Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...for the most part Murray's production plays it stripped-down and raw. As a result, many moments still have the power to stun, as when Melchior beats fellow teen Wendla at her request because the sheltered girl—her mother still insists that storks bring babies—craves a physical sensation, even if it's pain."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...The actors maintain a brisk pace as they deftly switch voices and body language to indicate the ages of their widely disparate personae—notably, Cole Simon as the gay boy doomed to unrequited love, whether of a goddess in a picture or a seminary-bound schoolfellow. Tyler Rich's high-strung Moritz and Sara Gorsky's bohemian Ilse likewise forge empathy from Wedekind's proto-Brechtian aesthetic. The results might not be as steamy as the Duncan Sheik version, but still emerge as more engaging than we'd expect of a Victorian-era after-school special."
Talkin Broadway - Recommended
"...With a running time of some two and a half hours including a 10-minute intermission, Wedekind's play is talky in a way that is challenging to the audience, with the characters engaging in long, reflective conversations and soliloquies. In this sense, it was ideal source material for the musical, which took these ruminations into rock songs. Fans of the musical will enjoy this production, though, if they are interested in digging deeper into the characters' psyches and increasing empathy for the non-ironic portrayals of the struggles of the kids in this particular era. And, even though adult society today is not so oppressive of teenagers and provides a generally more enlightened sex education, Spring Awakening still delivers a strong sense of the fragility of youth and the difficulty of parenting that is sadly and powerfully appropriate for our time."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...Owing in large part to the actors' collective facility with Wedekind's beautiful but potentially difficult language, the script rings as true as it did the day it was written. Sure, the play originated as a critique of fin de siècle Germany's sexually oppressive mores, but throw in a father/daughter purity ball and cast Sarah Palin as Frau Bergmann, and "Spring Awakening" could have been written last year. Yet the show truly comes alive in the pauses, every cast member making reliably inventive choices, imbuing their actions and physical relationships with truth and complexity. Standouts Sara Gorsky, Nick Lake and Devon Candura are particularly impressive. With a sinuous voice and easy physicality, Gorsky specifically, is larger-than-life yet authentic, a difficult feat."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...
Promethean’s ensemble performs the material enthusiastically but in a one-note, nearly pageantlike register. Characters express both admiration for newly tailored outfits and inklings of impending death with nearly the same brisk, wide-eyed avidity. The larger-than-life style works when the ensemble dons masks to portray the play’s few ghoulish adults. But too much of the evening is traversed in buoyant leaps and bounds—an approach that makes Wedekind’s intermittently clunky dialogue ring all the louder. A spare, sleek design (Aaron Menninga’s single background evokes both schoolhouse and graveyard) provides nice atmospherics but can’t sustain the piece for its two-and-a-half protracted hours."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Kudos to the cast of nine: Jes Bedwinek, Devon Candura, Zachary Clark, Sara Gorsky, Nick Lake, Jessica London-Shields, Paul G. Miller, Tyler Rich and Cole Simon for their emotional rich as completely truthful performances. The give a face to the plight of teens everywhere. Director Murray (except for his loud rock music intros) has a nicely paced and engaging show. This surly is a cautionary tale that tells adults to listen and communicate with your children. They want and need your honesty. This show is fine theatre."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"...While the overall production of "Spring Awakening" was done well, with some solid acting, it did not leave an impression on me that would have answered any questions if I were a teen, so they did not do their entire job. Theater is supposed to entertain which it did, and educate which it didn't. So I would have to say, for my part, that Murray only got the job done half way."
Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended
"...Murray’s choices drop some of Wedekind’s ironic humor, a sad loss. However, the cast is excited to present the story, a story which is as relevant today as it was one hundred years ago. The play doesn’t need the impositions, but honest, youthful energy. Fortunately, there’s enough of the latter to keep the piece moving."
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...Promethean's mounting of the original non-musical text (I'm not sure who did the quite accessible translation) is a great opportunity for those whose tastes may run to the musical side of things to dabble in fairly hardcore "theatre." That is to say, there are monologues, fights, character masks, much dutiful carrying on and off of tables, chairs and benches, and an announcement of each scene, from an actor out of character. The nine actors all play multiple parts, and the show is a little bit long, though not overly so. For fans of the musical, I urge you to go and see from whence your favorite characters (Melchior, Wendla, Moritz, Ernst, Ilse et al.) came, and for those who love a good story, with heartbreaking situations and deeply resonant ideas, I would hope that you already have your tickets in hand."
