Spring Awakening (play)

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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.

[edit] External links

• Study guide containing summary, analysis, history, background, and quizzes on Spring Awakening.
• Official site of the Broadway musical