To do this successfully, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice must be core values of our organization. If we, as a vital part of the Chula Vista and the South Bay community, are to contribute to a more fair and just world, we need to amplify the voices, ideas, and solutions of people from the most vulnerable communities. I dare you not to be moved or touched.OnStage Playhouse recognizes that low-income communities, and especially communities of color, are often most affected by large-scale crises like pandemics. The harsh realities and ultimately, the searing hopefulness of “Spring Awakening” make it a must-see for anyone over 18 (the recommended audience age for this production). Not everyone makes it out intact or alive. The teen years, as we all know, are a trying time for all. These actors, ranging in age from 17 to 26, aren’t that far from the anxiety and angst of high schoolers trying to understand their changing bodies, their uncontrollable thoughts and desires, the doctrinaire doctrines of the church, their increasingly fraught and distant relationships with their parents and teachers, and their own place in the world. The storytelling is made crystal clear, which isn’t always the case with this vocally and thematically challenging show. Rebecca Miller and Anthony Donovan play all the (mostly heinous) adults with aplomb.īrown’s meticulous direction melds inextricably with Patrick Mayuyu’s exciting choreography, featuring sharp, often stylized movements. Alex Dunbar also bears mentioning as the gay manipulator, Hanschen. Sara Ah Sing is also a standout, as Ilse, the runaway, as is Kaitlyn Summers as Martha, a girl abused by her father.

But Lewis is a knockout, with his wild hair, edgy, neurotic excitability and extreme vocal range. The three central leads Peter Armado, Seejay Lewis and Truly Bailey), who play Melchior (the Idealist), Moritz (the Misfit) and Wendla (the Innocent), respectively, are all strong. The voices are exemplary, the harmonies superb. We'll send you the top local news stories every morning at 8 a.m. The set (created by Chad Oakley, who also designed the moody lighting) is at once a church, school and home, with chalkboard-green floor, clerestory windows, two large “trees of knowledge,” made entirely of books, and photos of Germans past, paintings of mythological figures (the image of Achilles and Patroclus is especially apt), adroitly-employed ladders and some pertinent scenes painted by multi-talented cast members. “Spring Awakening” comes close on the heels of another contentious teen show: “Heathers, The Musical,” which disturbed some of her patrons but was a huge sellout, twice extended.įortunately for you, “Spring Awakening” has been extended, too (through August 19), so you still have time to catch this detailed, deeply etched production.

Teri Brown is the imaginative and risk-taking artistic director of OnStage. And instead of the songs delineating character or forwarding the action, these raw and poetic numbers are internal monologues, as these adolescents grapple with self-discovery and self-identity. The genius of the show is that composer Duncan Sheik and lyricist Steven Sater set the play in a rigid 19 th century Germany, but gave it a thumping, heart-rending rock score.

Onstage playhouse chula vista