Broadway fans, you'll want to mark your calendars for this one. In November 2021, the entire original cast of Spring Awakening reassembled for one night only to mark the show's 15th anniversary. Although the highly anticipated reunion concert was completely sold out, it'll be available to enjoy from the comfort of your own home soon.
The concert will be the centerpiece of an upcoming HBO documentary, Spring Awakening: Those You've Known, which will debut on the channel tonight, on May 3rd, 2022 at 9pm Eastern and will simultaneously be available to stream on HBO Max.
The doc will offer fans a behind-the-scenes view of the Spring Awakening cast reunion, which included Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, Lauren Pritchard, Skylar Astin, Stephen Spinella, and John Gallagher, Jr, plus returning director Michael Mayer. It will feature performances from the concert, backstage moments, and archival footage of the show's original run.
The reunion concert took place at the Imperial Theatre in Manhattan in November 2021 to raise money for the performing arts charity The Actors Fund.
Groff and Pritchard, who will also serve as producers on the documentary, released a statement as follows: "Thank you to HBO and RadicalMedia for all you’ve done to make our Spring Awakening reunion happen and for bringing the magic and vitality of this story to the world, while continuing to drive awareness to the crucial work The Actors Fund provides our community through this documentary.”
The original production of Spring Awakening opened at Broadway's Eugene O’Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006. It ran for more than two years before closing in January of 2009, and won 8 Tony Awards including the coveted prize for Best Musical. Based on a 1891 play of the same name by Frank Wedekind, the coming-of-age rock musical follows a group of teenagers discovering their sexuality in 19th century Germany.
Watch a trailer for Spring Awakening: Those You've Known:
Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.
