Spring Awakening (play)

For the musical, see Spring Awakening (musical)

Spring Awakening (sometimes Spring's Awakening; German: Frühlings Erwachen) is the first play by German playwright Frank Wedekind, published at his own expense in 1891. The play focuses on the budding sexual maturity of youths in what Wedekind considered to be a sexually repressed society at the time. The play was first performed in 1906 in Germany, and debuted in English in 1917.

Due to the nature of its content, the play was frequently banned. The 1917 performance was almost shut down due to the New York City Commissioner of Licenses claiming the play was pornographic. An injunction by the Supreme Court allowed the play to go on, but it failed after a single performance.

A new, musical interpretation of the play under the same title opened Off Broadway in 2006 and subsequently moved to Broadway.

Characters

Melchior Gabor: A 14-year-old boy. Melchior is an atheist, who unlike the other children, knows the truth about sexual reproduction. He writes his best friend Moritz an essay about sexual intercourse, which gets him expelled from school, after the suicide of his friend. His parents send him to a reformatory after learning he raped Wendla.

Wendla Bergmann: A girl, who turns 14 at the beginning of the play. In the second act of the play, she is raped by Melchior, and ends up getting pregnant by him. She dies from a botched abortion.

Moritz Stiefel: Melchior's best friend, and a poor student. At the beginning of the play, he passes the midterm. However, in the end, Moritz fails the final exam. He shoots himself after failing.

Ilse: A childhood friend of Moritz. She ran away from home to live a Bohemian life. Ilse only appears in two scenes throughout the show, and is the last person Moritz speaks to before he commits suicide.

Haschen and Ernst: Two friends and classmates of Melchior and Moritz, who are gay. Towards the end of the play, they confess their love for one another.

Otto, Georg, and Robert: Friends of Melchior and Moritz, who attend school with them.

Thea and Martha: The friends of Wendla. Martha is abused by her father.

Frau Gabor: Wendla's mother.

Rektor Sunstroke: The school headmaster.

Calflove, Thickstick, Stickytongue, Bonebreaker, Flykiller, Catchemquick, and Starveling: Teachers at Melchior's school. Stickytongue is the only one to defend Melchior when he faces expulsion.

Pastor Skinnytum: The town's religious leader, who leads the sermon at Mortiz's funeral.

See also

• Frank Wedekind

External links

• Study guide containing summary, analysis, history, background, and quizzes on Spring Awakening.
• Official site of the Broadway musical
• Spring Awakenings Painting Series Inspired by the Play by Austrian Artist Wolfgang Bauer (Artist)