After two years, Shatterbox Theatre’s production of the groundbreaking musical Spring Awakening is finally coming to Prince Edward County.

The production was only one month away from being staged when COVID 19 hit in March 2020. Throughout the first year of the pandemic, the cast and crew held on to hope, pivoting to online and outdoor rehearsals before the production was postponed indefinitely until this year.

Now, the cast and crew are reunited with a newly energized and reimagined vision of staging Spring Awakeningoutdoors at the historic Macaulay Heritage Park, offering a one of a kind, innovative theatre experience. Audience members will be transported to the 19th century and follow the stories of the youth who desperately try to break free of oppression while stumbling into love, barriers and coming of age.

Chris Palmer, supervisor of Museums & Cultural Services for the Corporation of Prince Edward County is excited for the opportunity to welcome patrons back to live events.

“The County Museums are thrilled to welcome Shatterbox back for Spring Awakening,” Palmer said. “This incredible community partnership combines art and heritage to showcase amazing local talent and bring to life the beautiful museum properties in a fresh and creative way.”

The dynamic 14-person cast is comprised of young performers like Alice Graham and seasoned professionals such as Pat Larkin, Georgia Papanicolaou, Brennan Michener and Robin Snip.The cast also includes Gabriel Guadagnin and award winning musician Megan Hutton.

Spring Awakening has been in rehearsals or on the minds of cast members for over two years, as casting began in October of 2019. Actress Stephanie Rose admitted “Spring Awakening gave me something to look forward to during and after the pandemic. It kept my spirits up when nothing else was.”

Though the story is set in the late 1800’s, the music of Spring Awakening is highly modern.

Sam Hirst, the Musical Director of Spring Awakening added Duncan Sheik’s kinetic indie-rock score matches the tempo of the characters, in their exploration of love, angst and tragedy.

Creative Director Georgia Papanicolaou chose this production because, The themes in Spring Awakening are just as relevant now, if not more so, than when they were first brought up in the late 1800s.

The musical was adapted from Frank Wedekind’s controversial book and discusses topics such as suicide, mental health, education and sexuality.

“Spring Awakening gives a voice to our youth and staging shows like Spring Awakening in our rural community is very important,” she said.

Co-director of Spring Awakening Julie Lane holds an Honours Theatre and Film degree from McMaster University shares and is enthused for the curtain to drop later this month.

“I’ve seen this show two other times and the dynamic combination of a phenomenal show and this synergistic cast is making this production one for the record books,” said Lane.

Show dates are set for May 27,28, and 29th and seating is limited.

Tickets for Spring Awakening can be purchased atwww.shatterboxtheatre.com. Please note there is a content warning for this production. It features themes and scenes that audience members may find triggering, as well as profanity and sexual content.

Shatterbox Theatre is a not for profit theatre company whose goal is to showcase local talent and breathe life into contemporary and classic works in bold and unconventional ways. With Spring Awakening, an 8 time Tony Award winning musical including Best Musical, Shatterbox Theatre is doing just that.

-Staff