John Gallagher Jr., Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele. (Courtesy of HBO)
A little over fifteen years ago, Spring Awakening swept Broadway by storm. Winning eight Tony Awards and frequently selling out performances, Spring Awakening was the rare mainstream American Musical that focused on the problems that teenagers face and treated them with all of the seriousness they deserved. And its relevance has hardly waned over the subsequent fifteen years. Last year, in celebration of the show’s fifteenth anniversary, the cast and crew reunited for a hugely successful concert benefiting Actor’s Equity. And thankfully, they filmed the whole experience, turning that footage into HBO’s newest documentary, Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known. Filled to the brim with interviews from the musical’s cast and crew and tons of archival footage and excerpts from the reunion concert, Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known is a love letter to the musical and all those who’ve adored it over the years.
A Look Back at Spring Awakening‘s Broadway Run
Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known doesn’t focus much on last year’s reunion concert. Instead, the documentary primarily focuses on the original Broadway production of Spring Awakening. And the film’s far better for it, too. As a longtime fan, getting to hear from those who were intimately involved in Spring Awakening‘s creation proved both insightful and emotional. Plenty has been written about the more salacious anecdotes shared, but the most shocking thing for me was how young the cast was when the show originally opened. Most of the original cast were very young adults back in 2006, and the mere fact that they were able to perform such difficult, emotional material night after night remains truly mind-blowing. And hearing the toll the show took on everyone is just absolutely heartbreaking. I mean, you’d imagine that tackling this kind of material would wear an actor down, but still.
Things aren’t all doom and gloom, though. Instead, the documentary mostly radiates this overwhelming sense of joy and love. Love for the material, love for the cast and crew, and love for the musical’s legion of fans. And it’s so infectious. Seeing the cast and crew light up when talking about each other, when thinking about those years they spent together just makes your heart soar. Plus, there’s a host of previously unseen pictures and home videos that really emphasize the camaraderie this cast shared. Fans of the musical are sure to be delighted by these moments – and delighted by the documentary as a whole, even if there’s probably not a lot here hardcore fans won’t already know. The whole thing is just a lovely, revealing glimpse at the creation of a beloved Broadway show.
Could’ve Used More Concert Footage
Anyone coming to Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known in hopes of seeing the majority of last year’s reunion concert, though, is destined for disappointment. Honestly, the concert kind of feels like an afterthought. In fact, it often feels like the documentary uses as much archival footage from the original Broadway production as it does footage from the concert. Now, to be fair, the movie bounces back and forth between the archival footage and concert footage, resulting in a genuinely emotional glimpse at all the ways the cast has matured and grown in the fifteen years between productions. I mean, if you don’t get even a little emotional as the film cuts back and forth between Lilli Cooper and Lauren Pritchard singing “The Dark I Know Well” on Broadway and at the reunion concert, then this just might not be the film for you. But it’s certainly not a concert film.
Creative Use of Spring Awakening‘s Score
The way the movie makes use of Spring Awakening‘s score, however, is super creative. The filmmakers do this cool thing where they use each of the songs to help tell the story of the show’s creation, tying in some of the songs’ themes with whatever part of the show’s creation the cast and crew are discussing. For fans of the musical, this creates a totally new way of experiencing a lot of familiar material. I mean, combining a song like “Totally F**ked” with a discussion about how the musical almost closed before the Tony Award nominations came out is just a lot of fun. And the movie is full of moments like that. I wish there was a way they could’ve released this documentary and a proper recording of the concert together. But for what it’s trying to be, Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known works very well.
Final Thoughts
How much you like Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known will likely depend on what you’re looking for. If you’re after a concert film similar to David Byrne’s American Utopia, you’re gonna be disappointed. While the film uses plenty of footage from the concert, it tends to lean heavier on archival footage from the original Broadway production and focuses far more on the creation of that original production than on the staging of the concert. But if you’re looking for a loving retrospective about Spring Awakening and all those who’ve adored it over the years, then Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known is sure to delight. For me, it worked far more than it didn’t and I’m quite eager to watch it again the next time I need a good Broadway fix.
Rating: 4/5
Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known is available now on HBO and HBO Max.
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"Spring Awakening: Those You've Known" delivers a revealing, often-touching look at the origins of the beloved musical - and a celebratory glimpse at its 15th-anniversary reunion concert.
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GVN Rating 9
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