano teacher's breasts. Moritz now doesn't want to know what exactly he is dreaming about and what it means. The kids express their desire for physical intimacy.
Wendla and Melchior run into each other while Wendla is shopping for flowers for her mother. The two talk (being childhood friends but drifted away as they grew older), both trying to supress their physical attraction to the other. Moritz discovers he passed his midterm exams, but the school cannot pass everyone, so they fail him, explaining his grades didn't meet the passing standards. Later, one of the teenage girls, Martha, admits to her friends that her father abuses her physically and sexually and her mother doesn't even care. She makes them promise not to tell anyone or else the girl will end up like a previous girl, Ilse, who is how homeless and wanders the streets because her parents kicked her out.
Wendla finds Melchior again and tells him about the girl's abuse. She wants Melchior to beat her with a switch so she can experience what abuse her friend had gone through. Melchior is reluctant at first, but ends up unleashing his own frustrations on Wendla and throws her to the ground. Realizing what he had done, he flees, leaving Wendla to cry. She discovers Melchior left his journal on the ground and takes it with her.
Moritz is told he failed his examination. When he tells his father he won;t progress in school, his father thinks of the shame it will bring him as "the man with the son who failed." Moritz writes to the only adult he trusts, Melchior's mother, and asks for money so he can depart for America. She denies his request but tells him she'll write to his parents and tell them not to be so harsh on Moritz. Moritz later thinks about suicide.
Melchior is in this hayloft during a storm, upset about the fact he's in the awkward phase of teenagehood. Wendla finds him, wanting to return his journal. They both apologize to the other for what happened after the last time the two had met. The two begin to kiss. Wendla resists at first, not knowing what is happening, but feels as though what they are doing is powerful and unlike anything she has done before. As Melchior becomes more insistent, he overpowers her objections with affection and force and they begin to have sex in the hayloft.
After they finish, they reflect on what had just happened. Moritz has been thrown out of his home and wanders the town at dusk, carrying a pistol. He comes across Ilse, the girl previously mentioned by Martha. Ilse, who is secretly in love with Moritz tells him of a place to sleep at an artists' colony. The two reconcile on past times in their childhood. Ilse tries to make Moritz come with him, even almost with the two of them kissing, but he refuses. Upset, Ilse leaves. Believing he has no other turn, Moritz shoots himself.
At Moritz's funeral, each of the children (including Ilse) drop a flower on his grave. Back at the school, the schoolmaster and teacher feel as though they need someone else to take the blame for Moritz's death, which was linked to the two of them failing Moritz. They find the essay on sex that Melchior wrote for Moritz. They blame Moritz's death on Melchior, even though he isn't to blame, and is expelled. Meanwhile, two of the male classmates, Hanschen, who is the seducer, and Ernst, fall for each other and realize they are both gay.
Wendla becomes sick, and her mother takes her to a doctor. He gives Wendla medicine and tells her she has anemia. The doctor pulls her mother to the side and tells her that Wendla is pregnant. When confronted, Wendla is shocked. She then realizes that her mother lied to her about conception. Wendla blames her mother for her ignorance, but her mother doesn't blame herself and demands to know who the father is. Wendla hands to her mother a passionate note that Melchior wrote to her after they consummated. Wendla reflects on what she wasn't told for pregnancy, but stays optimistic about her future child.
Melchior's parents discuss his fate; his mother doesn't believe the essay he wrote to Moritz is enough reason to send him away to reform school, but when his father tells her that Wendla is pregnant by him, she agrees to send Melchior away. Meanwhile, Melchior and Wendla keep contact by letters, which are delivered by Ilse. At the reform school, one of the boys there steals Melchior's latest letter from Wendla and uses it as a masturbation game, which results in a fight. When the classmate reads the letter aloud, Melchior discovers that Wendla is pregnant with his child. Melchior escapes the institution to find her, not knowing that her mother had taken her to an underground practioner to have an abortion.
Melchior tells Ilse to send a letter to Wendla, telling her to meet him at the cemetery at midnight, which Ilse cannot send. He finds Moritz's grave and swears that he and Wendla will raise their child in a compassionate and open environment. When Wendla is late to the meeting, Melchior feels nervous. He then finds a grave he hasn't noticed before and reads the name etched in stone---Wendla. It turns out Wendla died from the messy abortion. Feeling grief and shock, he takes out a razor and is ready to kill himself when the spirits of Moritz and Wendla come from their graves and try to give him strength. They persuade him not to kill himself, but to carry their memories.
So, Jonathan Groff? Yes?.......... If only he wasn't gay. But gay or not, I absolutely adore his voice (I know I said it earlier, but I really do love it!) And I would definitely show my kids this musical if they ever wanted to learn about how children are made, then helps them understand what they don't.
I chose a song that specified his voice only, "All That's Known," which plays while the boys are reciting Latin in class (which is the language the boys in the recording are saying, fair warning.)
Wendla finds Melchior again and tells him about the girl's abuse. She wants Melchior to beat her with a switch so she can experience what abuse her friend had gone through. Melchior is reluctant at first, but ends up unleashing his own frustrations on Wendla and throws her to the ground. Realizing what he had done, he flees, leaving Wendla to cry. She discovers Melchior left his journal on the ground and takes it with her.
Moritz is told he failed his examination. When he tells his father he won;t progress in school, his father thinks of the shame it will bring him as "the man with the son who failed." Moritz writes to the only adult he trusts, Melchior's mother, and asks for money so he can depart for America. She denies his request but tells him she'll write to his parents and tell them not to be so harsh on Moritz. Moritz later thinks about suicide.
Melchior is in this hayloft during a storm, upset about the fact he's in the awkward phase of teenagehood. Wendla finds him, wanting to return his journal. They both apologize to the other for what happened after the last time the two had met. The two begin to kiss. Wendla resists at first, not knowing what is happening, but feels as though what they are doing is powerful and unlike anything she has done before. As Melchior becomes more insistent, he overpowers her objections with affection and force and they begin to have sex in the hayloft.
After they finish, they reflect on what had just happened. Moritz has been thrown out of his home and wanders the town at dusk, carrying a pistol. He comes across Ilse, the girl previously mentioned by Martha. Ilse, who is secretly in love with Moritz tells him of a place to sleep at an artists' colony. The two reconcile on past times in their childhood. Ilse tries to make Moritz come with him, even almost with the two of them kissing, but he refuses. Upset, Ilse leaves. Believing he has no other turn, Moritz shoots himself.
At Moritz's funeral, each of the children (including Ilse) drop a flower on his grave. Back at the school, the schoolmaster and teacher feel as though they need someone else to take the blame for Moritz's death, which was linked to the two of them failing Moritz. They find the essay on sex that Melchior wrote for Moritz. They blame Moritz's death on Melchior, even though he isn't to blame, and is expelled. Meanwhile, two of the male classmates, Hanschen, who is the seducer, and Ernst, fall for each other and realize they are both gay.
Wendla becomes sick, and her mother takes her to a doctor. He gives Wendla medicine and tells her she has anemia. The doctor pulls her mother to the side and tells her that Wendla is pregnant. When confronted, Wendla is shocked. She then realizes that her mother lied to her about conception. Wendla blames her mother for her ignorance, but her mother doesn't blame herself and demands to know who the father is. Wendla hands to her mother a passionate note that Melchior wrote to her after they consummated. Wendla reflects on what she wasn't told for pregnancy, but stays optimistic about her future child.
Melchior's parents discuss his fate; his mother doesn't believe the essay he wrote to Moritz is enough reason to send him away to reform school, but when his father tells her that Wendla is pregnant by him, she agrees to send Melchior away. Meanwhile, Melchior and Wendla keep contact by letters, which are delivered by Ilse. At the reform school, one of the boys there steals Melchior's latest letter from Wendla and uses it as a masturbation game, which results in a fight. When the classmate reads the letter aloud, Melchior discovers that Wendla is pregnant with his child. Melchior escapes the institution to find her, not knowing that her mother had taken her to an underground practioner to have an abortion.
Melchior tells Ilse to send a letter to Wendla, telling her to meet him at the cemetery at midnight, which Ilse cannot send. He finds Moritz's grave and swears that he and Wendla will raise their child in a compassionate and open environment. When Wendla is late to the meeting, Melchior feels nervous. He then finds a grave he hasn't noticed before and reads the name etched in stone---Wendla. It turns out Wendla died from the messy abortion. Feeling grief and shock, he takes out a razor and is ready to kill himself when the spirits of Moritz and Wendla come from their graves and try to give him strength. They persuade him not to kill himself, but to carry their memories.
So, Jonathan Groff? Yes?.......... If only he wasn't gay. But gay or not, I absolutely adore his voice (I know I said it earlier, but I really do love it!) And I would definitely show my kids this musical if they ever wanted to learn about how children are made, then helps them understand what they don't.
I chose a song that specified his voice only, "All That's Known," which plays while the boys are reciting Latin in class (which is the language the boys in the recording are saying, fair warning.)
No comments:
Post a Comment