Almost two decades ago while standing in line at a grocery with my mother, I asked her the worst possible question a five-year-old could ever ask her parent in the middle of a crowded grocery: “Mommy, what’s a condom?”
Silence ensued. Every adult looked at my mother, waiting for her to speak, anticipating how she would explain the cheapest form of contraceptive to a kid who had a teddy bear called Joseph in her arms. After a few seconds, which I am thinking now must have felt like an eternity to my mother, she finally replied. “It’s what boys put on their birdies.” Before I could utter my follow-up question she immediately took me by the wrist, said thank you to the cashier, and we brisk-walked out of the grocery. That night at home, she gave me the 411 on how to make babies, how the condom is not the male version of the sanitary napkin, why Tampons hurt if you’re a virgin, what being a virgin means, and so on and so forth.
Of course, not every adult is as straightforward as my mother was when it comes to the topic of sex, especially not the adults of the era where the Tony Award-Winning musical Spring Awakening is set. As the lights go up on stage, we are taken to 1891 Germany where a group of teenagers are in a crucial point of their lives. We are introduced to the beautiful and innocent Wendla (Kelly Lati), the intelligent and rebellious Melchior (Joaquin Valdes), and the boy driven by questions and wet dreams named Moritz (Nicco Manalo). Along with their friends who are also going thru that ever-so-confusing stage we call puberty, we witness how they deal with the “hard” and “slippery” things the world throws at their direction.
The world isn’t what it used to be 118 years ago – we now live in a place where you could hear ten-year-olds say the words “hot” and “sexy” when they’re describing the Jonas Brothers, where most high-school soirees involve a lot of alcohol and kissing and groping – but “…the issues are still very much the same,” as veteran actress and cast member Cheska Inigo (who plays all the female adult roles) explains. And it’s true: the human anatomy, whether male or female, still hasn’t changed. The questions that teenagers still have about these new, scary, yet exciting urges within their bodies haven’t changed.
Sadly, the questions only keep on piling up as adults choose not to answer any of them. “Until now, I’ve never had the birds-and-the-bees talk with my parents,” said Valdes. If you’re a parent and don’t know how to explain the “birds-and-the-bees” to your child but believe that it’s about time that he or she learns about it, then Spring Awakening is probably the best way to introduce the topic to them. Sure, the songs of the play do contain explicit lyrics and there are scenes that involve nudity, same-sex intimacy and stimulated intercourse, but you can be assured that none of them are presented with any kind of malice. Of course, it’s still your decision whether or not you should bring your kid to the show. It’s more of “Am I ready to answer questions?” than “Is my kid ready to watch this show?”
Thought is suspect, and money is their idol, and nothing is okay unless it’s scripted in their Bible, Melchior sings in “All That’s Known.” For those who haven’t seen the musical or heard the soundtrack, the story of Spring Awakening might seem as if sex and teenage angst are the beginning and the end of it, but don’t let the dark and rebellious mood of the songs “Bitch of Living” and “Totally Fucked” fool you. The conflicts in the story may all be related to raging hormones, but if you look a little bit closer you could see that all of them arise from or are made worse by the failure of institutions – the church, the school, and the home – to guide teenagers in the right direction. (If you spent most of your teenage years in an exclusive catholic school, I’m sure you can’t help but feel as if this play was written about your high school life after seeing it.) Spring Awakening makes a very clear statement: These are the things that all teenagers go through. Obviously, the strategy of telling them to pray and keep it in their pants is very weak to begin with. Now what are we going to do about it?
Spring Awakening, directed by none other than Ms. Chari Arespacochaga, is part of Atlantis Productions’ ongoing 10th anniversary celebration, and ironically, this is the first time most of the cast members will be performing for the company. Rock star Jeff Pangan (who played my favorite character, Officer Lockstock, in Urinetown), Bea Garcia (Ilse) and Yanah Laurel (Thea) are no strangers to the Atlantis stage. There are two members, however, who are completely new to theater. Bossa Nova queen Sitti Navarro plays the sexually abused Marta and Pinoy Dream Academy’s Miguel Mendoza is Georg, the boy who dreams of his piano teacher’s “apples” falling upon him.
Spring Awakening will open this Friday, September 25, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Makati and will run until October 18. Call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187 or visit their website for a complete list of show-buyers.
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