Los Angeles Times - Recommended
"...For anyone who didn't quite connect with the 2008 Ahmanson Theatre production of "Spring Awakening" on an emotional level, the current production by Deaf West Theatre will redress that deficit brilliantly. If rippling goosebumps are any indication of emotional involvement, this show delivers."
Talkin Broadway - Recommended
"...There is quite a bit in Arden's direction that is creative or beautiful, and there's some nice imagery in here. At times (such as when cast members put lights on their fingertips), it seems as though the creativity is just there to be creative, without any story- or character-related purpose. But when it all comes together (for example, in what looks suspiciously like the Tree of Knowledge), it is very impressive."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Including the original production, this is my fourth time witnessing this 2006 musical phenomenon, and I still find it to be a problematic piece. Yet director Michael Arden and his amalgamated cast of 25 deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing actors have taken this limitation and turned it into the most heartfelt and spectacular production in memory. It is also one of the best offerings from Deaf West in its 24-year history."
Stage Scene LA - Recommended
"...See Deaf West Theatre's Spring Awakening. See it if you've never seen Spring Awakening before. See it if like this reviewer you've seen nearly a dozen Spring Awakenings in all. Just do it, because you won't see direction more brilliant nor a cast more gifted nor a production more awe-inspiring than the Spring Awakening now being staged by Deaf West."
ReviewPlays.com - Recommended
"...The ensemble numbers are precisely choreographed by Director Michael Arden and Choreographer Spencer Liff; the signing never gets in the way, and each cast member is vitally utilized like in a giant, coordinated human body, each part giving life to the whole. The second act unfolds into the ultimate tragedy the piece becomes as issues of suicide, abortion, incest, and child beating, are dealt with through drama, song, and movement."
ArtsInLA - Recommended
"...As innovative as is the work of Arden and Liff, and as clever as Sater was eight years ago to take an obscure and dusty period piece and turn it into a resplendently relevant contemporary theatrical effort still able to blast the ill-conceived conduct of miserably unhappy adults trying to repress the human condition of their offspring in the name of religion and "common decency," what makes Spring Awakening one for the ages is Sheik's Grammy-winning and ingeniously evocative score, which soars to new heights in this converted downtown warehouse-with poignant ballads such as "Mama Who Bore Me" and upbeat whole-company numbers able to send the entire house rocking like the aptly titled "Totally Fucked.""
Neon Tommy - Recommended
"...How ironic and fascinating it is that the deaf and hard-of-hearing actors in Deaf West Theatre's production of "Spring Awakening" at Inner City Arts downtown seem to have the most music within them. It makes sense, however, because what the production appears to attempt to do - and, consequently, what it is wildly successful in accomplishing - is to add another complex, painful layer to the adolescent experience: that of sensory deficiency."
Musicals In LA - Recommended
"...Director Michael Arden gives the word discovery new meaning in a spectacular production of Steven Sater (book & lyrics) and Duncan Sheik's (music) Spring Awakening based on Frank Wedekind's 1891 expressionist play."
Gazettes - Recommended
"...Technically, it is utterly mastered and directionally perfected musical theatre. Timing & delivery, sight & sound, choreography, costumes, set design, singing, signing, and acting, is innovative. There is not a single, solitary moment that is out-of-place. The cast is gorgeous in every way inside and out. Really, these kids are special. As an ensemble they are unstoppable."
