Touchy Subject
If you think your adolescence was tough, try having raging hormones in the sexually oppressive culture of late-19th-century Germany. In 1891, dramatist Frank Wedekind explored this tension in Frühlings Erwachen (Spring Awakening). Unflinching in its portrayal of sexuality and other taboo issues, the provocative drama never saw the stage until Wedekind started his own company in 1906. Limited releases followed in the United States and Europe, with theaters often censoring the material. Inspired by this landmark work, Middlebury College students stage Spring Awakening, taking audience members into a world that addresses head on puberty, homosexuality, abortion and other sensitive subjects.
