News: Spring Awakening 15th Anniversary Concert To Play Victoria Palace Theatre

Celebrating the original London production’s 15^th anniversary, a concert version of Spring Awakening will take place on Sunday 2^nd June at Victoria Palace Theatre. Spring Awakening is an award-winning production with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Slater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind.

Spring Awakening tells the story of adolescent anarchy, set to one of the most loved scores of the 21st century.

A group of teenagers – silenced and controlled by a censorious society – discover a new world of feeling and freedom outside the classroom, with beautiful and devastating consequences.

The original Tony Award winning musical opened on Broadway in 2006, starring Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele and John Gallagher Jr. It won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Direction, Book, Score and Featured Actor. Following its success on Broadway, the production embarked on a North American tour in 2008. In 2009 the musical came to London, opening at the Lyric Hammersmith before transferring to the West End later in that same year. The West End production won 4 Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical. Spring Awakening was revived on Broadway in 2015 and in London in 2021.

Speaking on the anniversary concert, Duncan Sheik said “Spring Awakening is the first musical I worked on that managed to get to Broadway and then the West End. Being in London in 2009 for opening night at the Novello with that young and amazing cast was one of the highlights of my life.  It is more than exciting that 15 years on, London gets to experience this anniversary concert and I’m honoured that I can be some small part of that.”

Steven Sater said “My youthful dream was to be a part of the theatre in London. So for me, our brilliant original production of Spring Awakening at the Lyric, and then at the Novello, was an answered prayer.  Fifteen years later, to bring back that production for a one-night-only anniversary concert, is like having that prayer answered all over again.”

This anniversary concert will also be raising funds on behalf of Imogen Kinchin.

Imogen Kinchin was one of the original producers of Spring Awakening in 2009. Imogen was the Senior Producer at the Lyric Hammersmith for 10 years before joining Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Adventures as Executive Director in 2018. In 2022, Imogen was diagnosed with Stage IV Bowel Cancer. Aside from being one of the most outstanding, creative, inspirational and respected producers in show business, she is a cherished wife, family member and friend. Her cancer is aggressive, yet her resilience is extraordinary, and she remains a positive and hopeful warrior in the face of adversity. A fund, established to support bespoke treatment and her family’s needs as they journey through this cruel disease, has raised over £80,000 to date.

The company of Spring Awakening have kindly chosen to donate the proceeds from the concert to Imogen’s Fund.

Spring Awakening has direction by Jamie Armitage (SIX) and musical direction by Nigel Lilley (Newsies, Next to Normal, The Witches).

Spring Awakening is produced by Jack Maple and Evelyn Hoskins.

Casting for the production is still to be announced.