When Wedekind wrote Spring Awakening, a satirical drama about rigid sexual mores in the Wilhelminian empire in 1891, it was considered too racy for the stage and was not performed until fifteen years later in Berlin – with large sections cut by censors.

Of course, the Kaiser’s censors have been out of work since the German empire ended in 1918, and director Michael Mayer and playwright Steven Sater certainly did not have to worry about them on Broadway; they have remained close to Wedekind’s original script, even preserving the setting in 19th century Germany. A rock score by singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik and choreography by Bill T. Jones have updated the look and feel of the play for Broadway.