The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ay 24 ,2 01 8 | 16 ...from community developments to a look at rising stars on the local business, dining, sports and entertainment scenes.We're proud to introduce you to the people & businesses that make up the community of Waterloo! GET A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE ON SHOPS & SERVICES To advertise in the Waterloo Chronicle call 519.579.0301 ARTS Visit waterloochronicle.ca for more coverage When you think musical you don't usually think about a show that tackles issues like teen sexu- ality, pregnancy, abortion and suicide, but the latest show put on by K-W Musical Productions doesn't look for the easy answers or happy endings. The Tony Award winning mu- sical Spring Awakening has pushed conventions since it was first staged on Broadway in the fall of 2006 combining an original 1891 German play of the same name with a modern alternative rock soundtrack. It went on to win eight Tony Awards for best musical, best book and score as well as multiple acting nomina- tions in what proved to be a hy- brid of the musical genre - a dra- matic musical. Coming off a successful run with Shrek the Musical, K-W Mu- sical Productions also wanted to challenge its audience in its 70th season with a production that will have them thinking as much as singing the unforgettable score when they leave the show playing May 30 to June 9 at the Conrad Centre for the Perform- ing Arts. Brendan Stehouwer, a theatre grad from the University of Wa- terloo who plays one of the main characters Moritz Stiefel, said that's what drew him to the show - the way it engages its audience on multiple levels. "I was just interested in doing something different," said Ste- houwer, who is a playwright him- self. "I've done a lot of musicals where you go to the theatre watch two hours of fun and go home. "This show tackles a lot of im- portant stuff, and with this month being mental health month, this show had dialogue about mental health, fighting for your freedom and fighting against society's oppression and hyperconservative rules." He said it's a strange dichoto- my to have a show set in 1890s Germany, including the customs that suggest the era, but tackle very real social issues that exist today with a soundtrack that ap- peals to modern sensibilities. "It's an anachronistic mix," said Stehouwer. "The characters in the show are a bunch of teenag- ers living in a repressed society trying to manoeuvre that change from adolescence to adulthood and not getting much adult sup- port. "They have these rock musical interludes in between scenes that show what's going on with the in- ner minds of the kids, with the pe- riod clashing against the contem- porary music." The show talks about sexuali- ty and abuse, and other tough subjects like teenage pregnancy and suicide. But there is also a strong message of hope, and a be- lief in its main characters that change is on the horizon and things can get better. "Stuff happens and that's life," said Stehouwer. "This show has a great message at the end talking about hope, but it's not just about everything falling into place and everything is going to be happily ever after. "There is going to be tragedy in life, and this show explores how you come through it and how you can come through it and come out the other end stronger." Usually a musical is a guaran- teed happy ending, but in this case Spring Awakening wants to get you thinking instead of just humming your favourite song. That is particularly true with his character Moritz who ex- presses the very modern anxiety that a lot of students face when expectations don't meet results. How some people resolve those failures can have very real tragic circumstances. "We have a very talented cast and crew telling a very entertain- ing story at the same time as tell- ing a story that is thought pro- voking in dealing with some ma- ture subject matter," said Ste- houwer. "We're trying to take the stigma away and talk about men- tal health and mental illness and having an open discourse and say this happens. "If it doesn't happen to you, it'll happen to a friend, a mother, a sister, a father. We really need to learn how to talk about it and not just brush it under the rug." The Conrad Centre for the Per- forming Arts is located at 36 King St. W. in Downtown Kitchener. Tickets are $30 plus tax and box office fees, and are available at KWMP.ca or $37 at the door (if tickets remain). 'Spring Awakening' challenges its audience to think more about the score Brenden Stehouwer as Moritz and Jill Prince as Ilse star in K-W Musical Productions Spring Awakening May 30 to June 9 at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts. Photo courtesy of K-W Musical Productions Tony Award winning musical tackles modern social issues in musical production May 30 to June 9 BOB VRBANAC bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca