Spring Awakening in Manila is as Radical as The First Time
In 2007, I bought student rush tickets to Spring Awakening, one year after it officially debuted on Broadway in New York City, and one week after it won eight awards at the Tonys, including Best Musical. It was the first real Broadway musical I ever watched, which is why it has a special place in my heart. How I felt about Spring Awakening is similar to how Gen X felt about Rent when it first exploded onto the theater scene in the ’90s. (Read as I wax poetic about it here.)
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When I found out that Sandbox Collective is producing the 2026 run of Spring Awakening in Manila, you best believe I had high expectations. How can they make it relatable to the progressive Gen Z crowd? Now that I’m at the age of the parental characters, will I relate to them more than the teens? Will it still have the poetic magic like the first time I watched?
Set in 19th-century Germany, Spring Awakening is a contemporary rock musical based on Frank Wedekind’s controversial play of the same name. It tells the stories of young teenagers, roughly 14 to 15 years old, exploring their sexualities and rapidly changing bodies in a rigid, conservative society. As they seek answers to the mysteries of life, it proves challenging in the face of uncommunicative parents and a strict, sexually repressed society.
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The musical’s songs were composed by American singer and songwriter Duncan Sheik, who elder millennials like myself remember best for his hit 1996 debut single, “Barely Breathing.” The book and lyrics are by Steven Sater.
This marks the fourth time Spring Awakening is produced in Manila—2009 was under Atlantis, while 2013 and 2019 were for Ateneo’s Blue Rep—all of which I wasn’t able to watch. This 2026 version is under the direction of Nikolai Pamintuan.
I was invited to Sandbox’s press preview and gala night on February 12, the night before their official opening. I was seated at VIP CF4 at the back.
Like a Secret Tavern
Wika Nadera’s set design and D Cortezano’s lighting design maximized the intimate space. The gloomy, multi-layered stage made use of moving sets and props, including a cross-shaped structure and a standout tree trunk with its roots dangling from the upper level. The latter to me symbolized the core of the script—that there’s more than meets the eye when dealing with teen issues. Reddit reviewers have their own unique theories about the tree, which were fun to read. And while there’s talk of spring and summer amongst the teens, the mood feels anything but. Instead, there’s a feeling of biting cold and desolation, which is telling of the tragic tale that’s about to unfold.
Unlike other productions that conceal the orchestra, this one led by musical director Ejay Yatco was strategically placed in a cavern-like spot on the stage, blending in with the cast while they performed. As soon as the smooth, first notes hit, it gave me the vibe of discovering an underground jazz club.
Act I began with Sheena Belarmino as the lead, Wendla Bergmann, performing a solo version of “Mama Who Bore Me,” one of the musical’s hit tracks, which was first performed by Lea Michele (opposite Jonathan Groff) in 2006 pre-Glee. Wendla is undergoing changes in her body, and while she expresses endless curiosity, she remains ignorant about puberty due to her mother’s refusal to discuss sex and a woman’s anatomy. Belarmino got the innocence and naive arc down pat, a refreshing change from her more feisty roles in the past (Natalie Goodman in Next to Normal and Ensemble in Bar Boys).
When the rest of the female cast entered to join her in singing the reprise, they harmonized so well that it gave me that same rush I felt the first time I watched this musical 19 years ago when I realized that this play is edgier and different from the usual.
Each female character had their own momentary time to shine onstage with their own songs and storylines—Jam Binay as the free-spirited Ilse Neumann, Angia Laurel who debuts her deep, jazzy sound as Martha Bessell, while Mijon Cortez and Felicity Kyle Napuli as Anna and Thea are the two do-gooders of the bunch. Collectively, the girls have dark secrets to reveal.
I can’t say the same for the boys when it was their turn to band together for the first time and sing “The B*tch of Living,” another track that Spring fans love and memorize. But what they lacked in vocal harmonizing, they made up for in their individual characters.
Nacho Tambunting as the lead Melchior Gabor ticked off everything you need from a high school heartthrob, whatever the era—handsome, intelligent without trying too hard, brash, rebellious, and knows a little more about life than his innocent peers. His angelic voice and intonation made him a great dreamboat.
However, I’m surprised that during that infamous scene (will not spoil it completely) of Wendla and Melchior, the direction did not go full risqué the way the original Broadway production did or even the 2009 Atlantis version. The shock value of that provocative scene was one of the factors that made Spring Awakening explode in Broadway 20 years ago, so I wonder why this version toned it down.
As for Nic Chien as Moritz Stiefel, I know there are naysayers who think that his one foot in the door is simply due to nepotism (The meaning has been loosely used these days). He is the only child of the Lea Salonga, after all. I didn’t catch Nic as Jack in 2025’s Into The Woods (Tickets were sold out fast), so watching him do a full performance in Spring was a pleasant introduction to his burgeoning talent. Aside from proudly representing the trans community, he did so well not just with his vocal chops, but in giving depth to the disturbed but misunderstood Moritz, making him more than just the socially awkward, bumbling typecast. His pairing with Ilse makes for a great B-story, though it’s a shame her manic-pixie ways are not enough to lure our dear Moritz. (Read my Smile Mag feature on Nic here.)
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Side note: Before they even held auditions for Spring in Manila, I had three actors in mind for the cast— Sheena Belarmino, Vino Mabalot, and Omar Uddin, but I was wrong about the roles I predicted for them.
Vino would have been a shoo-in for Moritz, but I can understand the producers’ decision to cast him instead as Otto Lämmermeier, giving him a chance to try something outside of the usual dark characters he’s used to portraying (like Gabe Goodman in Next To Normal and Fonzy in Tabing Ilog). He still shined as Otto, a teen struggling with confusing feelings, all while trying to be noticed by a girl from school.
As for the remaining male cast—Angelo Martinez as Hänschen Rilow, Elian Dominguez as Ernst Röbel, Davy Narciso as Georg Zirschnitz, and Lance Soliman and Gabo Tiongson as male swings—they all committed to their roles and endless energy, bringing to the surface the teens’ varying inner struggles.
Some scenes are immersive, where characters would sit in intentionally empty seats at the front row or dance in the aisles. That made me realize that my seat at the back was the best spot where I could view everything without being in the midst of it all. As an introvert (ambivert), I do not like being too close to performing actors in black box spaces.
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Seasoned thespian Audie Gemora played the adult male characters, seamlessly jumping from one to another, some more menacing and traumatizing than the others, as the story calls for them to be. His breaking into dance to be one with the teens in one scene was a riot! The adult female characters are portrayed by Ana Abad Santos, and this marks her return to the stage after a 10-year hiatus. It’s like she never left, easily switching accents and traits.
While the plot is set in 1890s Germany, the only elements telling of that era are the lack of modern science and technology, the subjects tackled in school, and the characters’ costumes created by Raven Ong. I feel that’s a good direction—to not blatantly make you feel like you’ve time-traveled to 1890, because the struggles of the characters—such as the lack of sex education, lack of mental health awareness, and lack of communication between children and adults—could easily represent any of the last few decades, even the present year of 2026.
Pamintuan himself said that the story mirrors the oppressive ideas our society continues to grapple with, so this was communicated to the audience well.
The Duncan Sheik Magic
Each time the cast broke out into a song, it’s like you’re momentarily pulled out of that time period and into a stylized music video, where the energetic, angst-driven teens are jumping up and down the stage (to the point that you feel the floor and seats vibrating, which some people did not like). But for the uninitiated, you have to understand that the tantrum-like stomping and jumping has been a signature choreography of the musical since 2006. It symbolizes the protest against a rigid institution.
The poetic contemporary lyrics (My favorite is “I go up to my room, turn the stereo on, shoot up some you, and the you is a song” from “My Junk”) will cater to teens experiencing their own conundrums and awakenings, full-grown adults who remember their own “purple summer,” and most of all, elder millennials like myself who were old enough to experience Duncan Sheik’s alternative music in the mid-90s.
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Swipe to photo #12
Aside from the play’s rock anthem songs like “My Junk,” “Totally F*cked,” and “The B*tch of Living,” Sheik also wrote songs with more bluesy, ballad-like elements, such as “Don’t Do Sadness,” “I Believe,” and “Blue Wind.”
I’d love to watch again, this time with Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo as the adult woman, Onyl Torres as the adult man, Omar Uddin as Moritz, and Alex Diaz as Melchior.
The New Black Box
Spring in Manila is also the inaugural show of The Black Box at The Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati. For longtime theater fans who have experienced the not-so-pleasant acoustics of other notorious black box venues in Manila, we fervently hoped this new venue would not give us the same issues.
So did it deliver? More of a yes than a no. Whichever part of the venue you’re seated in, you will clearly hear the right balance of acoustics—a big relief for those who have waited with bated breath. Even when the mics momentarily conked out, you could hear the enunciation of the actors. The only big issue is that during press preview night, the neighboring theater had rehearsals for a concert, and we could hear some thumps and muffled sounds bleeding into the black box during quiet scenes.
As for the few mic hiccups, as a theater reviewer who watches tech runs and press previews, I always give that extra leeway and chalk it up to last-minute notes that need to be ironed out before the first official run. We’ll have to ask second-week viewers if these mic issues have been addressed.
Totally F*cked
Some may wonder why Spring Awakening does not have the traditional character arcs and resolutions. Catchy songs aside, the overall script is dark, looming, and depressing. After the tragedies are revealed, it’s only in the sun-kissed scene and hopeful tune of “The Song of Purple Summer” at the end of Act II that we get some reprieve. But the play mostly shows us issues experienced by teens, such as mental health problems, suicide, sexual exploration, queer sexuality, puberty, and even abuse, without completely discussing it or providing resolution—because that’s what they did during that era. They hid everything under the rug, or for a more apt metaphor, they buried it under the ground. And if you look at the succeeding generations until today, that’s what most of society is still doing. Are we stuck in the 1890s? Rhetorical question.
When I first watched Spring Awakening in 2007, I loved it for its radical, uncomfortable, and disturbing take on teen angst, but I too was quite naive during that time. Now that I’m a mental health advocate with more self-awareness and maturity, I see Spring Awakening with both empathy and anger. It’s still as radical as the first time I watched, but this time the need for advocacy is communicated loud and clear. Sorry, fellow adults, but I’m still on the side of the teens—especially for their need to be heard and understood.
Sandbox’s version is an angry outburst against the rigid institution, and more importantly, a conversation starter for issues and topics that no longer wish to be brushed aside—with a killer soundtrack to boot.
Spring Awakening runs until March 22, 2026, at The Black Box at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati. It runs for approximately 2&1/2 hours with a 15-minute intermission. Tickets are available via ticket2me.net and The Sandbox Collective. Talkbacks are available for VIP ticket holders.
Cast: Alex Diaz and Nacho Tambunting as Melchior, Sheena Belarmino as Wendla, Omar Uddin andNic Chien as Moritz, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Ana Abad Santos as adult women, Audie Gemora and Onyl Torres as adult men, Angelo Martinez as Hänschen, Vino Mabalot as Otto, Jam Binay as Ilse, Angia Laurel, Mijon Cortez, Felicity Kyle Napuli, Elian Dominguez as Ernst, Davy Narciso as Georg, Pappel and Nikki Bengzon as female swings, Lance Soliman and Gabo Tiongson as male swings
Creatives: Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan as director, Ejay Yatco as musical director, Nunoy Van Den Burgh as choreographer, Wika Nadera as set designer, Raven Ong as costume designer, Jaydee Jasa as hair and makeup designer, D Cortezano as lighting designer, Aron Roca as sound designer, Missy Maramara as intimacy director, Gabbi Campomanes as assistant director, Sheik Completado as technical director, and Salve Villarosa dramaturg
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March 13 update:
You know it’s my favorite Broadway musical, so of course I had to watch again!
Sandbox’s #SpringAwakening is down to its last 2 weeks, and it is so different from the press preview version I reviewed. I see more nuances, more heart. It is now at its most polished form.
The singing. The technicality. The punchlines. The heartbeats. The struggles. The pain. The choreography. The B-stories. The vogueing! I watched this young cast grow into a cohesive unit while staying passionate to their individual characters. You guys deserve a rerun!
This time I caught Omar Uddin as Moritz, whose performance made me laugh and then cry. He and Nic Chien have very different but effective approaches to this character that I love the most from the cast.