Spring's Awakening

Reinhardt's production of Wedekind's Spring's Awakening, Act III, scene 6 ; design by K. Walser. Spring Awakening is the German dramatist Frank Wedekind's first major play and a seminal work in the modern history of theatre. It was written sometime between autumn 1890 and spring 1891, but did not receive its first performance until 20 November 1906 in Berlin under the direction of Max Reinhardt. It carries the sub-title A Children's Tragedy. The play criticizes the sexually-oppressive culture of 19th century (Fin de siecle) Germany and offers a vivid dramatization of the erotic fantasies that it breeds. Due to the controversial subject matter (puberty, sexuality, rape, child abuse, homosexuality, suicide, abortion), the play has often been banned or censored. It was first staged in English in 1917 in New York City. This performance was threatened with closure when the city's Commissioner of Licenses claimed that the play was pornographic, but a New York trial court issued an injunction to allow the production to proceed. One matinee performance was allowed for a limited audience