History Theatre / SpringAwakening

** During the {{Ham4Ham}} performance of "Totally Fucked", original cast member Jonathan Groff and revival cast members Andy Mientus and Krysta Rodriguez, who were brought in allegedly because Groff didn't want to curse in public in front of children, censored the word "fucked" by signing rather than singing it. Averted with them outright singing "You can kiss your sorry ass goodbye," later to the crowd's laughter.
** (Partly) Averted with the Tony Awards performance of the revival - The Bitch of Living was sung with original lyrics, although Hanschen's signing on the line "And you can screw them all," was altered because the original sign for "screw" was too sexual.

* GhostEndingReunion: [[spoiler: Wendla and Moritz appear at the end of the play to talk to Melchior.]]

* ParalyzingFearofSexuality: Moritz. Despite showing a clear interest in it, he is terrified of the prospect of actually having sex, to the point where he can't even talk about it with Melchior, his closest friend.

* ZettaiRyouiki: Wendla wears these in some productions, and they're very prominently displayed on the musical's poster.

* AlternateShowInterpretation: The 2015 Deaf West production, which cast several deaf performers in the roles, making their characters deaf as a result. The deaf performers would sign while hearing actors (who also made up the band) voiced their dialogue and singing. The change really heightened the themes of miscommunication and alienation and changed some of the shows relationships. The biggest change is the show incorporating the policies for the deaf enacted in education at the time, such as forbidding sign language and forcing the students to speak. As a result, [[spoiler: Moritz being intentionally failed is significantly harsher than the original as it seems like the teachers want to keep a deaf student out of the school and, in turn, their adoration of Melchior is because he can hear.]]

* BiTheWay: Hanschen. He masturbates to a depiction of Desdemona, but a line in "The Bitch Of Living" mentions his attraction to another boy, and "The Word Of Your Body (Reprise)" has him seduce Ernst, a male classmate. In the revival's Tony Awards performance, Hanschen is shown ogling Bobby Maler/Voice of Otto, Ernst, and Marianna Wheelan in quick succession.

* PromiscuityAfterRape: During "Don't do sadness/ Blue wind" Isle says that she's been living in an artist's colony where she "lets them dress her up and paint her" and she heavily implies she has sex with them. However, the consent here is more than dubious as she is 14. In the Deaf West production, while trying to save Moritz, Ilse goes to kiss him as the only way she knows how to connect with men is sexually.

* ByronicHero: Melchior Gabor is an intelligent, charming, enlightened youth who is ahead of his time and deeply troubled by his repressive society and his own developing urges as he comes of age.

%%* InnocenceLost: Martha.

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: It looks like Ilse is going to play this role to Moritz--a free-spirited runaway and artist's model who doesn't let life get her down--[[spoiler: but it doesn't exactly work out.]] Her part in ''The Dark I Know Well'', and the nonchalance with which she accounts being threatened and harassed by her lovers in some versions, suggest she's a bit of a BrokenBird as well.

%%* ClusterFBomb: [[CaptainObvious "Totally Fucked"]].

* AbusiveParents: Martha's, Ilse's, and Moritz's. The girls' fathers molest them, while Herr Stiefel's strictness is what [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide led Moritz to kill himself.]]

%%* AbusiveParents: Martha's, Ilse's, and Moritz's.

%%* AgeAppropriateAngst

%%* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Moritz]].

* AdaptationalConsent: In the original play, [[spoiler:Melchior rapes Wendla]]. The musical presents it as QuestionableConsent, as she says yes to his advances. In both versions, she doesn't have much of an understanding about what sex is and what it entails, and Melchior is very aware of this fact, making her ability to consent questionable in either case.

* BiTheWay: Hanschen; he masturbates to a depiction of Desdemona, but a line in "The Bitch Of Living" mentions his attraction to another boy, and "The Word Of Your Body (Reprise)" has him seduce Ernst, a male classmate. In the revival's Tony Awards performance, Hanschen is shown ogling Bobby Maler/Voice of Otto, Ernst, and Marianna Wheelan in quick succession.

* DescentIntoDarknessSong: "I Believe" has its tone darken as [[spoiler: the two leads transition from kissing to ambiguously consensual sex.]]
* DoesNotLikeShoes: The character of Ilse spends the entire second act barefoot. The original music director for this show, Kimberly Grisby, also has a reputation for usually being barefoot — everywhere from conducting the show every night to on stage at award shows.

%%* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Moritz]]

* QuestionableConsent: Melchior and Wendla's sex scene. In the source material, and the earliest performances of the musical, Wendla screams. In most of the Broadway and national tour performances, the scene is portrayed as more consensual, but at the very least, Wendla had no idea what she was doing and the consequences of her actions, while Melchior did, thereby the situation being questionable at best.

* AdaptationalConsent: In the original play, [[spoiler:Melchior rapes Wendla]]. The musical presents it as QuestionableConsent, as she says yes to his advances.

%%* BlahBlahBlah: A lengthy section of "Totally Fucked."

%%* AdultsAreUseless: Almost everything any adult does is to the detriment of one of the teenagers. The only ones who may not qualify are the piano teacher and Hanschen's father. (What do the adults do?)

%%* BiTheWay: Hanschen.

* AnachronismStew: Though still set in 19th century Germany, the lyrics to the musical are in a very modern idiom. When a character takes out their microphone and sings, they are said to be in their own "Song World", not in 19th century Germany anymore but in a more modern world. Steven Sater uses this to explain the many topics in the show are still very much relevant to the youth of today: death, rape, sexuality, adolescent love, authority and places in society, hence why Hanschen references turning his stereo on in "My Junk," and the Workshop's version of "The Bitch of Living" mentioned wearing jeans, although the characters singing it where smartly buttoned into their stiff school uniforms.

%* BlahBlahBlah: A lengthy section of "Totally Fucked."

* SexyShirtSwitch: Ilse. In her [[spoiler: last]] scene with Moritz, she wears nothing but [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lca8he77s01qdw9t7o1_500.jpg a white shirt]].

* BuryYourGays: Subverted. Hänschen and Ernst don't appear again after their kiss, which is a pretty good fate, since saying the lives of the heterosexual characters (well, those who are left alive) suck would be an understatement..

* AdaptationalConsent: In the original play, [[spoiler:Melchior rapes Wendla]]. The musical presents it as QuestionableConsent and even [[RomanticizedAbuse romanticizes]] the scene.

* AllMenArePerverts: Or maybe it's just a teenage thing, as[[AllWomenAreLustful the young ladies also have plenty of perviness to go around.]]

* DeliveryStork: Frau Bergmann is still trying to use this story with sixteen-year-old Wendla, who becomes frustrated and insists her mother finally explain to her what ''really'' happens. She doesn't, and this ends very, VERY badly.

%%* BlahBlahBlah: A lengthy section of "Totally Fucked."

** Amateur, university, and community theatre productions often leave the nudity in "I Believe" out.[[note]]It's worth noting that some colleges require participation in plays for graduation from certain majors; at those schools, the nudity is usually left out to avoid students being pressured into it from fear of academic consequences.[[/note]]