Poems Inspired by Spring Awakening (the musical) as told by Moritz's Angel

Below is a link to the poems inspired by the musical Spring Awakening.

Link to PDF of Collection

I played Moritz in the 2019 production at Muskegon Community College. The casting surprised me, I loved the show, and I had recently graduated from MCC in 2017. In the couple years between I had some highs and lows, and some desperately awful lows where I had a mental breakdown and seriously considered killing myself on two separate occasions. I wasn't that low when I got cast in the show but I also wasn't that far removed from the knowledge that I descended in my depression and self-loathing that deeply.

For those who don't know Moritz tragically takes his own life after the institutions including family, school and religion all fail him. He takes his failing upon himself.

This poetry collection is set up by the order of importance of character's to Moritz himself. His fellow classmates, and peers are shown based on clues from the lyrics of the show both seen and unseen by Moritz in the show itself. The idea was supposed to be in the after life he is able to see back through time, and into possible futures.

Ultimately the most important people to him are Melchior his best friend, and Ilse his fellow companion in darkness but in one entirely layered on the violation of her person on the sexual level, which is something that Moritz never experienced. She could have been a light to save him, but he's too pained to speak his shame, failing to recognize a mirror.

Anyways, this play oddly enough, or not, got me out of my funk. Leaving the character felt hard, but it was also like leaving that darkest piece of my life in a piece of art that I respected, and was nourished by.

I don't know how many people knew my mental state at the time, but the show was one for the ages, though I don't know why when it came time for performances I somehow suddenly couldn't hit those damned falsetto's in I Don't Do Sadness.

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