Spring Awakening at Soulpepper marks an audacious start to the company’s Santalucia era

REVIEW Spring Awakening at Soulpepper marks an audacious start to the company’s Santalucia era AISLING MURPHY PUBLISHED 51 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Diego Matamoros and cast members of Soulpepper Theatre's production of Spring Awakening. DAHLIA KATZ/SUPPLIED COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Title: Spring Awakening Adapted by: Paolo Santalucia, based on the play by Frank Wedekind Directed by: Paolo Santalucia Actors: Jake Bunyan, Jake Cohen, Olivia Neary-Hatton, Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu, Liisa Repo-Martell, Raquel Duffy, Diego Matamoros, Daren A. Herbert Company: Soulpepper Theatre Venue: Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre City: Toronto Year: Runs until Oct. 18 In more ways than one, it’s spring at Soulpepper Theatre. Artistic director Paolo Santalucia, hired a year ago, is finally at the helm of a season he curated himself. Printed programs, all but extinct at most Toronto theatres, are back in the Distillery District’s newly rebranded “civic theatre,” and packed with behind-the-scenes context for curious readers. Even the company’s lobby has been misted with the springtime dew of an impressive marketing overhaul: The space feels newly inviting, its walls lined with funky illustrations in eye-catching colours. There’s a sense when you walk through the door that under Santalucia’s management, the venue is sprouting anew. It ought to come as no surprise, then, that Santalucia’s first production in the company’s top job – Spring Awakening, adapted and directed by himself – is audacious and sharp. With a cast of 15 and a three-hour runtime, the piece is enormous in ways that punch well above the old Soulpepper’s weight. At its best, it feels like a revelation. Open this photo in gallery: Raquel Duffy and Jake Cohen in Spring Awakening. DAHLIA KATZ/SUPPLIED But there are cracks in the production. Santalucia’s three-act script is hugely affecting but bloated in places; his young cast deals equally in nuance and shoutiness. The staging, however, ranks among Santalucia’s most thoughtful: His decision to frame the Baillie Theatre with a black proscenium brings a filmic elegance to the space that pairs beautifully with the coarseness of Spring Awakening’s story. Of note: The Spring Awakening playing at Soulpepper is not Steven Sater and the late Duncan Sheik’s 2006 rock musical. (Condolences to the several audience members on Saturday…